(1 minute read)
“Never make a permanent decision based on a temporary emotion.”
UNKNOWN
While author Ken Blanchard is credited with the initial identification of The Servant Leader, this principle and model of leadership existed well before he coined the term.
In Blanchard’s epic book, ‘The One-Minute Manager’, he outlines the need for leaders to adapt their style to the requirements of the learner, or team member.
Around the same time, thought-leader Edward De Bono was helping us understand that to solve different challenges, we needed to adopt different ways of thinking – what De Bono labelled his ‘6 Thinking Hats’.
Each of these mental models highlight the need to have a flexible approach to our style of leadership or management, adopting an emotionally intelligent approach wherever practical and possible.
In his best-seller, ‘Working with Emotional Intelligence’, author Daniel Goleman highlighted the benefits of further developing our emotional intelligence competencies. Leaders who develop this competence can achieve more from themselves and their teams by:
- Articulating and arousing enthusiasm for a shared vision and mission
- Step forward to lead as needed, regardless of position
- Guide the performance of others, while holding them accountable
- Lead by example
The new way of assessing the impact of individuals (and leaders) within the workplace is less about their intelligence and expertise, and more about how they handle themselves and each other!