Saturday, February 20, 2010

Emotional Intelligence

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Executive leadership skill differs from the leadership required at lower levels of organizations. First, executive leaders create and articulate visions. Second, executive leaders must lead people to engage in those visions. Research is clear that the emotional intelligence of leaders greatly influences their effectiveness in the latter task. Thus, emotional intelligence is a great career asset for motivated leaders.

I don't think there is enough emphasis place on the teaching of emotional intelligence in our schools (US and Mexico.) I certainly never experienced much of it in the Legion. The lack of this "intelligence" goes a long way to explaining the inadequate responses given by some Legionaries.... which may explain a lot about the Marcial Maciel debacle.

My book is not about Marcial Maciel, nor the Legion of Christ - rather, it relates my story and my experience with a narcissistic and charismatic leader. My editor says that "the book" will be of interest to general audiences who like to read auto-biographies, to the business community and to anyone who would like to know more about the early days of the Legion of Christ. Many of my postings here refer specifically to the Legion and to Marcial Maciel - both topics are incidental to my stories. They played a large part in shaping my company's approach to international management consulting and to the impact of culture on business decisions. Maybe that's why I value emotional intelligence so much and why it has become such an important part of my professional life.

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