Why Emotional Leadership?

Those of us who deal with leadership development are familiar with a key set of skills. We talk about mission clarity, vision casting, and, goal setting. We work with new and experienced leaders to assess things like time management, boundary setting, and, family life balance. But how often do you stop to consider how well you are leading emotionally? 

Few of us have considered how emotional leadership extends beyond our personal life. This is one of the most critical and overlooked aspects of organizational health today. 

Emotional development is one of the most critical and overlooked aspects of organizational health.

Emotional development is an essential aspect of leadership effectiveness and will play a significant role in the health of your organization. I consider this to be a key part of organizational culture and it applies to all types of non-profit and for-profit companies. I believe that culture represents how your team works which includes both abstract concepts, like values, and concrete concepts, like systems. This intersection between abstract and concrete is a tricky one to pin down which is why many leaders neglect to properly cultivate a healthy team culture. Your ability to lead an emotionally healthy team is a key determinant of long term success.

Leaders are Followed

What you must understand is that an emotionally retarded leader cannot develop an emotionally mature team. Your emotional-leadership effects the emotional and spiritual maturity of others. Simply put: you can’t take people to a place where you are unwilling to go and you cannot ask others something you have not yet asked of yourself.

An emotionally retarded leader cannot develop an emotionally mature team. 

So I must ask you a very important question: how mature is your emotional leadership? I have been working through a book by Peter Scazzero titled, The Emotionally Healthy Church. He addresses key aspects of emotional leadership and helps readers assess their own development as an emotional-leader. This is a ministry book targeted at ministry leaders and I discovered several areas where I need to continue growing. 

Where I am Going

I ran through Scazzero’s assessment and discovered a few key areas that required attention. I have been working to develop and outline and series of next steps to apply what I have learned. These steps challenge me to:

1. Examine my past more honestly,
2. Assess who I am,
3. Take conflict head on,
4. Listen first, talk second,
5. Become a responsive listener,
6. Be content in my current work, and
7. Confidently reject new opportunities.

I have decided to process some of these questions openly with the hopes that it might inspire others to do the same. Some of these questions are deeply personal and I will strive to strike at an appropriate level of transparency. 

The roadmap includes weekly contemplation on the concepts listed above. I plan to process these ideas internally and let others in on the personal process. I hope you consider reading Scazzero’s book and developing yourself as an emotionally healthy leader. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it and I am honored that you might share an aspect of this journey with me.