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Unit 4: Emotional Intelligence (EI or EQ)

Basic concepts
Emotions play an important role in attitude formation as well as attitude change. Manipulating the emotional part is an
important technique of persuasion. Our ethical behaviour also sees a vast decline especially in the negative mood states like
anger, rage, irritation etc. Thus, it is important to understand the basic concept of emotion in the first place.

Emotions
Emotions seem to rule our daily lives. We make decisions based on whether we are happy, angry, sad, bored, or frustrated.
We choose activities and hobbies based on the emotions they incite. So, what exactly is an emotion?
"An emotion is a complex psychological state that involves three distinct components: a subjective experience, a
physiological response, and a behavioral or expressive response."
Let’s focus on their three key elements mentioned in above definition:
1. The Subjective Experience: While experts believe that there are a number of basic universal emotions that are experienced
by people all over the world regardless of background or culture, researchers also believe that the experience of emotion can
be highly subjective. While we might have broad labels for certain emotions such as 'angry,' 'sad,' or 'happy,' your own unique
experience of these emotions is probably much more multi-dimensional. Consider anger. Is all anger the same? Your own
experience might range from mild annoyance to blinding rage.
Plus, we don't always experience 'pure' forms of each emotion. Mixed emotions over different events or situations in our lives
are common. When faced with starting a new job, you might feel both excited and nervous. Getting married or having a child
might be marked by a wide variety of emotions ranging from joy to anxiety. These emotions might occur simultaneously, or
you might feel them one after another.
2. The Physiological Response: If you've ever felt your stomach lurch from anxiety or your heart palpate with fear, then you
realize that emotions also cause strong physiological reactions. Many of the physical reactions you experience during an
emotion such as sweating palms, racing heartbeat, or rapid breathing are controlled by the sympathetic nervous system, a
branch of the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system controls involuntary body responses such as blood
flow and digestion. The sympathetic nervous system is charged with controlling the body's fight-or-flight reactions. When
facing a threat, these responses automatically prepare your body to flee from danger or face the threat head-on.
3. The Behavioral Response: The final component is perhaps one that you are most familiar with – the actual expression of
emotion. We spend a significant amount of time interpreting the emotional expressions of the people around us. Our ability to
accurately understand these expressions is tied to what psychologists call emotional intelligence and these expressions play a
major part in our overall body language. Researchers believe that many expressions are universal, such as a smile indicating
happiness or pleasure or a frown indicating sadness or displeasure. Cultural rules also play an important role in how we express
and interpret emotions. In Japan, for example, people tend to mask displays of fear or disgust when in the presence of authority
figure.
Similar Constructs: Emotion can be differentiated from a number of similar constructs such as:
• Feelings: are best understood as a subjective representation of emotions, private to the individual experiencing them.
• Moods: An emotion is normally quite short-lived, but intense. For example, after disagreeing with a friend over politics,
you might feel angry for a short period of time. A mood on the other hand is usually much milder than an emotion, but
longer-lasting. In many cases, it can be difficult to identify the specific cause of a mood. For example, you might find
yourself feeling gloomy for several days without any clearly identifiable reason.
• Affect: is an encompassing term, used to describe the topics of emotion, feelings, and moods together, even though it is
commonly used interchangeably with emotion.
Types of Emotions: In addition to understanding exactly what emotions are, researchers have also tried to identify and classify
the different types of emotions. In 1972, psychologist Paul Eckman suggested that there are six basic emotions that are
universal throughout human cultures:
1. Fear 5. Happiness
2. Disgust 6. Sadness
3. Anger
4. Surprise
In 1999, he expanded this list to include a number of other basic emotions including embarrassment, excitement, contempt, shame,
pride, satisfaction, and amusement. These emotions can then be combined in a variety of ways. For example, happiness and
anticipation might combine to create excitement.

