BUSINESS LEADERSHIP By Janine Ordman

Transcription

1 EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT BUSINESS LEADERSHIP By Janine Ordman PART1 & PART 2

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3 One of the latest buzzwords you may have heard around the business world is Emotionally Intelligent Leadership. Given its topical nature and relevance in the ever-changing working environment, I set out to investigate what it really means to be an emotionally intelligent leader. Anthony Townsend, a clinical psychologist and corporate leadership professional, was interviewed to provide his professional views on the topic. This article is the first in a two-part series, which will explore the concept of Business Leadership in general, the characteristics of a good business leader, the typical pitfalls they experience and the role a Business Leadership Professional would play in developing them. It serves as a backdrop for the second instalment, which will delve in to the definition of Emotional Intelligence and an in-depth discussion on Emotionally Intelligent Leadership in specific. WHAT IS BUSINESS LEADER- SHIP? According to Anthony, business leadership has taken on a different meaning in the twenty first century. In the past, the definition would have centred on the amount of profit a company could generate per annum, but today, it centres on personal branding, corporate social responsibility and leadership development. We could make the argument that the post-industrial global market economy requires a style of leadership that is slightly different to what we used to consider the definition. There has been a shift in corporate culture in which we have found that business leadership is no longer narrowly defined, in terms of strategic planning, resource management and risk aversion. In a ground breaking study by Daniel Goleman in 2007, the CEOs of many of the Fortune 500 Companies (globally) attributed their business leadership success to dimensions outside of that and more fundamental than technical skill. They attributed it to something they call emotional intelligence. What business leadership, in a broader sense, involves, is ensuring profitability of the company, minimising negative impact on the environment, generating opportunity for those outside the company such as those in great need and ensuring upward mobility for everyone in the company to maximise efficiency and effectiveness. PART 1 WHAT ARE THE CHARACTER- ISTICS OF AN IDEAL LEADER IN BUSINESS? Anthony describes an ideal leader in business as some someone whose efforts are directed towards the development of others with the goal towards building a future, a legacy and an empire that exceeds their own capabilities. It is not only someone who initiates change, but also inspires it in others. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE TYPI- CAL PITFALLS OF INDIVIDUALS IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS? Very often people mix up the idea of being a boss with being a leader. And they do not have to be mutually exclusive. The big mistake made is that they [bosses] often use the wrong currency to motivate and coordinate people as leaders. A boss relies on authority and pressure and everything we know about humanity suggests that those conditions are not facilitative of productivity and innovation. A leader motivates and coordinates people through inspiration and mutual interest, and by virtue of that fact, inspires people not only to complete their work, but to go beyond that. The most important activity to ensure productivity in any business endeavour is to ensure that the people involved feel that, as much as the organisation s goals are being met, their personal goals are also being met. Personal goals exceed a salary. They also involve: Possibilities for upward mobility, Feeling valued one s role, and Feeling that one s needs for further development are being met. So in a nutshell, leadership is driven by inspiration, not authority, and a good leader is able to recognise the importance of their employees personal needs in the context of the organisation s goals.

