The Secret to Unlocking Your Leadership Potential

What’s the mythical trait that allows people to be exceptional leaders? Don’t worry, it’s not as elusive as a unicorn or a four-leaf clover. It’s something we all have to varying degrees, yet few understand it or have put time into developing it. 

Ever heard someone say, “she’s a great leader, she must have been born that way.” When we see or speak of leaders that have made an impact, that intangible piece we’re referring to actually has a name. In today's world, in order for you to ‘unlock’ your leadership potential, or improve your leadership ability for that matter, the single best thing you can focus on developing is your Emotional Intelligence (EI). Emotional Intelligence is being self-aware of your emotions, understanding them, and knowing how they affect those around you. This includes being able to see the emotions of others and what impacts they have on the individual and those around them.

EI isn’t the new kid on the block.  Daniel Goleman first brought the term to light in the mid 90’s and applied it to business via a Harvard Business Review article in ’98. Since then, it’s been talked about and studied like wildfire with plenty of studies concluded and replicated all pointing to the same results. What these studies tell us is those who have a higher-than-average EI index outperform their counterparts in leadership roles in almost all aspects over those who don’t have little to no EI.

I recently watched a video online which gave one of the best definitions and breakdowns of EI I’ve seen in recent memory. James Mankelow, CEO of Mindtools, shares this easy-to-follow breakdown of what makes up Emotional Intelligence:

1. Self-Awareness – understand how you’re feeling and the effects on others
2. Self-Regulation – ability to control emotions and actions
3. Motivation – those with high motivation willingly put off short term rewards for long term success
4. Empathy – intuitive understanding of others' emotions and what motivates them
5. Social Skills – ability to work positively with others and manage conflict

As I've been learning more about EI, I've come across an incredible, and at times overwhelming, amount of information on the subject as well as leadership, including two reports that offered up a sobering dose of reality.

DDI recently did their annual Global Leadership Forecast survey where they spoke with 15,000+ executives amongst 2,000+ companies. The 60-page report is chock full of data, most of which points towards one central theme – there is a lack of confidence amongst existing leaders on who is going to take the torch for the next leg of the race. In fact, the executives that were surveyed in DDI’s report cited that 48% of the workforce doesn’t meet a ‘high potential’ status, which would be necessary for leadership roles.

If that isn’t enough of a reason to spend time improving your EI, take a look at what Deloitte published via their Business Confidence Survey: the majority of executives (52% in current roles and 59% in transition) identified one of the most troubling business issues they are faced with is that their direct reports don’t have the skills to take on elevated leadership roles.

However you want to cut it up, there seems to be a gap between leadership opportunity and the ambition of the larger workforce to seize it. Sure, you could blame all sorts of other factors for why that is, but at the end of the day it seems as though people aren't stepping up like they used to. I like to fancy myself as an optimist, so I choose to look at it this way – if we all have the ability to control our destiny (which I believe we do) and there’s now proof behind what can get us there (developing our EI), then it’s a matter of elbow grease and time before we arrive at our destination.
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Leadership is an art form, the more you understand yourself and your EI, the better chances you’ll have at climbing the ladder to your golden perch while also helping those around and under you do the same.

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