In the Harvard Business Review's 10 Must Reads, the edition on leadership, Daniel Goleman wrote an article entitled "What Makes a Leader?" In his article he notes that while the personal styles of superb leaders vary, "the most effective leaders are alike in one critical way: They all have a high degree of what has come to be known as emotional intelligence".
Emotional intelligence (EI) is essentially the ability to deal effectively with oneself and others. While having sound academic and technical skills are necessary as entry points for leadership, managing one's emotions and interacting with others in positive ways are indispensable to effective leadership. According to Goleman, specific EI skills include:
o Self-awareness - knowing one's strengths, weaknesses, drives, values, and impact on others;
o Self-regulation - controlling or redirecting disruptive impulses and moods;
o Motivation - relishing achievement for its own sake;
o Empathy - understanding other people's emotional makeup;
o Social skills - building rapport with others to move them in desired directions.
As I examine these critical skills, I have to wonder which are operating in the leaders of our nation, especially those whose words, voices and views abound in the national press these days. What self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy or social skills are at work as they war with each other for a prize that only voters can give them and are unlikely to give them if they continue to do so? If emotional intelligence is critical to good leadership, and I believe it is, then it seems to be in short supply with some of our leaders.
With the greatest respect to any political leadership in this country, you cannot be serious about leading this nation and find it difficult to get along. It is not merely that the public now knows through the press that you are not getting along, it is the fact that you are not getting along. How do you persuade 350,000 people to be "One people united in love and service" when you cannot persuade a few dozen people to unite around a narrower more practical purpose? That leaders disagree is no surprise to right-thinking people.
Leaders are humans with differences of views, thoughts and interests. Disagreement is inevitable in such a circumstance. Leaders disagree; good leaders disagree agreeably because they are emotionally intelligent. There are disagreements in all political parties in this nation. Just the other day leaders of the governing party seemed to be at odds about who would lead the party into the next general election. It was fodder for the press for a little while.
The first chairman of the DNA resigned some months ago and there were some contradictory statements in the press over why. The FNM has been having disagreements over a number of issues. The difference here seems to be that the disagreements of the FNM are major, protracted and highly publicized. The governing party's disagreements are not featured on the front pages of the press in the same way as is done with the opposition's disagreements. This is so, despite the fact that the governing party's agents verily believe that the press, especially the two dailies, are against them.
Why is the opposition's infighting front and center of dailies? Because the opposition is putting it there and that is not emotionally intelligent. That isn't even academically or technically intelligent.
I have said it before and I will say it again, a strong democracy needs a strong opposition and a strong opposition needs strong leadership. Goleman was right. Effective leaders have a high degree of emotional intelligence.
While it is unsettling to see infighting among leaders, there is good news. The good news is that emotional intelligence can be embraced, grown and exercised right now and in the future. All that is necessary is to check yourself, get back on track, know what matters and pursue what counts.
Bad acting on a stage can only be cured by one of two means: change the actors or change the acting. For those who want to and hope to remain on the stage, change your acting. Do things differently. Remember who you serve, and I don't mean your small band of merry men. I mean the wider population of people who call this country home. They are watching. They are deciding. They will vote. Who do you think they will vote for, an emotionally intelligent group or an emotionally unintelligent one?
o Zhivargo Laing is a Bahamian economic consultant and former Cabinet minister who represented the Marco City constituency in the House of Assembly.
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