Which Emotional Intelligence Skills Drive High Performance?

A guide to the 5 emotional intelligence skills that consistently show up in effective leaders.  

When we rate effective leaders, five emotional intelligence skills show up consistently. Together, these skills create the ability to respond in the moment to others in a way that will result in better outcomes.

Self-regard and emotional self-awareness, seen here at the bottom, are foundational. Studies show that if you have these two skills, you naturally develop most of the other emotional intelligence skills you need. The three at the top are the higher level emotional intelligence skills that effective leaders use to get superior results.

Click the links below to find out more about these five essential leadership skills.

• Self-regard, which is related to self-confidence, is always the most important first step in developing your emotional intelligence. Self-regard is about being authentic, accepting who you are, understanding your triggers, and believing in your best self. When you accept yourself fully, the good, the bad, and everything in between, others trust and accept you as a leader.
• Self-Awareness is another foundational skill needed for effective leadership. Being aware of how you feel as you move throughout your day, and throughout your life, will give you the knowledge you need to understand how others feel. Research has shown that among leaders with high self-awareness, 92% have teams with high energy and high performance.[1]
• Self-expression is the third crucial skill needed to take control of your performance and lead others. Because we are all in constant emotional flux, we all need to learn how to express ourselves even in highly charged emotional moments, and do so while still making other people feel respected and safe. Events at work and outside of work affect everyone you come in contact with. Inevitably, someone will act out, taking their anger, insecurity, or anxiety out on someone else.
• Empathy is the basis of human connection. When leaders are empathetic, motivation soars and performance across whole teams improves.
• Decision Making: We don’t always think of decision making as an emotional skill, but emotions often get in the way of good decisions. Learning how to be aware of and manage feelings during the process of making a decision improves outcomes.