The Essential Competence for Leadership Excellence

In the increasingly demanding world of business, leaders need to have a range of skills knowledge and experience.  While all of these are vital foundations, what is clear is that success is no longer just about skills and expertise.  Interpersonal or emotional competence is considered to be the most important factor in determining leadership excellence.  Research undertaken by Daniel Goleman, the thought leader in Emotional Intelligence identified that softer skills are twice as important as intellect and expertise in achieving leadership excellence.

Goleman’s Emotional Competency framework is split into two broad areas:

1. Personal competence- how we manage ourselves

1. Social competence- how we manage others

Personal Competence

Our personal competence is all about how effective we are at managing ourselves.  It includes how much self awareness we have, our ability to self regulate our behaviour and our personal motivation.

In truth many people have never really spent much time building awareness of themselves and what makes them tick.  Imagine the insights that you could gain if you just spent a small amount of time on this area.

Social Competence

Social competence considers how well we handle relationships.  These days, it is hard to imagine many roles that are not highly dependent on relationships.  The success of any organisation is dependent on building relationships to secure business, manage challenges, overcome obstacles to name just a few.  Social competence is also about being aware of the feelings and concerns of others.  Imagine what a change program would be like if that element was missing.

Sadly many people struggle when they move into management and leadership roles, not because they lack skill or knowledge but because they lack the softer skills essential for success.  So what’s you next step in developing your emotional competence?