Basic emotions

1. Love: is a very subjective and abstract phenomenon. There is no consensus among thinkers
about what exactly it is. Love is an intense feeling of deep affection and concern for someone. It
implies intimacy, passion, and commitment. It can be of different types like: Motherly love
Romantic love, Patriotism, Altruistic love, Friendship love etc. Love is different from
attachment. Love is liberating and the happiness of others is looked for.
2. Fear: is a natural, powerful, and primitive human emotion. It is an unpleasant feeling caused by
the threat of danger, pain, or harm. The universal trigger for fear is the threat of harm, real or
imagined. This threat can be to our physical, emotional or psychological well-being. A sense of
fear prepare our body for fight or flight response. A person can develop fear for almost anything.
Different phobias have been listed in psychology. As per cognitive psychology, Fear is not real.
It is a product of the thoughts you create. Danger is very real. But Fear is a choice. Some fear is
important as it increases our performance but after some level, fear can decrease our
performance also.
3. Anger: is a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure or hostility toward someone or something
you feel has deliberately done wrong to you. Feelings of anger arise due to how we interpret and
react to certain situations. Anger can be a good thing. It can give you a way to express negative
feelings or motivate you to find solutions to problems. But excessive anger can cause problems.
Anger triggers the body's 'fight or flight' response. Increased blood pressure and other physical
changes associated with anger make it difficult to think straight and harm your physical and
mental health. Bhagavat Gita has called it one of the six enemies of mind. It is also considered as
one of the seven deadly sins in Christianity. Controlling anger needs tolerance and emotional
intelligence.
4. Sadness: is the feeling of being unhappy, especially because something bad has happened. It is
an emotional pain associated with feelings of disadvantage, loss, despair, grief, helplessness,
disappointment and sorrow. An individual experiencing sadness may become quiet or lethargic
and withdraw themselves from others. What causes us sadness varies greatly based on personal
and cultural notions of loss. While sadness is often considered a “negative” emotion, it serves an
important role in signaling a need to receive help or comfort.
5. Envy: is a feeling of discontent or resent, which is aroused by someone else's possessions,
qualities, or luck. Example: Pakistan’s envy for India has led to its downfall. Envy can also
result into crimes like acid attacks and physical assault on women. Envy against Jews led to not
only their genocide. It is said that envy is a great leveler and it levels downwards. A person,
rather than improving himself, try to bring the other person down.
6. Lust: is a strong, powerful desire or craving for something or someone. Usually, this word is
used in context of sexual gratification but strong desire for any bodily pleasure can be regarded
as lust. Examples: The feeling of a guy when he looks at an extremely attractive supermodel. A
strong desire for a sleek new car. A desire to eat a particular type of food. Lust is not stronger
than love. It's a temporary sexual desire that may lead to love. Whereas love is a powerful force
that pulls two individuals into a relationship.

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 7. Greed: is the feeling of an excessive desire to acquire or possess more than one needs or
deserve, especially of money, wealth, food, or other possessions. Greed stems from insecurity,
relative deprivation, envy or a need for something that is unavailable. According to Buddhism,
greed or “craving” is a fundamental hindrance to enlightenment. Bhagwat Gita has also called it
one of the six enemies of mind. Once a person starts pursuing his greed, he becomes addicted to
it. The greed keeps on increasing and he soon falls into the bottomless darkness of Adharma,
from where it is difficult to recover.

Emotional intelligence
The ability to express and control our own emotions is important, but so is our ability to understand, interpret, and respond to the
emotions of others. Imagine a world where you couldn't understand when a friend was feeling sad or when a co-worker was angry.
Psychologists refer to this ability as emotional intelligence, and some experts even suggest that it can be more important than IQ.
Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to monitor one's own and other people's emotions, to discriminate between different
emotions and label them appropriately, and to use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior. It refers to the array of
personal-management and social skills that allows one to succeed in the work place and life in general.
Since 1990, Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer have been the leading researchers on emotional intelligence. In their influential article
"Emotional Intelligence," they defined emotional intelligence as, "the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor
one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one's thinking and
actions" (1990).
Thus, EI encompasses intuition, character, integrity and motivation. It also includes good communication and relationship skills.
Studies have shown that people with high EI have greater mental health, exemplary job performance, and more potent leadership
skills.
A Brief History of Emotional Intelligence
• 1930s – Edward Thorndike describes the concept of "social intelligence" as the ability to get along with other people.
• 1940s – David Wechsler suggests that affective components of intelligence may be essential to success in life.
• 1950s – Humanistic psychologists such as Abraham Maslow describe how people can build emotional strength.
• 1975 - Howard Gardner publishes The Shattered Mind, which introduces the concept of multiple intelligences.
• 1985 - Wayne Payne introduces the term emotional intelligence in his doctoral dissertation entitled "A study of emotion:
developing emotional intelligence; self-integration; relating to fear, pain and desire (theory, structure of reality, problem-
solving, contraction/expansion, tuning in/coming out/letting go)."
• 1987 – In an article published in Mensa Magazine, Keith Beasley uses the term "emotional quotient." It has been suggested that
this is the first published use of the term, although Reuven Bar-On claims to have used the term in an unpublished version of
his graduate thesis.
• 1990 – Psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer publish their landmark article, "Emotional Intelligence," in the journal
Imagination, Cognition, and Personality.
• 1995 - The concept of emotional intelligence is popularized after publication of psychologist and New York Times science
writer Daniel Goleman’s book Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.

