Leaders vary widely in their qualities. Intelligence, technical skills and experience might be basic requirements for management. But, to be successful, leaders must also have ‘emotional intelligence’.
‘Without it, a person can have the best training in the world, an incisive, analytical mind, and an endless supply of smart ideas, but he still won't make a great leader’.
Daniel Goleman, psychologist and science journalist 1998 6
Daniel Goleman developed the term 'emotional intelligence' in a book by that title published in 1995. A few years later, in a seminal Harvard Business Review (HBR) article, he described emotional intelligence as being essential for any great leader. There are five components to emotional intelligence:
‘Staying true to the purpose, values, principles and culture of an organization starts at the top’.
World Economic Forum, March 20207
As the crisis unfolded, in March 2020 the World Economic Forum (WEF) promptly suggested that leaders should see the pandemic as a defining leadership moment and aim to deliver the best possible outcomes for all stakeholders.
The World Economic Forum proposed principles to guide organisations in shaping a course of action that is responsible and balances both short and long-term objectives.
These principles can be mapped to Goleman’s components of emotional intelligence:
These principles can be mapped to Goleman’s components of emotional intelligence: (continued)
6 What makes a leader? Daniel Goleman, Harvard Business Review 1998 7 Workforce Principles for the COVID-19 Pandemic; Stakeholder Capitalism in a Time of Crisis, World Economic Forum 2020 8 Workforce Principles for the COVID-19 Pandemic; Stakeholder Capitalism in a Time of Crisis, World Economic Forum 2020