4 YOU ARE A LEADERSHIP PROFESSIONAL. WHAT DOES THAT ENTAIL? Essentially, being a leadership professional entails: Adding tools to the repertoire of people who act in positions requiring the management of others. This includes anyone who is currently employed in an executive-, managerial-, or supervisory role, who are tasked with responsibilities that exceed their technical role. As a leadership professional, my job is to provide them with skills that would enhance their ability to develop others. The best leadership does not involve the desire to create followers, but rather the desire to create more leaders. Therefore those skills [taught by a leadership professional] will involve not only teaching them how to convey the technical skills required of their employees, but more importantly: To align organisational goals with personal goals to increase motivation; To inspire them by showing them the meaning of their work to increase productivity, and; To forge close professional relationships to enhance organisational commitment. It is clear from the interview that business leadership, involves a great deal more than merely being competent in a position. It requires an understanding and awareness of the organisational ecosystem, which not only includes the technical capabilities of the leader and their employees, but also their personal motivations, such as the need to feel valued, in order to inspire them to perform at their best. Anthony Townsend is a Clinical Psychologist currently completing a double-specialisation in Neuropsychology and Forensic Psychology. He presently runs a private practice at the Sandton Psychology Centre, is a consultant psychologist for the Life Hospitals in the greater Johannesburg area and serves as a Guest Lecturer at the University of Pretoria (both undergraduate and postgraduate levels). He has extensive expertise in organisational behaviour and a decade of experience in small business development, social empowerment and corporate leadership. His services in this regard relate to leadership development training for both groups and individuals. PART 2 FOLLOWING ON EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT BUSINESS LEAD- ERSHIP PART 1 Which dealt with Business Leadership in general, the characteristics possessed by a good business leader, some of the typical pitfalls they experience, as well as the role played by a Business Leadership Professional in their development, Part 2 of the article series will delve in to the definition of Emotional Intelligence and explore Emotionally Intelligent Leadership in more depth. Anthony Townsend, a clinical psychologist and corporate leadership professional, afforded me an interview to discuss the topic in detail and this article reflects his expert understanding. WHAT IS EMOTIONAL INTELLI- GENCE? Anthony elaborates on the definition: Emotional Intelligence is an idea developed by Daniel Goleman and it was later expanded upon by Annie McKee and Richard Boyatzis. Essentially what it refers to is one s ability to accurately and successfully understand and manage one s own emotions and those of others to lead fulfilling relationships.

5 HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT LEADERSHIP? There are some who maintain that emotionality has no place in the business sphere, yet studies of the brain s design reveal why the manner in which a leader follows through on their actions - not merely the actions themselves - matter. According to Goleman, the limbic system of the brain (its emotional centre) is an open loop system, which means that it relies greatly on external sources, such as our connections with others, to manage itself. Our interactions with others have the capacity to change our physiology (e.g. hormone levels, sleep rhythm, and cardiovascular functioning, to name a few of Goleman s examples). People react to emotional triggers in the business world similarly to ones experienced in their private lives and consequently, the need arises for an emotionally intelligent leader. This is not to say that the onus of managing employees emotional states lies solely on the shoulders of a leader, but Goleman s research highlights the importance of others influence on our emotional states, which has bearing in the work environment. Further to this, Anthony elaborates on the link between emotional intelligence and Emotionally Intelligent Leadership (EIL). Emotionally Intelligent Leadership takes on a slightly different quality to the more general concept of emotional intelligence, which is rather broad. Emotionally Intelligent Leadership essentially consists of two components: 1.The most essential component of EIL is the ability to utilise emotional resonance. This is a unique skill that all of the most successful executives use with different levels of effectiveness. Emotional resonance refers to a person s ability to attune to the emotional climate of an individual or organisation and use it to create a reservoir of positive productivity. Emotionally resonant leaders are better at picking up on the emotional needs of their employees or those they work with and aligning those feelings with their personal goals and the organisation s goals. For example, the case of Shelly Lazarus from Ogilvy & Mather. Shelly Lazarus was seven months pregnant and working an all-nighter in the office. A senior partner at the firm noticed this and took the time to get to know her a little bit better. He came to understand her goals, her ambitions and her needs. Remarking upon the emotional qualities she presented at that time - desire and dedication - he showed her that her effective performance in her role would benefit the company and how, in turn, she would also reap the benefits. She remarks that this meeting motivated her to work even harder, allowing her to become the CEO of one of the top marketing companies in the world. It wasn t the senior partner s experience or education alone that made him an effective leader in this example - it was emotional resonance. 2.The second is a lesser-understood element in Emotionally Intelligent Leadership. Emotional resonance is only effective for positive emotion. In cases of tremendous anxiety in a company or chaos, negative emotions take over. In this case, attuning to those negative emotions can potentially be destructive. The concept that many skilled leaders used in emergency situations is emotional dissonance, the ability to detach from a destructive emotion and to think clearly to find a solution. I ll give you a hypothetical example that we can apply to the corporate context. Imagine for a moment that the stock market has crashed; it creates an environment of tremendous uncertainty, lacking vision and structure. For a leader to attune to the anxiety of the company and try to use that effectively, cannot work, because anxiety by its very nature does not allow for productive decision-making it causes people to freeze up. An effective leader counteracts the anxiety by remaining calm and composed, from which the people with whom he works will draw strength. His calm becomes their calm and he creates the structure and vision lacking in a clearheaded way to move the company forward. When it comes to the experts of emotional intelligence, they use dissonance to detach and resonance to bond. Any emotionally intelligent leader runs the gamut of being an emotional lightning rod for positive emotion and an ice cube to negative emotion.