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 Emotional Intelligence in the Indian Context
Emotional Intelligence is not new in Indian philosophical discourse. The Indian philosophic tradition stresses on the powerful nature
of emotions, which have to be harnessed for a harmonious life. References to the description and functions of the human mind can
be found in the Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, and the texts of Ayurveda.
Major goal of Indian philosophy is self-realization of an individual. A self-realized person has complete control over his thoughts,
actions and most importantly emotions. The Vedas and the Upanishads also focus on this need for emotional stability which helps
an individual tide over the many battles of life (internal and external). Similarly, Emotional intelligence also stresses on the need
for emotional regulation for success in life.
Emotional Intelligence and the Bhagavad-Gita: The Kurukshetra war is synonymous with the complex circumstances a person
faces in his/her life. The fear, anxiety, misgiving, and desperation of the person is symbolized in Arjuna’s emotional turmoil before
the start of war. Krishna’s guidance to Arjuna gives a practical solution to emerge out of this struggle unscathed. One can see
striking similarities between Krishna’s emotionally stable person and western idea of an emotionally intelligent person.
Krishna in Bhagwat Gita does not merely stress on effective emotional management but first spells out the reasons that lead to
emotional disturbances and then moves on to the ways of dealing with them. Tracing the root cause of all emotional turmoil, Krishna
identifies desire and anger as the two vices that lead an individual to his downfall.
It is the strong desire for and attachment to the worldly objects that drives an individual to his downfall. Desire when not satisfied
leads to anger, which in turn leads to delusion. This further destroys the ability to discriminate which leads to complete ruin.
For example, Ravana, the demon king was a great scholar and a great devotee of Lord Shiva. How could such an erudite, scholarly,
wise emperor fail to defeat a motley army of monkeys? It was his lust and desire for Sita, Rama’s wife that lead him to his ruin. His
desire blinded his wisdom. He lost his power of discrimination. His power of reasoning vanishes as he is gripped with desire and
lust. Thus, it becomes evident that desire leads a man to his ruin however great he might be.
The Bhagavad-Gita refers to the emotionally intelligent person as a ‘Sthithapragnya’ (the emotionally stable person). As Arjuna
asks Krishna who a sthithapragnya is, Krishna describes the nature and qualities of a sthithapragnya in detail.
Asthithapragnya according to Krishna is one who remains unperturbed in the face of calamity, and takes good or evil with
equanimity. He is neither happy when something good happens, nor is he affected when things go against him. This does not mean
that he lacks sensitivity. He has the ability to keep his emotions in check and the skill of withdrawing his feelings away from the
object of pleasure or pain.
Even as a tortoise withdraws its head and legs inside the protective cover of its shell whenever it faces danger, so does an emotionally
stable person withdraw all his emotions and feelings within himself and remains unperturbed. He has the power to emotionally
attach or detach from any situation, at his will.
Having identified the cause of all emotional distress, he identifies the qualities of an emotionally stable person and completes the
circle by advocating the medicine for the ailment.

