Reaction Paper in “What Makes a Leader?

” by Daniel Goleman

The author of the book "Emotional Intelligence," Daniel Goleman, informed people that
emotional intelligence appears to be crucial for developing one's interpersonal, social, and
academic aspects of life. He clarified that the secret to becoming a successful person is being
able to control one's emotions. In the article "What Makes a Leader?" he makes some sort of
connection between a person's emotional intelligence and leadership abilities. He concluded that
having a high level of emotional intelligence, which encompasses self-awareness, motivation,
self-regulation, social ability, and empathy, is the most important quality of a successful business
leader in the business world. Daniel Goleman defines emotional intelligence as a sine qua non of
leadership. True leadership is non-existent if not correlated with high emotional intelligence.

After reading the article, it is quite admirable that Daniel Goleman made a genuine link
between emotional intelligence and a person's leadership abilities. He offered numerous specific
examples and instances of scenarios that take place in society. I somehow encountered the
scenarios he provided over my five years of community service. Since then, I've noticed that
several individuals have fallen short of company expectations because they lack leadership
personalities. Some people give up on their aspirations because they find it difficult to love their
jobs or to find the motivation to complete the tasks. Some people experience depression when
their salary is insufficient to cover their expenses for another month. Daniel Goleman did a great
job explaining how someone lacking emotional intelligence would typically behave. He contrasts
two scenarios with various outcomes that depend on the participants' emotional intelligence. He
makes it clear that those with strong emotional intelligence are the ones that succeed in life.

Based on the components of Daniel Goleman’s emotional intelligence the one that I
wholeheartedly concur with is that a strong leader recognizes his or her faults and strengths and
accepts critical feedback toward work and thinks of that as a lesson for their improvement. Based
on my previous management experience in a particular restaurant, I have dealt with several
employees who have felt threatened by me after I have pointed out some of their skill gaps in their
work. I want to be a strict manager who teaches them that reality is not easy as they thought. But
I think, to succeed in work, you must be dedicated and willing to take criticism. I described the
employees who stayed as having strong wills, whereas the ones who left as being weak. In
referring to the article's assertion that employees who stay have a tendency toward leadership
and are a tremendous asset to the continuity of the workplace or business.
 In conclusion, this article educates the reader on the value of developing emotional
intelligence so they can remain upbeat in the face of hostility and hatred from others. Being able
to control one's anger, showing empathy, and having self-awareness are some of the best ways
to deal with life's negative aspects. The concepts and justifications in this article may apply to
everyone's line of work, and can also be used to assess their emotional intelligence.