Leadership, Emotional Intelligence and Coaching – THE WINNING TRIFECTA!

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“I want the light bulb to go off in your head!”

So, what’s the connection between leadership, emotional intelligence and coaching?

Many years ago I started to read “Long Road to Freedom” by Nelson Mandela, I couldn’t put it down! Looking back, I’m pretty sure I lived many emotions whilst reading his story and ever since, Mandela has been a leader I have been fascinated with… I’m pretty sure that my interest in how he learnt to forgive and see a future for a better world was sparked then as a young mum of four beautiful young people.

My work life started at about 8 years of age in the family Newsagency where ‘the customer is always right’ – little did I know that this service focus led me to a career in education where I had a number of voluntary and paid leadership roles. Over my years, I’ve developed a pretty good set of people connector skills. I became very interested in how I could lead more effectively as I love people and how ‘awesome’ they are and can be!

Working in People and Culture gave me many opportunities to explore how adaptable we can be in our learning, our thinking and our behaviour, especially in a leadership role in a team and organisation. Our social, emotional and cognitive development isn’t static, the neuroscience research we currently have incredible access to, tells us that there is a direct link between the plasticity of our brain and growth and change.  We are ever evolving by integrating experience, knowledge and perspective.  We are creative, resourceful and whole. That’s incredible!

For me, the common denominator between leadership, emotional intelligence and coaching is the ‘wholeness and humanness’ of good people who are living, working and leading the best they can each day, striving to make a difference in their relationships at work, in their families or communities.

How we understand and are aware of our good self is the biggest clue to understanding others. We all have a set of abilities linked to our emotions, specifically the ability to perceive, understand, express, reason with and manage emotions within ourselves and others. We differ in these emotional intelligence (EI) abilities and what we do with them, just as we do with other more IQ related abilities. Applied to leadership, our emotional intelligence indicates how intelligent we are at using emotions to get positive results – in our self and others. By developing your EI, you will likely be more effective and more successful. Because emotions are always in flux, adaptability is key to being an outstanding leader.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”9688″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”9680″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Can you think of an effective leader you have worked with?  How did they make you feel?

I bet you can recognise some of these behaviours:

– They work to inspire and motivate those around them

– They focus on collaboration between team members, which creates synergy and a better experience for employees

– They “walk the talk,” or act with integrity and honesty with every team member

– They build trust, which stems from consistently acting with integrity and honesty

– They develop and support others, and they always celebrate the successes of their employees and encourage them to learn more and develop their skills

– They always build relationships, which communicates that each team member is valued, and that their concerns are important and will be addressed.

So what about this thing called ‘coaching’?

There are many different styles of coaching – they all focus on a desire to know yourself better and change behaviour using practice, reinforcement and celebration.

In combining a love of learning with leadership then, coaching becomes a natural and necessary fit  – for many it’s a dance between motivation, wisdom and vision so you can tap into your own leadership brilliance! Having a trusted other to walk alongside you, ask you the questions that are uncomfortable, be with you in a space where you can explore your mindset, values and assumptions offers you a ‘kick ass’ personal growth journey!

The truth is, there’s no growth without vulnerability when we ‘dare to lead’.

If Nelson Mandela taught us anything, it was to build our lives and work around a noble cause – Leadership. When you become engaged in something you deeply believe in, your energy rises and you become a magnet for people who share the same convictions. Adapt your strategies and tactics but remain faithful to the cause. Perhaps his most profound impact and greatest legacy was to teach us, through vivid, living, personal example, to be human before anything else. Self-awareness is a sign of great leadership. Mandela understood that if he was going to lead his nation out of racial discrimination and into a peaceful democracy he would have to “be the change.”

What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.

Take The Triffeta – leadership, emotional intelligence and coaching – believe in the wholeness of others and tap into the brilliance of self![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]