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To achieve emotional stability, Krishna shows the path of ‘Nishkama Karma’ – action with detachment to the outcome or result of
the action. As it was seen earlier, emotional instability stems from attachment to and a longing for the desired object. So Krishna’s
advice is to detach oneself from the fruits of one’s action.
Krishna points out that action without desire; action that does not bind the doer with the outcome is the right kind of action. When
an individual act for the sake of action, because it is the right thing to do, and does not fear the result, then his mind remains
unfettered.
Taking the example of Arjuna himself, Arjuna was worried about fighting his cousins because he was worried about the outcome.
He was upset because he found no gain or happiness in winning the war. He did not want to fight because there was no positive
result for him at the end of the war. Winning he loses, losing he gains nothing.
If on the other hand, Arjuna does not think or worry about what is to happen after the war, but proceeds with the fight because it is
his duty as a kshatriya to fight when called upon, then there is no confusion or emotional turmoil. He does what has been expected
of him, not what is convenient or productive.
This ‘Nishkama Karma’ has a dual effect. It frees the doer from the emotional imbroglio of worrying about the outcome and also
frees him from the responsibility of the outcome as well. It is a liberating feeling which annihilates any negative thoughts or
emotions. When the mind is free from negative emotions, it calms down and a calm, tranquil mind is the fountain head of all things
positive.

Applications of EI in Administration and Governance

From ethical perspective, one can say that all governance is people governance and all public service is people service. Relationships
are the DNA of governance. Without people who can develop trusting relationships with other people, there is no governance.
Governance is more than the machinery of public administration and more than impartial cost-benefit analysis. At the 1996 OECD
Ministerial Symposium on the Future of Public Services, governance was defined entirely in terms of relationships. Governance,
concluded the OECD ministers,
“Encompasses the set of relationships between governments and citizens, acting as both individuals and as part of or through
institutions, e.g., political parties, productive enterprises, interest groups and the media.”
Relationships are at the heart of governance. To the extent that public administration mirrors the hearts and minds of people, it is
governance. To the extent that public administration is disconnected from people, it is not governance. Like the rest of us, public
administrators are people, too. Infact, most of the foundational values for civil services i.e. tolerance, empathy, compassion,
dedication and trust requires strong level of emotional intelligence, so that these values can guide the behaviour of a public servant.
Social capital
It has been shown through many studies that building social capital may be even more valuable than investing merely in physical,
financial and human capital. Physical capital comprises the machinery, tools and technology of production. Financial capital refers
to money. The people who produce goods and services are human capital. Social capital refers to the bonds of mutual respect and
care among members of a collective. Social capital allows for reducing the transaction costs of economic exchange.
Human capital is invested in people. Social capital is invested in relationships among people. When public administrators invest in
social capital, government earns a big return on investment. Public administrators earn currency in the form of increased trust in
governance. One can think of it as money in the “relationship bank.” As we work with people over time, deposits are made. We
learn when someone gives us their word that we can count on it or that when they make commitment, these commitments are kept.
When public administrators fail to invest in social capital, they lose legitimacy, add to cynicism, and reduce the willingness of
citizens, businesses and interest groups to bear the costs of painful reforms. Economists have compiled 30 years of multivariate
statistical analysis to demonstrate that earnings from social capital help lift trust in governance (Putnam, 1999). Likewise,
psychologists have compiled 30 years of multivariate statistical analysis to demonstrate that the level of social capital in any human
system is dependent on its collective level of emotional intelligence (Goleman, 1997).
The higher the level of group emotional intelligence, higher is the level of social capital. Social capital can be generated only if it
has a strong backing of emotionally intelligent public servant. Thus, one can conclude that “social capital” is nothing more than an
abstract name that the discipline of economics gives to what neuroscientists call “emotional intelligence”.
EQ vs. IQ
In meetings and other group settings where people come together to collaborate, there is a strong sense of group IQ, the sum total
of intellectual knowledge and skills in the room. However, it often turns out that the single most important element in group
intelligence is not the average or highest, IQ, but emotional intelligence. A single participant who is low in emotional intelligence
can lower the collective IQ of the entire group. According to Chris Argyris (American business theorist):

