An Organizational Review Emotional Intelligence Competencies - 4950 Words

An Organizational Review: Emotional Intelligence Competencies (Research Paper Sample) Content: Organizational Review Name: Institution: Organizational Review Introduction In the current public sector, organizations and institutions that perform well appreciate the role of teamwork, collaboration, cooperation, and diversity. Notably, these principles are an important aspect of management and leadership. The leadership conception has gained significance in the recent past. Social science studies in this regard emphasize more on the aspect of effectiveness. Effective leaders are known to deliver desirable results and meet established institutional goals and objectives. They rely on viable decision making that ensures effective and timely action. Emergent research indicates that emotional intelligence is at the core of effective decision making. Goleman (2011) asserts that emotionally intelligent leaders attain desirable organizational outcomes and adapt effective decision making processes at all times. Conceptually, emotional intelligence constitutes an ability to identify, understand, and moderate emotions (Goleman, 2011). From a theoretical viewpoint, emotional intelligence competencies guide leadership behaviors and inform cognition. The resultant behavior has positive implications on the organizational climate. In essence, an open and healthy organizational climate influences employee performance positively. Employees in such environments exhibit a high degree of commitment to the organization’s mission and goals (Goleman, Boyatziz MCKee, 2013). Their leaders approach critical concerns mindfully, identify possible mistakes and challenges early enough to avoid crises, refrain from over-simplification, and demonstrate resiliency when faced with challenges. Certainly, this form of leadership is enabling and empowering. Leaders are flexible and adopt primal leadership styles in varied situations. Effective application of these styles enhances performance of teams by increasing their productivity. Leaders that exercise emotional intelligence are stable and highly influential. Besides inspiring their followers and initiating action, they communicate and adapt effectively to dynamic environments. In addition, they are empathetic, supportive, and highly motivated. These important emotional intelligence competencies enable them to develop and nurture desirable leadership behavior at different levels within their organizations. Leaders with these abilities understand the nature of their emotions as well as the emotions of their employees, appreciate the implications of both negative and positive emotions to organizational wellbeing, and always take practical measures to manage disruptive emotions. This enables them to regulate their authority and power, adapt suitable decision making processes, and influence organizational climate positively. Just like other public sector organizations, institutions of learning acknowledge the fact that effective leadership influences educational performance. They consider such leadership to be balanced. This involves knowledge of why, how, and when things should be done within the school environment. As indicated earlier, emotional intelligence has positive impacts on leadership behavior. Just like in corporate settings, emotional intelligence influences improved performance in the academic sphere. In this regard, principals whose institutions perform well exercise emotional intelligence competencies at all levels. In these contexts, success is defined by the ability of students to achieve high grades. Principals of these institutions encourage development and sustenance of a positive climate. This strengthens relationships and supports learning. It is in this respect that this paper provides a detailed report of Edinburg Common School District in light of emotional intelligence and prim al leadership. Understanding Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence is a complex conception that constitutes of four distinctive domains including self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, and relationship management (Goleman, 2011). Self-awareness enables individuals to understand the nature of their emotions and appreciate the implications that they have on their wellbeing. This implies that respective individuals are aware of their strengths as well as weaknesses. They appreciate their individual capacities and using this knowledge, they are able to perform well at all times. Self-management on the other hand equips individuals with skills and competencies to control their emotions effectively (Bradberry Greaves, 2009). Leaders who have attained this desirable status are transparent and embrace honesty and integrity. The respective abilities are imperative for coping with obstacles and challenging situations. Self-management enables leaders to remain optimistic in the face of challenges too. Social awareness is akin to empathy and includes an ability to identify the emotions of other individuals, understand their differing points of view, and demonstrate interest in their perspectives. Leaders with this ability understand organizational trends and acknowledge decision making networks. In addition, they interact with the clients at different levels, appreciate their needs, and commit to meeting the desires of their followers. With respect to relationship management, leaders assume the responsibility of motivating their followers and using the organizational vision to guide them appropriately. The leaders utilize various strategies to persuade them to work towards achieving desirable goals. In such cases, leaders act as change agents that initiate, manage, and lead followers in new directions. Besides enhancing organizational growth and development, this ability cultivates meaningful relationships, nurtures team building and fosters cooperation (Bradnerry Greaves, 2009). Emotional Intelligence in Edinburg Common School District In this particular institution of learning, the school principal and teachers demonstrate high level emotional intelligent competencies at all times. Fundamentally, institutional leadership has positive implications on the performance of the students as well as teachers. Just like leaders in other sectors, the principal of this institution is highly influential. Indirectly, his behavior impacts the performance of both educators and students. His mode of conduct affects the actions, decisions, and behaviors that these groups assume at all times. Specifically, it enhances teacher motivation and shapes the school climate. The school principal is responsible for formulation, enforcement and implementation of decisions at different levels. He engages in various activities that demonstrate effective application of emotional intelligence competencies. In this school district, the principal acknowledges the importance of effective communication. In this regard, he has established a two way communication between his office and the teachers. Besides asking questions, he is truthful and encourages feedback from the teachers, students, and the community at large. This could not have been attained without strong relationships. In this respect, the principal takes practical steps to establish quality relationships with the teachers and members of the community. He holds interactive meetings with each facet at least once a week. These forums allow for generation of important information that is then employed in critical decision making. Regular interaction also enhances information sharing between these stakeholders. This gives him a chance to understand the ideas of the teachers and incorporate them in decision making. Also, the principal demonstrates effective communication skills through reading, writing, speaking, and listening. The c ompetencies enable him to relay important information with ease. He communicates to staffs, parents and students effectively through written text. Additionally, the principal acknowledges the role that all groups play in effective learning. He takes measures to listen to their ideas and employ the same in problem solving. At this point, it is worth noting that due to the diverse nature of the school population, conflicts often occur due to differing values and belief systems. In such instances, the principal applies effective communication skills and flexibility to address the concerns accordingly. In this context, he deals with different emotional states of excited students, rebellious staffs, and or irritated parents. He uses his communication skills to inform parents about the administrative and academic decisions firmly. Using these skills, he has been able to endorse the school vision to the parents and staffs successfully. By communicating objectives clearly, he encourages the staffs to cooperate towards achieving them. The fact that the school principal acts as a change agent in this institution is indisputable. In his review, Goleman (2011) indicates that effective leaders assume the responsibility of challenging the status quo. Usually, there are certain practices in learning institutions that are left unchallenged for decades. In light of transformational leadership, challenging the status quo is an important aspect of total quality management. The principal demonstrates a willingness to upset the school routine and introduce other practices that aim at enhancing performance. In pursuit of these initiatives, it is widely agreed that change agents face innumerable conflicts. These situations give them an opportunity to address complex issues in ways that enhance the level of commitment of their staffs to institutional goals. Such leaders are effective decision makers who are confident about experimenting models and taking risks. In this respect, the school principal changed the homework policy that had been used for a significant twelve years. From his point of view, this was counterproductive and was having negative effects on student performance. During weekly meetings with the teach...