Emotional Leadership According To Daniel Goleman
Leadership is one of the most important skills that those who work with a team must have. People who want to motivate others must have the ability to inspire and guide because that is the key to achieving goals. And while there are many ways to do this, the most effective is emotional leadership.
This concept was created by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee in the book Positive Leadership. They mentioned six styles of emotional leadership. Each of them is useful in a particular situation, but the good news is that you can develop them all with enough effort and commitment.
However, emotional leadership is not the only way to lead a team. In this article, we explain what emotional leadership really is and its main advantages and disadvantages in a more rational setting.
What is emotional leadership?
The leadership styles described by Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee are different from those described by other authors: They have a profound effect on the emotions of those who use them.
Each of the six styles affects the way a team feels and behaves. Therefore, according to the results the theme wants to achieve, one particular style will be more effective than another.
One of the most important concepts in Positive Leadership is that there is no alternative that is best when it comes to choosing an emotional leadership style. Each has several benefits and different characteristics that may not suit all situations. Thus, the leader must know these qualities in order to choose which style to implement and the leader must also be able to master all in order to be able to choose the best one for each situation.
The six styles are:
- Authoritarian
- Learning / teaching
- Connecting
- Democratic
- Compulsive / controlling
- Pace-setting
Although each of them has very different characteristics, they are all based on understanding the feelings of others. This is exactly where the name “emotional leadership” comes from.
However, is it always appropriate to use one of these six styles to lead a group? The answer depends on the circumstances that you, as the leader, face.
Pros and cons of emotional leadership
As with other skills or approaches, this type of leadership has both a negative and a positive side to it. Let’s look at some of the most important. They will help us decide if it is wise to indulge in emotions, or if it is best to use a more logical and less empathetic approach in a given situation.
Benefits
You can not deny that leading a group with emotional intelligence has many benefits. Leading in this way will, for example, help to find a balance between achieving the company’s goals and creating solid working conditions.
This may involve sacrificing efficiency to some degree, but the well-being and happiness of employees will definitely increase.
On the other hand, a good leader will be able to improve the team’s good qualities. Using these styles to lead will help others discover their talents and develop professionally. Plus, it will allow you to get your workers more motivated, which is important for any business.
Disadvantages
However, using emotional leadership may not be the best choice in all situations. Sometimes it can have negative consequences:
- It can make the manager act impulsively: This can hinder the company’s progress because it generally requires a more rational approach.
- It causes self-control problems: On some occasions, a leader has to make tough decisions that can be difficult on an emotional level. If a leader is too empathetic, projects and then the company can be affected.
- It can lower or affect the results: A leader must focus on the company’s goals, but anyone who worries about the feelings of others will find this extremely difficult to do.
- It can cause emotional fluctuations: In the end, excess empathy and connection with one’s own emotions can affect the mood too much. In general, a leader must be an example of strength and stability.
Usually, implementing one of the six emotional leadership styles will benefit a company or team. But sometimes it is necessary to consider whether it is in the interest of the workers and the company and whether it will help them to achieve given goals. Like most things in life, the answer is not so simple.
