Emotional Intelligence and Self-Awareness
Emotional intelligence refers to an individual’s capability to identify emotions and manage them in a positive way in order to communicate effectively, resolve conflicts, relieve stress, overcome challenges and empathize with others (Sadri, 2012). Self-awareness is one of the core elements of emotional intelligence. Self-awareness refers to the ability to recognize one’s own emotions and understand how they affect one’s behavior and thoughts. It also involves having self-confidence and understanding one’s strengths and weaknesses (Ashley & Reiter-Palmon, 2012). Self-awareness is essential as it enables individuals to understand themselves as well as others. Leaders and managers with strong self-awareness own up to mistakes and acknowledge their weaknesses and what they do not know yet (Caldwell, 2009). Such leaders and managers do not act as if they know everything but solicit feedback from others. Moreover, they are confident in their abilities to succeed, as they are achievement-oriented.
Self-awareness in leadership can be seen in a hospital experiencing patient quality problems. A newly appointed quality manager with self-awareness will appreciate the fact that this is a new and tough responsibility and seek counsel from other people. Such a manager will admit that they are yet to learn all the necessary knowledge to solve such problems and therefore, seek advice from his more experienced colleagues. A self-aware leader will also be aware of their strengths and will be self-confident and face the challenge instead of considering options such as resigning (Ashley & Reiter-Palmon, 2012). Such leaders will be achievement-oriented; therefore, they will be willing to learn in order to resolve the problem. The leader will also listen to feedback from the frustrated nurses without getting defensive, angry or trying to counter them. Instead, they will use their feedback to identify the source of the problem and come up with ways to solve it. They will not ignore any criticism but will instead learn from it in order to become a better leader in the future (Caldwell, 2009).
References
Ashley, G. C., & Reiter-Palmon, R. (2012). Self-Awareness and the Evolution of Leaders: The Need for a Better Measure of Self-Awareness. Journal of Behavioral & Applied Management, 14(1), 2-17.
Caldwell, C. (2009). Identity, Self-Awareness, and Self-Deception: Ethical Implications for Leaders and Organizations. Journal of Business Ethics, 90, 393-406.
Sadri, G. (2012). Emotional Intelligence and Leadership Development. Public Personnel Management, 41(3), 535-548.
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