Mindful leadership - why EQ can matter more than IQ

What does mindfulness have to do with emotional intelligence, or EQ? And how do they in turn relate to leadership?

The enormous amount of work done by Daniel Goleman and others on emotional intelligence ("EQ") describes EQ as consisting of:

• Self-awareness - knowing our own strengths, weaknesses, drives, values and impact on others
• Self-management - controlling or redirecting disruptive impulses and moods
• Motivation - relishing achievement for its own sake rather than for other reward
• Empathy - understanding and relating to other people's emotions
• Social skills - building rapport with others and being able to persuade them to act in pursuit of your goals

Whilst our natural temperament and early conditioning will form the baseline for our EQ, thanks to the brain's lifelong neuroplasticity this is not the level we are fated with forever. There is now a good deal of evidence that due to the plasticity of the brain our emotional intelligence can be increased by turning our attention to it, seeking and acting on feedback on our areas for development and practising new approaches, perhaps with the help of a coach.

There is also now plenty of evidence that a regular mindfulness practice can help us develop self-awareness, self-regulation and focused attention and variations on this meditation practice have been found to increase empathy. It therefore soon becomes apparent how a regular mindfulness practice can in turn increase our emotional intelligence.

What does all this have to do with leadership? Again based on the research by Daniel Goleman* the factors involved in emotional intelligence have been found to be not only a bigger driver of outstanding performance than IQ but twice as important than technical skills and IQ. What is more, EQ was found to play an even greater role for those in the most senior positions in the organisations.

This makes complete sense if we reflect on what leadership actually is. Once we reach leadership positions success is predicated less on our own direct output and more on maximising the performance of others. Of course we need a certain level of IQ and technical skills even to reach those senior positions in the first place but once we are there, EQ can make the difference between an average and an outstanding leader. Look again at the list of factors constituting EQ and it becomes apparent why this should be. A leader who demonstrates these qualities will be more able to persuade their team of their vision, bring them on board to deliver it and cultivate the trust and loyalty required to stay the course.  

How do you measure up?

* Goleman, D (1998) What Makes a Leader? Harvard Business Review