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“How can a group where everyone has an individual IQ of 130 together and collectively end up with an IQ of 60?” IQ alone cannot
build group intelligence. IQ has no heartbeat. Emotional intelligence, on the other hand, focuses like a laser beam what is important
to us. Without the signals communicated by emotions, life would be drab, colorless and meaningless. I would care no more what
happens to me or to you than does a machine. I would be interested in nothing. Without emotions we could not attach meaning to
the word “interest” in the term “public interest.” Organized society could not function without emotional intelligence.”
Organized Society
Without emotions we could not attach meaning to the word “organized” in the term “organized society.” Emotions can certainly be
harmful to governance, especially the emotions of hatred, greed, vengeance and lust. There has never been any doubt that, under
certain circumstances, emotion can disrupt reason, yet research shows that reduction in emotion may constitute an equally important
source of irrational behavior.
Without the intelligent guidance of emotions,
• Human beings cannot respond to situations very flexibly
• Take advantage of the right time and right place
• Make sense of ambiguous or contradictory messages
• Synthesize new concepts by taking old concepts and combining in new ways, or develop ideas that are novel.
• Without the guidance of emotions, we cannot be intelligent and rational.
• Emotional intelligence is registered through deep listening -- listening to oneself and listening to others. People who are high
in emotional intelligence know how to listen to their emotions and regulate their intensity so they are not hijacked by them.
• Emotionally intelligent people know how to keep disruptive emotions in check.
• Emotionally intelligent people can laugh at themselves.
• Emotionally intelligence people know how to deploy their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses.
• Emotionally intelligence people listen to other people’s emotions and can empathize with them.
• Emotionally intelligent people act ethically and build trust through integrity and reliability.
• Emotionally intelligent people admit their own mistakes and learn from them.
• Emotionally intelligent people are comfortable with new ideas and new information.
• Emotionally intelligent people are skilled at listening to a group’s emotional currents and discerning the power relationships.
• Emotionally intelligent people can negotiate and resolve disagreements.
Thus, emotionally intelligent behavior is a prerequisite for building bridges of mutual understanding and trust in the space between
people -- in “administrative space.” To promote effective and efficient governance, large stocks of social capital are needed to fill
the gaps of mistrust in every ministry, in every department, in every office, and in every nook and cranny in administrative space.
EI vs. Traditional Bureaucracy
Currently, the vast majority of public administrators in developing states lack the understanding and behavioral skills necessary to
build social capital. Even those public administrators who are excellent administrators of laws and regulations lack the leadership
skills to bring their citizens into a more mutually beneficial partnership with government officials.
Neither the responsibilities of administration nor those of leadership can be ignored, yet most public administrators focus narrowly
only on their administrative roles.
A major reason may be the continuing acceptance, by scholars and public administrators alike, of certain unexamined assumptions
of Max Weber’s model of bureaucracy. The unexamined assumptions of the Weberian model of “man as machine” contribute to a
large extent, to the absence of a leadership mindset in career civil servants.
According to Weber (1922), bureaucracy compares with other organizations exactly as does a machine:
“The more perfectly the bureaucracy is dehumanized, the more completely it succeeds in eliminating from official business love,
hatred, and purely personal, irrational and emotional elements which escape calculation.”
Weber’s model of human nature assumes that efficiency and effectiveness are harmed if human emotions influence the rational
actions of public administrators. Emotions are not intelligent. Emotions are opposed to reason. Emotions are irrational. Emotions
are unproductive. Emotions are subjective. Emotions should never guide administrative actions. The purpose of bureaucratic
hierarchies, division of labor, classification of positions, standard operating procedures and pay grades is to legislate against intrusive
and irrational emotions. To end nepotism, prevent capricious or subjective administration, and promote equal justice under law,
emotions must be eradicated.
In the classic formulation of Max Weber (1922), public administrators must be without affection or enthusiasm – ohne Zorn und
Eingenommenheit:
“Bureaucratic administration means fundamentally the exercise of control on the basis of knowledge. This is the feature of it which
makes it specifically rational … The dominance of a spirit of formalistic impersonality, “Sine ira et studio,” without hatred or

