Emotional intelligence (EQ) is typically assessed by these five traits: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. Certainly, someone who is low in all these attributes is unlikely to be a successful leader. To be a strong leader, you must possess a high motivation, evident through your passion for a cause. You must also have enough social skill to understand how to unite people around your vision.
For example, Adolph Hitler was a strong leader who was able to rally most of the German population behind him in an assault against Europe and the Western democracies. He understood that the Germans were suffering from the reparations imposed by the Treaty of Versailles and he was able to exploit their suffering by promising a better future and promoting the concept of a master race. Some people even reported that he could be charming in a personal meeting. Hitler’s double-arm handshake convinced Neville Chamberlain that he was sincere in his promise not to invade any other countries in Europe. He also persuaded Japan to attack the US, promising them control of the East. For these qualities, Hitler might be assessed as having a high EQ.
Yet, Hitler was clearly lacking in empathy. Not only did he commit unspeakable horrors against the Jews in the Holocaust, but his ambitions visited great hardship on his own people when the War was lost. Germany was divided into two countries and its people faced another period of deprivation. Many psychologists would give him a low rating on both empathy and on self-regulation. So, it may be that a strong leader may need to possess only some of the 5 traits in the EQ spectrum, as long as their positive traits are of the highest order.
J. Robert Oppenheimer, who headed the Manhattan Project that built the first atomic bomb has been hailed by many as a remarkable leader. His ability to coalesce a group of brilliant prima donnas to a common purpose and deliver a successful result under a formidable timeline was a historic achievement. Yet, Oppenheimer struggled with his own identity, lacked self-awareness and was seen by some to lack personal skills. Yet, he was able to earn the respect of those he led because he was highly intelligent, and supportive of those who were working on the project.
So, if we analyze the personalities of a variety of leaders, we discover some EQ traits that are essential, such as strong motivation and some social skills, but a lot of leadership depends as much on the circumstances in which the leader surfaces. Winston Churchill provided outstanding leadership during World War II, but after peace was declared, he was voted out of office.
So it would seem that some EQ traits are important for leadership but the correlation between leadership ability and EQ is moderate. As Shakespeare observed in Twelfth Night, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon ’em.”
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