Emotional Intelligence and it's Impact on Leadership Styles Essay

Emotional Intelligence and it's Impact on Leadership Styles - Essay Example Emotional intelligence Emotional Intelligence is a collective name for a set of social and emotional abilities which would help people to adapt to the routine demands and it is the ability to be more effective in relationships of varied nature (MacCann, Matthews, Zeidner, & Richards, 2004). Another definition of emotional intelligence is â€Å"the set of abilities that involves perceiving and reasoning abstractly with information that emerges from feelings† (Mandell and Phewanti ,2003) In a team environment, the role of emotional intelligence is turning to be of increased importance. Barling et al (157) has opined that the five characteristics of emotional intelligence includes, understanding other persons emotions; knowing to manage these emotions; emotional self control; empathy and management of relations. The application of these components in management has been a subject of research for several years. Emotional Intelligence and Transformational leadership Transformationa l leadership involves the leader motivating the team members to perform beyond the expected limits of performance (Sivanathan & Fekkan, 198). In general it has been opined that emotional intelligence is a prerequisite for any sustainable leadership model. It must be noted here that transformational leadership has been suggested to have sustained results than transactional leadership which is based on contingent rewards and other tangible benefits. Transformational leadership demands to a large extend the understanding of the followers’ emotions. In this context, the characteristics of emotional intelligence will compliment the functionalities of a transformational leader. According to Ashforth and Humphrey (1995), â€Å"emotions are an integral and inseparable part of everyday organizational life† (p. 97) . Thus a team environment will involve varied range of emotions. The skill to understand the other person’s emotions can be used to analyse the satisfaction an d the motivational requirements of the team members. This argument is supported by George (2000) as he opined that transformational leaders appraise and engage in emotions and they effectively use these emotions for the well being of the team. Moreover, emotional self control would help the leader to establish himself or herself as a role model for other to follow. Goleman (1998) has opined the need of emotional intelligence as a mandatory quality to be successful as leaders and that the transformational behaviors of leaders are directly proportional to the level of their emotional intelligence. Top Management & Emotional Intelligence The importance of emotional intelligence for a professional working at the top management level has been asserted by management experts. It has been opined that the importance of emotional intelligence increases with the increase in managerial responsibilities and one’s professional advances within the organization. The challenges of a leader in creases in multiple disciplines as the person climbs up the managerial ladder. This must be read together with the fact that, as the area of management broadens, the cultural and professional diversity also widens. This limits the scope of transactional style of leadership to be effective to have a sustainable leadership. There are several studies which analysed various levels of top management

American Imperialism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

American Imperialism - Essay Example The term imperialism is almost exclusively associated with colonial exploits of major European powers such as Britain, France and Germany in the West; and China and Japan in the East. Although a late joiner of the imperial club, the United States is by far the most dominant in this group. With the entity called the United States of America having emerged only toward the end of the eighteenth century, it was only in the subsequent centuries it meaningfully expressed its imperial goals. The perception of the United States as an imperialist state was first mooted in the early part of the nineteenth century and the outbreak of the Spanish-American war in 1898 confirmed this fact. Indeed, the final years of the 19th century saw the peaking of American imperialist aggression as it occupied Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippine Islands – the latter two eventually becoming American colonies. (Lens & Zinn, 2003) The early indicators of imperialist tendency can be found in the founding d ocuments of the country. Even luminaries such as Thomas Jefferson have articulated an imperialist vision for the United States in no unclear terms. The annexation of Louisiana in the eighteenth century is seen as the first act of this vision. ... Empire expansion was also projected as benign and compassionate, for Christian missionary work was invariably associated with it. Propaganda also had it that the standards of living of subjects of the empire will eventually rise. On the whole, imperialist enterprise was promoted using these vapid and empty slogans and motives. (Lens & Zinn, 2003) Recognizing the duplicity and dubiousness of these claims, intellectuals both within and outside the country started expressing their discontent. The ruthlessness and gruesomeness with which Filipino uprising was crushed evoked shock and anger among some of America's illustrious citizens including Andrew Carnegie and William James. It is in this context that they founded American Anti-Imperialist League in 1899. â€Å"We hold that the policy known as imperialism is hostile to liberty and tends toward militarism, an evil from which it has been our glory to be free. We regret that it has become necessary in the land of Washington and Lincoln to reaffirm that all men, of whatever race or color, are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We maintain that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. We insist that the subjugation of any people is "criminal aggression" and open disloyalty to the distinctive principles of our Government.† ( Platform of the American Anti-imperialist League, 1913, p.77) The League might have been promoted by well-known leaders of the American cultural landscape, but it had the backing of numerous lesser-known liberals. The identification of American foreign policy as imperialist might seem politically radical for a modern reader, but during the 19th century there was a vibrant Left-Liberal tradition in American political discourse. Trade unions could be