Happy Team

5 Ways to Inspire Your Team through Emotional Intelligence

Keeping employees engaged, inspired and motivated at work is key to increasing productivity. No great leader ever accomplished anything without an amazing team working to help make their vision a reality. And while every leader has their own unique style, there is one thing connecting them all: emotional intelligence.

A relatively new concept, emotional intelligence is now one of the foundations of successful leadership.

Here are five aspects of an emotionally intelligent leader you can use to inspire your team:

Contagious motivation

Leaders with high emotional intelligence are intrinsically motivated. They are confident in what they do, and they have the resolve to keep going even when faced with steep barriers to their success. They typically aren’t motivated by money and titles, relying instead on the success of their teams and the thrill of solving a problem.

And this type of motivation rubs off on other team members. When people see their leader working hard to get things done, they are inspired to do the same.

Stronger relationships

Everyone has had a job where there’s hostility and conflict among team members, and we all know how damaging this can be to the overall team dynamic. Leaders who are emotionally intelligent understand people and their problems, making it easier for them to build relationships and be close to people.

They tend to listen and empathise well with others, and this makes it easier for team members to bond with their leader. And when this bond is formed, people tend to work harder to succeed, as they now have an emotional investment in the outcome of their work.

Increased autonomy

Emotionally intelligent leaders tend to build more trust with their team members, meaning they are more comfortable delegating to others. They tend to be more self-aware, and they are better at identifying not only their own strengths and weaknesses, but also those of others. This means they are less afraid of people messing things up, giving them the freedom to try out new things and get tasks done in the way that makes the most sense for them.

People want to feel as though they have the freedom and autonomy to work in the way they want to. Emotionally intelligent leaders get this and allow their employees the space they need, maximizing their potential.

Inclusive leadership and feedback

Emotionally intelligent leaders understand that top-down management doesn’t work. Keeping people in the dark and only telling them the bare minimum is not going to be enough. Instead, people need to know the overall vision and purpose of the company. When they approach what they do from this position, then people tend to feel safer, as they feel a part of something.

Leaders who do this also tend to solicit feedback from employees, including them even further and improving the relationship even more/

Constructive advice

People don’t usually leave their jobs because of money. Instead, they seek out new opportunities so that they can continue to develop professionally. Emotionally intelligent leaders understand this, and they work with employees to advance their careers so that they stay motivated and working hard.

Embracing the qualities of an emotionally intelligent leader can dramatically improve the relationships on your team, and this can turn around and provide a big boost in its productivity.

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