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passion, and hence without affection or enthusiasm. This is the spirit in which an official conduct his office ... Otherwise the door
would be open to arbitrariness.”
Weber’s lifelong project was to conquer the world of administration for rationality. Excellent administration is “control on the basis
of knowledge.” Administration, therefore, is about control. Excellent administration is about limiting discretion. Excellent
administration is about preventing arbitrariness and tyranny. For this reason, public officials do not establish relationships to persons.
Governance is impersonal. Relationships are positively harmful for excellent administration.
Once the boxes on the organizational chart are drawn, once the responsibilities of positions are delineated, once the irrationality of
human emotion is eliminated, the organization will be a smooth running, lean and efficient machine, easily able to follow orders
and implement public policy. Public organizations must be cool arenas for dispassionate reason, clearheaded analysis.
Administration without people is the most efficient and effective governance. Administration without people, by definition, is
excellent administration.
Unless public administrators eradicate emotions that interfere with decision-making:
1. They cannot respond to situations very flexibly.
2. They cannot take advantage of the right time and right place.
3. They cannot make sense of ambiguous or contradictory messages.
4. They cannot recognize the importance of different elements of a situation.
5. They cannot find similarities between situations despite differences that may separate them.
6. They cannot draw distinctions between situations despite similarities that may link them.
7. They cannot synthesize new concepts by taking old concepts and combining them in new ways.
8. They cannot develop ideas that are novel.
Under the guidance of emotions public administrators cannot be intelligent and rational.
This is a prescription, of course, for transforming people into machines. But machines cannot build the trusting relationships needed
to govern. Only people can govern. Yet, for those immersed in the culture of bureaucracy, the prescription against relationship
virtually mandates that the daily actions of public administrators -- namely, encounters with political superiors, staff, peers, interest
groups, media, members of parliaments, NGOs, or ordinary citizens -- all relationships with all stakeholders be conducted without
sympathy or enthusiasm.
At the time impersonal public administration was proposed, it was a necessary and essential corrective for nepotism. Standardized
rules and procedures were revolutionary breakthroughs in administrative thinking and retain value as a safeguard against corruption
even today. We must never let down our guard against administrative or political tyranny. The separation of executive, legislative
and judicial powers, with each power being able to check and balance the others, is the best antidote to tyranny.
Weber in 21st century
However, the assumption of “man as machine” is often seen to be non-compatible with late 20th century discoveries in evolutionary
biology and neuroscience. The assumption of “man as machine” has induced in public administrators a state of unconscious
incompetence and trained incapacity for leadership.
In his famous 1937 Brownlow Commission Report, Luther Gulick argued that efficiency must be built into the structure of
government just as it is built into a “piece of machinery.” Following Weber’s assumption about the harmful effect of emotion, public
administrators, asserted Gulick, are supposed to be smooth running machines – transmission belts -- for carrying out the will of the
people as expressed by elected officials. In 1976 Gulick, one of the most influential framers of orthodox American public
administration, examined and, for the first time, regretted his assumptions four decades earlier about the merits of a mechanistic,
de-humanized and emotionless model of administration:
“There is good reason for dropping the idea that government is a machine. We should never have abandoned the notion that any
team of people working together for a purpose is an “organism” not a machine … If we think of government as an organism, a
living organism, we have a totally different and more accurate and constructive understanding of a government organization.
[Public administrators] are no longer cogs, they are suborgans … They do not merely transmit the energy imparted to them from
above, they each make an added contribution to the total effort, influenced by what they see, feel and are doing.”
Excellent Management is Not Leadership
While related, management and leadership are not the same -- even in the private sector -- and must be sharply distinguished.
Excellent managerial skills are necessary but not sufficient for public administrators especially in developing countries like India.
For good governance, leadership skills are also required.
Is excellent management necessary for public administration? – Absolutely yes. Is excellent management sufficient for building
social capital? – Absolutely not.
Like administration, management is essentially about control. Management is about restraining energies. Management is about
limiting discretion. In public administration, control and restraint -- especially in the expenditure of taxes collected from citizens
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and businesses -- is a prerequisite to demonstrate accountability to elected officials, Parliaments and citizens. In a democracy, law-
based public administration is essential. Therefore, control of financial resources is absolutely necessary for public managers. All
public administrators must also be good managers.
Leadership, however, is not about control. Leaders move themselves and others to committed action. The word “lead” derives from
Old English, leden, which means “to go before as a guide; to take a journey.” The word “motivate” derives from the Latin, motere,
which means “to move.” The word “emotion” also derives from motere, to move. By drawing on emotional energies, leaders take
us on a journey. Leadership = emotion.
• Leaders begin initiatives.
• Leaders challenge the process.
• Leaders inspire a shared vision.
• Leaders enable others to act.
• Leaders model the way.
• Leaders encourage the heart.
• Leadership is not about control.
• Leadership is about releasing human energies.
• Leaders lead by tapping their emotional intelligence and the emotional intelligence of others.
• Leadership is about influencing stakeholders in society to work together to achieve higher, more ethical goals.
According the Pulitzer-prize winning political scientist James McGregor Burns, who founded the field of leadership studies, the
leader’s fundamental act is to lead “people to be aware or conscious of what they feel to be their true needs so strongly, to define
their values so meaningfully, that they can move to purposeful action”. In other words, leaders listen so deeply to the emotional
messages of their constituents that, sometimes, they have the capacity to register needs not even fully conscious to their constituents.
Leadership is the major contributor to social capital. Leadership, says Burns, “raises the level of human conduct and ethical
aspiration of both leader and led, and thus has a transforming effect on both”. Building social capital, therefore, depends on leaders
not managers.
To be an excellent manager or administrator, one does not need to tap the emotional energies and creative will of subordinates,
citizens, business firms, interest groups and other stakeholders in society. Moving others to committed action is not a necessary skill
for managers. Building social capital is not in the position description of any manager.
Listening to others is not what they do best. Highly motivated or inspired behavior may even be counter-productive. According to
Harvard professor John Kotter:
“For some of the same reasons that control is so central to management, highly motivated or inspired behavior is almost irrelevant.
Managerial processes must be as close as possible to feel-safe and risk-free. That means they cannot be dependent on the unusual
or hard to obtain. The whole purpose of systems and structures is to help normal people who behave in normal ways complete
routine jobs successfully, day after day.
Completing routine jobs successfully – delivering social security payments on time; implementing computer systems for E-
government, filling potholes; keeping nuclear power plants safe -- is a worthy task. Excellent management is the exercise of control.
The focus is to strengthen or correct what already exists in the organization. Excellent managers look for exceptions and fix them.
Building social capital, or raising people to higher ethical standards of behavior, plays no role in excellent management. Managing
budgets means “controlling public monies to prevent financial waste.” Managing information technology means “controlling what
kinds of information computers release.” Managing nuclear power plants means “controlling accidents.” People, however, cannot
be managed. They can only be led.”
• Managers have employees. Leaders win followers.
• Managers react to change. Leaders create change.
• Managers have good ideas. Leaders implement them.
• Managers communicate. Leaders persuade.
• Managers direct groups. Leaders create teams.
• Managers try to be heroes. Leaders make heroes of everyone around them.
• Managers take credit. Leaders take responsibility.
• Managers are focused. Leaders create shared focus.
• Managers exercise power over people. Leaders develop power with people.

