Why Managing Emotions is Crucial for Leadership Success
Leadership is more than just strategy and decision-making; it’s about people. And people are emotional beings. This makes managing emotions as a leader an essential skill for success. Emotional intelligence in leadership plays a critical role in how leaders navigate challenges, influence teams, and foster a productive work culture.
Renowned psychologist Daniel Goleman describes emotional intelligence as the ability to regulate emotions, maintain mental clarity, and stay focused under pressure. But what does this look like in the workplace? Imagine a manager who remains composed during crises, instilling confidence in their team, or a leader who understands their employees’ emotions, fostering collaboration and trust. These leaders don’t just manage tasks; they inspire teams to bring their best selves to work.
Recently, I conducted an emotional intelligence training for managers in a leadership development program. Among 17 participants, every manager identified emotional regulation as their weakest skill. Their reality? Leading in the demanding, high-pressure industry of shipbuilding and ship repair, where emotions run high and stress is constant.
“Managing emotions is easier said than done,” one manager admitted. “In our field, stress and pressure come from all sides. If we don’t control our emotions, our team suffers more than we realize.”
When leaders fail to regulate their emotions, the consequences ripple through the workplace. Employees disengage, morale declines, and productivity suffers. This highlights the importance of self-awareness in leadership and developing strategies to manage emotions effectively.
Why Managing Emotions is Crucial for Leadership Success
During our leadership emotional intelligence training, the managers identified five key reasons why emotional regulation is essential for effective leadership. Their insights offer a powerful reflection on how emotions impact decision-making, adaptability, and team collaboration.
1. Self-Awareness as the foundation
“If we don’t accept where we stand in terms of emotional intelligence in leadership, we can’t improve,” one manager emphasized.
Leaders must recognize their emotional strengths and gaps. Without self-awareness in leadership, they risk reacting impulsively, which can hinder decision-making and team morale. Understanding their emotional state helps leaders stay composed and intentional in their actions.
2. Acceptance and self-management
“We must accept who we are before we can manage our emotions and lead effectively,” another manager shared.
Managing emotions as a leader requires acceptance of one’s flaws and strengths. Leaders who practice emotional self-management can navigate workplace stress with confidence and clarity. By developing self-regulation, they create a stable foundation for making sound leadership decisions.
3. Understanding emotional impact on leadership
“If emotions are not managed well, they affect our decisions. We must recognize when our emotions influence our judgment,” said one participant.
Leaders who fail to regulate their emotions risk making impulsive decisions or misinterpreting situations. Emotions impact decision-making, affecting not just the leader but the entire team. Recognizing emotional triggers allows leaders to maintain consistency, build trust, and foster an environment where employees feel secure and valued.
4. Adaptability to changing work environments
“As environments change, our emotional intelligence in leadership must also evolve,” one manager reflected.
Today’s workplaces demand agility. Leaders who regulate their emotions adapt better to unexpected challenges. Adaptability in leadership enables them to guide their teams through transitions with resilience and optimism. Emotional agility is key to staying effective in dynamic work environments.
5. Enhancing team collaboration and collective intelligence
“When our emotional intelligence training for managers helps us regulate emotions, team collaboration improves. We foster common understanding, and collective intelligence thrives,” said a participant.
A leader’s emotional state influences team dynamics. Enhancing team collaboration with emotional intelligence creates an environment where employees feel heard, valued, and motivated. When leaders practice emotional regulation, they inspire collective intelligence, allowing the team to work harmoniously toward shared goals.
The Power of Emotional Intelligence in Leadership
The managers in our program recognized that leadership emotional intelligence skills require continuous growth. Acknowledging their challenges was the first step; they then committed to setting personal development goals and tracking their progress over three months.
Extensive research supports the link between emotional intelligence in leadership and workplace success. Boyatzis and McKee (2005) found that emotional intelligence accounts for 85–90% of the difference between outstanding leaders and average ones. This underscores how managing emotions as a leader shapes organizational culture, performance, and relationships.
As these managers embark on their journey of emotional mastery, I look forward to seeing how their newfound self-awareness translates into their leadership styles. Improving emotional intelligence in leadership is not just about personal growth; it’s about creating a more resilient, empathetic, and high-performing workplace.
Read more: 10 Indicators of a Toxic Work Environment
