Running head: EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN LEADERSHIP 1

Developing Emotional Intelligence in Leadership

Student’s Name

Institution
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Developing Emotional Intelligence in Leadership

Do you think it is appropriate for a leader to spend time developing a team’s emotional

intelligence (EI)? Why or why not? 

The ability to identify emotions is considered to be an essential factor in emotional

intelligence. Leaders should focus on developing the emotional intelligence of their teams

since it plays a vital role on how members of the team handle one another. Having emotional

intelligence makes an individual capable of perceiving, identifying, understanding, and

successfully managing emotions of self and others. Perceiving emotions entails the correct

identification of one's emotion. It is possible to tell what another person feels by observing and

being sensitive to his or her facial expression and body language. Understanding emotions

entail the ability to analyze and perceive another person's emotion, as well as interpreting what

it means. The management of emotions is regarded as an essential factor in emotional

intelligence. It entails controlling emotions and acting appropriately to the emotions of others.

Emotionally intelligent leaders are capable of controlling their feelings, and acting irrespective

of the intensity of the situation (Daft, 2014). 

What would be the advantages/disadvantages?

There are numerous advantages of EI. It is not a genetic or a natural trait and can be

learned by anyone who is willing and ready to learn, and implement the lessons learned

practically. It plays an essential role in preventing people from causing harm since it allows

individuals to be in control of their emotions. EI improves the social effectiveness of a person.

An individual who understand their emotions develops better interpersonal relationships and

draw people closer to them in social situations. The possibility of engaging in destructive
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behaviors can be reduced by EI. It facilitates the process of making decisions faster. There

several disadvantages associated with EI. It can prevent individuals from thinking critically. It

is a tool that can be used to manipulate others. Individuals who are emotionally intelligent tend

to be more open and agreeable. Developing the skills takes, and it is often not taken seriously

by most people (Murphy, 2014).  

Discuss specific circumstances/influences/parameters that may impact a leader’s decision to

spend time fostering the development of EI.

It is crucial in building a cohesive team that can collaborate towards the attainment of

defined objectives. When a leader needs to boost the morale and enable better collaboration in

an organization, then he or she can apply the concept of emotional intelligence. Tolerance can

be enabled through the use of EI. A leader can use EI in aligning personal and subordinate

goals with the aim of accomplishing the goals of an organization.

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References

Daft, R.L. (2014).  The leadership experience (6th ed.).  Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. 

ISBN: 9781435462854

Murphy, K. R. (2014). A critique of emotional intelligence: what are the problems and how

can they be fixed?. Psychology Press.