Emotions are Rational

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While we still appreciate Weber’s genius as the premier sociologist of his generation, his model of “man as a machine” has had
unintentionally perverse effects on modern, postindustrial public administration and in navigating the permanent white water of
change.
“Man as machine” continues to serve as a major barrier to building trust in 21st century government. The fall of communism, if
nothing else, demonstrates that rigid, inhumane bureaucracy is not superior to other forms of organization. Moreover, it is not even
true that “impersonality” is the best guide to rational decision-making.
Charles Darwin showed as early as the 19th century that emotions were adaptive in the evolution of human beings, but there is no
evidence in Weber’s writings that he understood the implications of Darwin’s revolution in biological science.
Neuro-scientific discoveries in the last decade show that rationality and emotions are not separate compartments in the brain. Rather
they are inextricably woven into all cognition.
Recent work in psychology by scholars shows conclusively that emotions are a form of intelligent awareness. Emotions are
intelligent. Emotions are what make us human. Emotions tell us what is valuable and important to us and to others. They signal the
meaning of events. Emotions are just as “cognitive” as other perceptions. They serve as essential guides for humans to make rational
choices.
Emotions are a form of thinking as well as a form of feeling. All thinking is infused with the intelligence of emotions. Without the
guidance of emotions, one becomes irrational, detached from reality.
We now have conclusive biological evidence that decision-making is neurologically impossible without being informed by
emotions. Contrary to the classical model, decision-making is arbitrary when it is not infused with the intelligence of emotions.
Neuro-scientific research shows some stunning differences between the classical bureaucratic assessment of emotions and current
scientific understanding:

