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Business Review - "Making a Great Leader"

Psychologist and business expert Dr. Daniel Goleman reveals what makes a great leader in this episode of the Business Review.

IT’S NOT THE EDUCATION, THE EXPERIENCE OR EVEN THE IQ THAT MAKES A GREAT LEADER, SAYS PSYCHOLOGIST DANIEL GOLEMAN. WHAT SETS APART A GREAT LEADER, HE SAYS, IS THEIR LEVEL OF EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE.

Emotional Intelligence refers to how we handle ourselves — are we aware of our feelings, our passions, what makes us effective, what gets in the way.  And also how we manage our emotions — do we let things interrupt our ability to focus.  Social intelligence is being able to tune into other people, to read them, to know how they’re thinking about things, what they’re feeling right now, and using that to communicate effectively with them. 

THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THESE SKILLS CAN BE LEARNED, BUT WE HAVE TO BE WILLING TO CHANGE IF WE WANT TO ACHIEVE GREATNESS, GOLEMAN SAYS. 

PRACTICING EMPATHY, LISTENING TO OTHERS, BUILDING TRUST, HAVING A POSITIVE OUTLOOK, KNOWING OUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES…THESE ARE HALLMARKS OF GREAT LEADERSHIP.

Emotional Intelligence really has to do with self-mastery, how you handle yourself. And it makes outstanding individual performers. And they have very good discipline, they have motivation, they have drive, these are individual abilities.  But when it comes to leadership, your success depends on everyone else’s being effective. So you need to be successful by influencing, persuading, developing, growing, inspiring, motivating other people. That’s the Social Intelligence ability. It requires empathy, it requires skilled interaction. And that’s what makes a great leader. 

THE BUSINESS REVIEW IS A PRODUCTION OF KWBU, LIVINGSTON & MCKAY, AND THE HANKAMER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY.

C.J. Jackson drives on sunshine and thrives on family, NPR and PBS. She is the assistant dean of communications and marketing at Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business and host of public radio’s “Business Review.” Previously, she was director of marketing communications for a large, multinational corporation. C.J. has two daughters—Bri in San Antonio and Devon in Chicago—and four grandchildren. She lives with a little yellow cat named for an ancient Hawaiian tripping weapon.