I just re-read a terrific 1998 Harvard Business Review article by Daniel Goleman titled, “What Makes a Leader?” Goleman argues that, while experience and IQ are important, it’s emotional intelligence that makes the crucial difference. Managers without emotional intelligence tend to maximize only their own performance. Managers with EI tend to maximize their performance and their followers’ performance.
What struck me about the article was that the five components of EI are very similar to the five components of wisdom that we discussed back in April. Here’s how Goleman defines the components of EI:
And here’s what we said about wisdom:
There’s not a complete overlap but the two lists are very similar. My conclusion: it takes a lot of wisdom to be a good leader. Now, the question I’d really like to understand is, how do we teach wisdom?
Travis- I think that wisdom or EI is hard to teach. I think this needs to be learned from other leaders who lead by example. You were a good mentor to me in this regard.
Hi Kristin — Thanks so much. That’s a very touching compliment. Cheers, Travis.