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Emotional intelligence is the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions well in ourselves and our relationships.
- Daniel Goleman in Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, 1995
Broadly speaking, emotional intelligence addresses the emotional, personal, social and survival dimensions of intelligence, which are often more important for daily functioning than the more traditional cognitive aspects of intelligence. Emotional intelligence is concerned with understanding oneself and others, relating to people, and adapting to and coping with the immediate surroundings to be more successful in dealing with environmental demands.
-Reuven BarOn, Ph.D. in the BarOn EQ-I Technical Manual, 2004.
IS THERE A ROLE for emotional intelligence in United States Army leadership? Is military leadership incompatible with the concept oí emotional intelligence? Is emotional intelligence too soft? Are Army leaders too hard? Is leadership in the Army too mechanical, developed as it is by instruction in leadership styles and management processes and studying the techniques of great military leaders? Is there a need for military leaders to have emotional intelligence? The answer to the last of these questions is a resounding yes! The most valuable element in building and maintaining successful relationships, individual or team, is emotional intelligence.
Army Leadership Defined
Army leadership is more than Xs and Os, or emotionless structured leader development programs, or leadership study and analysis, or coercive motivation. According to the Army's leadership doctrinal manual, Field Manual (FM) 6-22, Army leadership is "the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improve the organization."1 What is missing from the definition and the manual is a holistic emphasis on the emotional side of leadership, not in the sense of the hyper-excited leader banging on the desk or screaming at new recruits, or the much tabooed "touchy-feely" leader, but leaders aware of their own emotions and how they affect those around them as they undertake the daily missions and tasks assigned them. According to psychologist and author Daniel Goleman, to be successful, a leader must exercise and be aware of his emotions and how his emotional competence influences the way he leads and impacts his followers.2
FM 6-22 outlines the attributes and...
