Running Head: MAKING OF A LEADER 1

Emotional Intelligence Analysis Paper:

Making Of A Leader

Brianna Frederick

Azusa Pacific University

MAKING OF A LEADER 2

Emotional Intelligence impacts every group you can be apart of. It is the capacity to be

aware of, control, and express one's emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships

judiciously and empathetically. Daniel Goleman wrote in his article ​What Makes a Leader​ about

five important parts of emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation,

empathy, and social skill. One particular group I was apart of was Air Force Junior Reserve

Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC) in high school. My role in the group varied on the semester,

but I’m going to focus on my last role in the program as the Operations Squadron Commander.

As the Operations Squadron Commander, I was responsible for the whole cadet corps, ensuing

they were following the standards set by headquarters in Washington D.C. and that all the

Cadet’s were acting appropriately and their uniforms were in the best possible shape on a weekly

basis. Emotional Intelligence was the key to my success in that program.

When I took the test to recognize my emotional intelligence, I scored a 122, which means

I scored with a “very high Emotional Intelligence”. I had never taken a test like this before, but I

strongly related or agreed to most of the questions that it was asking. The only questions when it

came to my lower scores were the questions regarding taking time out of the day for myself to

relax. I commonly focus on everyone else’s problems around me, instead of my own. I guess it’s

sort of my distraction method of not wanting to deal with my problems right away. I scored

pretty high on all the other categories because I’ve learned a lot about myself throughout the

course of my life, which also contributed to my early maturity. Specifically when it came to

AFJROTC, I needed to be extremely aware of my emotional intelligence so I knew where I

could be helpful in the program, and how all of us could work together for the common goal of

success.
MAKING OF A LEADER 3

My role in the group included being a figurehead for the program, and for all the new

incoming cadets. My individual emotional intelligence affects AFJROTC because sometimes we

are not aware of what we need to do for the success of the whole group. Also, with anything

military you need to be extremely aware and in control of your own emotions. For example,

when it came to Leadership Camp, which is our version of boot camp, when I was frustrated at

another cadet, I had to realize I was frustrated, and had to ensure I didn’t show any passive

aggressive behavior, and that I needed to forgive rather quickly. My actions could affect the

whole group. This was a common trait between all of the commanders of the group: being able to

control your emotions, but it was also our biggest difference because of how we handled it. Some

of us kept it bottled up (which resulted in a violent lash out later), while some of us yielded to

help of each other to explain why we were frustrated, and what we can do to fix the problem.

In reference to Chapter 7 in the Komives text “Being in Communities”, emotional

intelligence can play an important role in the development of a whole community. Within

AFJROTC, it became a family, a community where everyone had you back. If we didn’t have

this mutual trust with each other, the whole community would fall apart, especially when we

needed to rely on each other the most (like during Leadership Camp). Emotional intelligence

helps for the strength and bond of the community, which is essential.

In the end, an awareness of your emotional intelligence can impact your person

philosophy of leadership. Daniel Goleman defined his components of emotional intelligence:

self-awareness is the ability to understand and recognize your moods, emotions, and drives, as

well as their affect on others. As a leader you may affect many people in different ways, and

self-awareness is one of them. The same goes with self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and
MAKING OF A LEADER 4

social skill. By being aware of how you react to different situations, you can improve the overall

quality of your response, and even the reaction of those around you that get affected from it. An

awareness of your emotional intelligence can change how you lead, and potentially make you a

more successful leader. In AFJROTC we did these emotional intelligence tests all the time, so it

made our program even more successful.

MAKING OF A LEADER 5

Works Cited:

Goleman, Daniel. "What Makes a Leader?" ​Chemical & Engineering News​ 27.19 (2004): 1-11.

Print.