It was well established in the literature that leaders who had the ability to inspire, motivate and intellectually stimulate followers saw positive organizational outcomes such as increased job satisfaction, high employee morale, lower turnover rates and more employee motivation. However, there is emerging research that suggests transformational leadership is not always the best way to lead.

In fact, there are a handful of studies that found that the use of transformational leadership was correlated to some very negative outcomes such as higher burnout rates in followers, less job satisfaction and lower employee morale.  However, one thing has remained constant in the literature on leadership and that is that leaders need to be Emotionally Intelligent.  Emotional intelligence is defined as the ability to understand and even manage one’s emotions.

The term was first coined in 1990 by researchers John Mayer and Peter Salovey but was later popularized by Daniel Goleman. Quoted in a Harvard Business Review article, Goleman stated, “The most effective leaders are all alike in one crucial way: they all have a high degree of what has come to be known as emotional intelligence.”

Goleman’s model of emotional intelligence has four components. The first one is self-awareness. As leaders, are we aware of ourselves? Do we know our strengths? Do we understand our weaknesses? 

The second component of emotional intelligence is self-management. Do we know how to manage ourselves? Managing one’s emotions, particularly in stressful situations, is easy to talk about but very difficult to do. 

The third component of emotional intelligence is social awareness. Basically, that means we pay attention to those around us with the purpose of understanding them. 

Finally, the fourth component of emotional intelligence is relationship management. Relationships with others are critically important to our ability to develop as effective leaders. 

It is simply not enough these days for leaders to know their tasks well. Today’s leaders must be emotionally intelligent in order to lead effectively.