6 HOW CAN SOMEONE BECOME AN EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT LEADER? The possibility of possessing the ability to attune to the needs of others and consequently affect changes in their emotional states is intriguing, to say the least, which begs the question whether it is possible to develop such a seemingly intricate skill. Anthony explained: To become an emotionally intelligent leader, one first has to master an understanding of the concepts of emotional resonance and dissonance. From there one needs to develop a sense of adaptability by familiarising oneself with different leadership styles. Some examples include visionary leadership, coaching leadership, democratic leadership and affiliative leadership. Visionary leaders inspire and motivate through the creation of a shared goal; Affiliative leaders build organisations by creating strong emotional bonds between members; Coaching leaders upskill; and Democratic leaders make strategies an area of partic ipation towards achieving a unified goal. All of these leadership styles invite the development of each person s unique potential in different ways. WHY ARE LEADERS IMPORTANT IN TERMS OF RESONANCE AND DISSONANCE? WHY LEADERS, AND NOT SOMEONE ELSE? According to Anthony, [a]s a social species, we have been conditioned to place a higher premium on the emotional states of those we respect or perceive to be in charge. By virtue of holding a position of authority and respect, a leader holds a unique influence over the emotional climate of a company and is therefore crucial to the company s success. WHAT DOES EMOTIONALLY IN- TELLIGENT LEADERSHIP LOOK LIKE IN PRACTICE? In my own experience - In the course of a meeting, the delegation of a task is always relayed not as a duty or a sacrifice for the sake of the organisation, but as a sincere attempt to aid that person in developing and as an investment in them as a member.the resonance is created by the leader, aligning their personal goals of developing new skills and allaying their fears of negative consequences if they are not able to perform. Drawing on their motivation rather than their obligation, a reservoir of positive productivity is formed. An emotionally intelligent leadership relationship style has three components: 1. Beneficence The implicit belief that the leader will always act in best interest of everyone involved. 2. Non-maleficence The belief that the leader will al ways support you and never do anything to compro mise your wellbeing or success intentionally. 3. Transparency The belief that the leader s reasons for decisions will always be made available and clear to everyone. These three components add up to trust. Therefore, the currency of an Emotionally Intelligent Leader is influence, rather than authority. WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE TO SMEs ON EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT LEADERSHIP? It is Thinkroom s imperative to assist small businesses and startup enterprises in Africa, to not only keep their doors open for longer, but to thrive. This means focussing on aspects that transcend access to finance, access to skills, and access to markets. Anthony provided insight in to the importance of EIL in the context of small business: Emotionally Intelligent Leadership becomes even more important at the start of a new venture and in the case of small businesses and enterprises. Given the intense work demands faced and the close proximity experienced by all involved, the leader s ability to motivate and inspire using positive emotion and to reassure and redirect by disconnecting from negative emotion, is a key variable to that enterprise s success. If there is anything we have learned about the success of entrepreneurs, it s that inspired effort will always triumph over resources and skill. The interview emphases the relevance of emotional intelligence in a sphere outside of, yet closely connected to our personal lives. We spend a great portion of our lives at work - Business Insider estimates that an average person will spend approximately hours at work during their lifetime and consequently, what happens at work will have an impact not only on our personal lives, but also on our contentment in our roles within a particular organisation. Anthony s insights reveal that an emotionally intelligent leader is able to influence those they work with in ways that will inspire, enhance productivity, and foster a sense of wellbeing, to the benefit of both their organisation and its members. Further reading: The New Leaders: Transforming the Art of Leadership into the Science of Results (2002). By Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee

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