Bureaucracy on emotions Modern neuroscience on emotions

1. Make us inefficient Make us effective
2. Sign of weakness Sign of strength
3. Interfere with good judgment Essential to good judgment
4. Distract us Motivate us
5. Obstruct, or slow down, reasoning Enhance, or speed up, reasoning
6. Arbitrary and tyrannical Build trust and connection
7. Weaken neutrality Activate ethical values
8. Inhibit the flow of objective data Provide vital information and feedback
9. Complicate planning Spark creativity and innovation
10. Undermine management Enhance leadership

For public administrators, management and leadership skills are not mutually exclusive. We should not make the mistake of
stigmatizing management and glorifying leadership. They are complementary. Managers lead and leaders manage; however, the
two functions reflect different -- at times overlapping -- sets of skills. Both are essential. Public administrators need to expand their
repertoire of skills to include both functions, without minimizing one at the expense of the other.
With the need for leaders growing immensely as predictability and order give way to change and ambiguity, what is needed are both
managers and leaders (ideally, both in the same body).
A genuinely democratic and ethical civil society in developing countries demands the development of a cadre of public
administrators skilled in leadership and not just administration and management. Civil servants at times administer laws, at times
manage budgets, and at other times lead people and change. Civil servants are not just administrators and they are not just managers.
They are also leaders who have a responsibility to share democratic values, represent a broad range of social groups, and view
themselves as accountable to much broader constituencies as before.
“We need a government,” writes Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, “which knows how to govern and does so. Not
a government which ‘administers,’ but a government which truly governs”.

Quotations on Emotional Intelligence

1. “What really matters for success, character, happiness and lifelong achievements is a definite set of emotional skills – your EQ
— not just purely cognitive abilities that are measured by conventional IQ tests.” — Daniel Goleman

(9) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg

2. “We plant seeds that will flower as results in our lives, so best to remove the weeds of anger, avarice, envy and doubt…” —-
Dorothy Day
3. “Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame.” —- Benjamin Franklin
4. “When awareness is brought to an emotion, power is brought to your life.” – Tara Meyer Robson
5. “It is very important to understand that emotional intelligence is not the opposite of intelligence, it is not the triumph of heart
over head — it is the unique intersection of both.” — David Caruso
6. “All learning has an emotional base.” – Plato
7. “As much as 80% of adult “success” comes from EQ.” — Daniel Goleman
8. “Emotions are the glue that holds the cells of the organism together.” — Candace Pert
9. “People high in emotional intelligence are expected to progress more quickly through the abilities designated and to master
more of them.” — Mayer and Salovey
10. “People in good moods are better at inductive reasoning and creative problem solving.” — Salovey, Mayer
11. “Cherish your own emotions and never undervalue them.” — Robert Henri
12. “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else: you are the one who gets burned.”
— Buddha
13. “Let’s not forget that the little emotions are the great captains of our lives and we obey them without realizing it.” — Vincent
Van Gogh
14. “Revenge has no more quenching effect on emotions than salt water has on thirst.” — Walter Weckler
15. “The essential difference between emotion and reason is that emotion leads to action while reason leads to conclusions.” —
Donald Calne
16. “There is no thinking without feeling and no feeling without thinking.” — Karen McCown
17. “Any person capable of angering you becomes your master.” —- Epictetus
18. “Anyone can be angry – that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right
purpose, and in the right way – that is not easy.” – Aristotle
19. “Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.” — Robert Frost
20. “Education is the fire-proofer of emotions.” — Dr. Frank Crane
21. “He who smiles rather than rages is always the stronger.” — Japanese proverb
22. “Maturity is achieved when a person postpones immediate pleasures for long-term values.” — Joshua L. Liebman
23. “Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair, but manifestations of strength and resolution.” — Kahlil
Gibran

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Most popular books for Civil Services GS Paper-IV: Ethics Integrity & Aptitude
Both the books are available on Amazon and Flipkart.

• Pease check the cover and edition before buying as

many fake versions are also available on internet.
• You can also purchase them from different bookstalls
in Delhi and other major cities.
• If you are not able to find them, message me on my
Telegram channel: ‘Ethics by Atul Garg’. I’ll share a link
and also a number of retailers, who can courier the
book at your doorstep.

(10) Ethics Paper-IV by Atul Garg