Introduction

I have been a leader or taught leadership development classes for about thirteen years and have always been interested in the difference between what a leader does and how they do it. I have worked with highly productive leaders, who leave a trail of tears in their wake, because they do not understand how to treat people well and, more importantly, how to get the most out of people. They lead with the stick instead of the carrot. This can certainly get results, but I often imagine what these leaders would be capable of accomplishing if they truly grasped the power of emotional intelligence. We sometimes refer to this as leading by commitment, instead of leading by compliance. When I think about it from an animal training standpoint (my default since I spent 20 years of my life as a wild animal trainer), it makes perfect sense. Negative reinforcement works, but it has a low glass ceiling. Under that kind of "leadership," an animal will only work as hard as it needs to, in order to avoid the punishment. It will never do more. Positive reinforcement (or leading by commitment) takes a little longer, but the animal will continually look for ways to do more, and to earn more of the 'reward.' I have always tried to lead teams, and drive the leadership behavior of others, by listening the employees, understanding where they're coming from, what they need and then, subsequently, determining how their needs can best align with the needs of the team. When an employee feels they are valued, their leader is truly their advocate, and their work stream is being generated with their individual needs in mind, they will always perform higher, stick around longer, and look for ways to improve the business they now feel ownership and commitment towards. I have learned this over years of leading diverse teams and working with leaders who either didn't understand this, or understood (and did it) much better than I. As a result, I have always been interested in the notion of emotional intelligence in leadership. I will be reading the book Primal Leadership by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee over the next few months and sharing my thoughts with any who would like to hear them in this blog. Happy reading!