Pre-Class Assignment
HBR: What makes a leader?
1. Emotional Intelligence (EI) is important in the making of a leader for two main reasons.
First, it highlights characteristics of a leader that goes beyond just technical skills and IQ.
Technical skills and IQ are recognized as entry level requirements for leadership positions,
which should be traits used to describe the genetic makeup of an effective leader. Traits
such as the ability to recognize your emotions as they happen (self-awareness), ability to
manage emotions and stay in control (self-regulation), the desire to pursue work beyond
just monetary gain (motivation), ability to understand the emotions of others (empathy),
and the ability to manage relationships and build effective networks (social skill), are the
characteristics that describe a leader that has a high chance of making a difference for an
organization.
Secondly, the components of EI suggest a more psychological characteristic of leaders has
proven to be more effective then leaders with high levels of technical skills, analytical
skills, and cognitive reasoning alone. This means that leaders that are effective in areas of
managing relationships, influencing and inspiring others, and social networking prove
twice as important as the other more traditional traits for leaders.
2. While some traits of EI are a gift for some people, it can also be learned and perfected
with most. Since some people have that natural charisma about them which attract people
to them because of their emotional characteristics and makeup, to some degree the EI
comes a bit naturally for these “gifted” people. As a result, you have some people that can
