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Notes from Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence

by Daniel Goleman, Annie McKee, Richard E. Boyatzis

Six Styles of Leadership.

1. Resonance Building (requires skillful listening)
   1. Visionary - inspires people by focusing on long-term goals; listens to the values held by the individuals within the group, and thus can explain his or her overall goals for the organization in a way that wins their support.
   2. Coaching - management by delegation, describes leadership that helps people assume responsibility for the organization's success; listens one-on-one to employees, establishes rapport and trust, and helps employees work out how their performance matters and where they can find additional information and resources; delegation of decision-making authority to the employee within their area of responsibility--including the power to make and learn from mistakes--is crucial; frees leaders from doing work for others, but fires-up and accelerates innovation and learning at all levels of the organization.
   3. Affiliative - creates a warm, people-focused working atmosphere; listens to discover employees' emotional needs, and strives to accommodate them; danger of affiliative leadership, is that it focuses on the emotional climate while ignoring the work itself, and should be used in combination with other leadership styles such as the Visionary style.
   4. Democratic - obtains input and commitments from everyone in the group; when faced with uncertainty, leader elicits fresh ideas and renewed participation by listening to everyone's opinions and information. The listening may be challenging, particularly in a diverse group and when sensitive issues are raised. Dangers include "dithering," as when meetings drag on for weeks without making progress.
2. Dissonant essential under some circumstances, but effective leaders use them sparingly because of their potential side-effects
   1. Pacesetting - sets ambitious goals and continually monitors progress toward those goals. (This style is sometimes referred to as "management by objective.") Although this is a superior motivator for certain types of employees and under certain situations, the unrelenting pressure it creates over long periods of use can result in burn-out and loss of both creativity and productivity.
   2. Commanding - issues instructions without asking for input about what is to be done or how: "do it because I say so." The authors caution that while this style is invaluable during a true crisis, over the long haul it erodes motivation and commitment, leading to massive turnover and a downward spiral of morale and productivity. No listening is required for this style....

Areas Of Emotional Intelligence

• Self-Awareness
  • Emotional Self-Awareness - The ability to read your own emotions and to appreciate their impact on your actions, reactions, and decisions
  • Accurate Self-Assessment - The ability to know your own strengths and weaknesses
  • Self-Confidence - Having a reasonable sense of self-worth and abilities
• Self-Management
  • Emotional Self-Control - The ability to control emotions that are inappropriate
  • Transparency - Being honest and trustworthy, and having integrity
  • Adaptability - The ability to be flexible in changing situations
  • Achievement - The drive to meet inner standards of excellence
  • Initiative - Being ready to act and seize opportunities
  • Optimism - The ability to see the positive in events
• Social Awareness
  • Empathy - The ability to sense others' emotions and to understand their perspective
  • Organizational Awareness - The ability to sense the politics and networks of the organization
  • Service Orientation - The ability to understand and fulfill the needs of customers and followers
• Relationship Management
  • Developing Others - Building others' abilities
  • Inspirational Leadership - Having a compelling vision to lead with
  • Change Catalyst - The ability to initiate, manage, and lead in a new direction
  • Influence - The ability to utilize persuasion
  • Conflict Management - The ability to resolve disagreements
  • Teamwork and Collaboration - The ability to build and guide teams

5 Steps Towards Learning Leadership Skills

1. Identifying One's Ideal Self - uncovering one's core values and beliefs; a picture of the person one aspires to be
2. Identifying The Real Self - discovering how one appears to others, regardless of how one sees one's self; through coaching and 360 degree feedback from peers, subordinates, supervisors, customers, and others.
3. Make A Plan To Build On Strengths And Reduce Gaps - one does not need to be strong in every area; but one may choose to improve in respects that one considers important.
4. Experiment Deliberately With And Practice New Skills - bring about change according to step three plan.
5. Develop Trusting, Encouraging Relationships - (should take place concurrently with steps one through four) to provide support during the learning process.

See Also:

• Primal Leadership and the Role of Listening in Emotional Intelligence (Part I) & (Part II)