Reflections
Letter from the President and CEO
Emotional Intelligence
FROM:
MAY-JUNE 2006 ISSUE
Many aspects of leadership are easily defined — technical mastery or track record, for example. But the capacity to fully know and understand one's self in relation to others or as it's often referred to, emotional intelligence, is becoming widely recognized as the greatest indicator of leadership potential and success.
The emerging field of emotional intelligence (EI or EQ as it is sometimes referred to) was brought to broad public attention by Daniel Goleman in the '90s. His research into the "softer" measures of leadership led him to conclude that leadership success or failure is usually due to "qualities of the heart" and that these qualities are observable and measurable.
Business leaders are taking notice. Organizations across North America are looking to identify, mobilize, and develop their capacity to produce leaders with high EI, fuelling a multi-billion dollar leadership training industry. Why? Because studies show that EI is twice as important as cognitive abilities in predicting outstanding performance and that 85 per cent of a leader's performance depends on personal character.
So what exactly does it mean to have emotional intelligence? Goleman identifies four key aspects of EI — emotional self-awareness, emotional self-management, empathy, and managing relationships — which, when well developed, create what he terms "resonant" leaders, those whose strong personal sense of goals, values, and vision is also attuned to the goals, values, and visions of others. Some examples of EI in practice: legendary GE head Jack Welch spent 50 per cent of his time on people development and knew the names and roles of over 1,000 people at the company. Aaron Feuerstein of Polartec personally paid the salaries of 2,000 employees for three months while his factory was being rebuilt after a fire.
Some might ask what emotion has to do with business and management, let alone accountancy. Isn't our profession predisposed to view things dispassionately and to make objective judgments? The two notions are not as mutually exclusive as they might appear. We are, first and foremost, individuals with unique thoughts and personalities interacting with other unique individuals. It is unreasonable if not impossible to expect that we leave this part of ourselves at the door when we enter the office.
Further, our role has evolved. The simpler role of an accountant as merely number cruncher is long past. Today our influence is felt deeply throughout the organizations we serve and our decisions are counted on to fuel the strategic growth and direction.
This brings me to upholding public trust. Certified General Accountants have a duty to act as leaders to protect the public interest. We do so through integrity, accountability, and adherence to a stringent code of ethics and guiding principles. This is at the core of what it is to be a CGA.
Good leadership provides solid stewardship through turbulent times and motivation for the time in between. To the extent that we, as individual and institutional leaders, strive for greater emotional intelligence we will be well-equipped to do our part to serve the greater good.
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