Leadership and Emotional Intelligence

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Discussion
Conclusion
Work Listed

Introduction

The word empathy is familiar to many English speakers; however, the meaning of this word is not obvious. This word is usually confused for sympathy or pity but it has a different meaning. Empathy is ability of a person to feel for another individual, to put oneself emotionally in the shoes of others and relate with their feeling. Unlike other animals, human beings live in a community and share in their lives. Empathy is very important to every human being but more to leaders. Soeren Palumbo’s speech on the use of the word “retarded” is a good insight importance of connecting with other people’s feelings.

Discussion

Everybody agree that leadership is very important for an organization, an institution or a country to achieve its goals. When speaking of leader, one thinks of a person who is able to take a front position to help others to move towards certain goals. Various qualities of leadership are mentioned when speaking of leadership such as charisma, objectiveness, transformation, translational and other qualities. However, the ability of a leader to relate with the feeling of their subjects is very important.

Being physically or mentally challenged of disabilities is not that an individual chooses (Wasserman, and Mahowald 121). These traits are acquired by individuals at birth without individual having a chance to agree or not. At the same time, no body chooses to be upright and mentally okay. In fact no body would choose to have problems; to be disabled, to have a bad relationship, to fall sick or to be poor. These problems befall us without our choice. However, the way people react or treat people with disabilities, those who are sick or those having challenged relations are sometimes inhumane.

Mentally handicapped is a group of people that are most discriminated in our society. The word, retard, used to refer to mentally handicapped individuals is one many discriminations vested against mentally challenged individuals. Soeren relates, in his speech, on how two young school girl use discriminative words against a mentally challenged individuals working at their school (Melissa 1). One of the girls shouts at the mentally handicapped referring to him as a retard. Such an action and attitude is very in human. The girls fails to see the mentally handicapped as a human but as an object. In deed, the girls need the windows to be clean but they can’t appreciate on the person making the windows to be clean. This scene is not unique, many peoples use insulting word of laugh at mentally handicapped and other individuals with disabilities.

Every body has feeling. Despite of sickness, mental or physical disabilities, each individual has an aspect of humanity. As Soeren confesses of his mentally handicapped sister, mental handicapped have capacity to love, to be affectionate and other qualities ignored by other people. Our discriminatory remarks, attitude actions, which lack empathy, toward such individuals deny them opportunity to live a full life. Our lack of empathy not only hurts the feeling of the discriminated individual but also of other individuals related to the individual (Melissa 2). As in Soeren’s case, the phrase, retarded used against his sister and other mentally handicapped brought pain to his heart. Such negative effect can be prevented by a little empathy. In fact, empathy is not hard to achieve; it only require one to relate with other people feelings and have self control.

In leadership, one has to work with many other individuals. It is always important for a leader to know that individuals being led have the same human qualities as the leader; they are not objects but individuals with feeling (Boyatziz, and Goleman 76). To be successful in leadership, it is important for a leader to be connected to the feeling of their subjects. Connecting with subjects’ feelings, empathy is not a weakness, as some leaders tend to think, however it help built trust.

It does not require much to be an empathetic leader. A leader only have to put himself in place of the individual involved (Boyatziz, and Goleman 92). The kind of words used should be controlled. When a person does something that is not expected, this does not mean that that person is an idiot; thus, such words should not be used. In assigning duties, punishing or any other role in leadership, it is important to cautious of the effect to the person involved.

Conclusion

Empathy is one virtue that everybody should have. Some people seem to be naturally empathetic but empathy need effort to acquire. Lack of empathy can lead to a lot of injustice against our fellow brothers and sisters. Apathy can lead to discrimination as demonstrated in Soeren speech. Use of the phrase “retarded” to refer to mentally handicapped is inhumane and discriminative. To be empathetic, it helps to overcome stereotypes and put oneself in another, place. In leadership, connecting with other people feelings is very important. This emotional intelligence technique not only helps to understand the subjects but also built trust and bond between a leader and subjects.

Work Listed

Boyatziz, Richard, and Goleman, Daniel. Primal leadership: learning to lead with emotional intelligence. New York: Harvard Business Press, 2004.

Melissa. Soeren Palumbo’s Eye Opening Speech On The Word “Retarded”. 2008. Web.

Wasserman, David, and Mahowald, Mary. Disability, difference, discrimination: perspectives on justice in bioethics and public policy. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 1998.

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Leadership and Emotional Intelligence

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