Understanding Emotional Intelligence

UNDERSTANDING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE:

Whether or not Emotional Intelligence is the sole indicator of a good leader, Team Blue recognizes the importance of having the ability to to manage oneself and one's relationships in mature and constructive ways. In order to better understand the five aspects of Emotional Intelligence from Daniel Goleman’s essay, What Makes a Leader?, we decided to analyze famous portraits, since they are one of the best ways to read into one’s emotional strengths and weaknesses.

SELF-AWARENESS: Epes Sargent, John Singleton Copley (c. 1760)

Before photography existed, portraiture was the only way to permanently capture your image. As a result, most sitters were painted in the most ideal form, making them look younger and more handsome or beautiful than they really were. In this portrait, Epes Sargent is realistic about his image. When looking closely at his hand, one notices that he has severe deformities. Instead of eliminating this feature, he holds it close to his heart and has it painted in full detail. He also looks his age, as he is painted with wrinkles. This gives Sargent an air of self-confidence, since he looks proud of his features. It also shows that he recognizes his weaknesses and almost has a sense of humor about this disability. 

SELF-REGULATION:  Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, Vincent Van Gogh (1889)

This is the famous portrait Van Gogh painted of himself right after cutting off his own ear. This incident occurred after Van Gogh was in an argument with revered painter, Paul Gaugin, and unable to manage his emotions, or deal with the ambiguity of being in a fight with a friend, Van Gogh cut off his earlobe. This tortured painter was obviously unable to think before he acted and was unable to effectively redirect his impulses and moods. 

SELF-MOTIVATION: George Washington, Gilbert Stuart (1796)

 

This portrait of George Washington represents motivation. First, his uniform and flag in background show his commitment to his organization. His confident stance, with his hand subtly placed on weaponry suggests he has willingness to achieve his goals with energy and persistence. Also, the dark clouds above show that there is an ominous threat of danger in the upcoming battles; however, Washington’s calm and serene visage shows that he is optimistic in the threat of failure.

EMPATHY: William Penn’s Treaty with the Indians, Benjamin West (1771)

This depiction of William Penn shows that he is empathetic when dealing with others. Penn’s central location, with his arms spread shows that he is open to and understanding of others’ ideas and emotions. In painting, the size of figures plays a huge role in their importance. Because all the men are of the same height, it shows that Penn sees everyone as equal and is sensitive to other cultures. The engaged group shows that Penn creates an environment in which people must understand others’ perspectives and take active interest in their concerns.

SOCIAL SKILLS: The Thinker, Thomas Eakins (1900)

In his late career, Thomas Eakins was known to paint very introverted and lonesome portraits. This particular one of Louis Kenton shows someone who lacks social skills. His refusal to make eye contact with the viewer suggests that he finds it difficult to connect with others, and is therefore unable to find common ground and relate to them, and most likely unable to build networks.  His downcast expression also indicates someone who is downtrodden and severely affected by change (perhaps the turn of the eighteenth century, as this was painted in 1900), not someone who is effective in leading change. These characteristic indicate that Louis Kenton would not be someone who has the social skills required to build and manage a team.  

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND LEADERSHIP:

Daniel Goleman also makes the argument that "without Emotional Intelligence...one won't make a good leader" (82). As a result, we wanted to test his theory and see how our Emotional Intelligences correlated with our leadership skills. In order to do this, we answered questions regarding leadership and compared them to the results of the Mcgraw-Hill Irwin Emotional Intelligence Assessment:

Questions:

1) Do you consider yourself a leader?

2) What leadership positions have you held?

3) What were the results of your Emotional Intelligence Assessment? 

Madeline:

1) Not really

2) Committee member of DESK

3) 76/100 indicating average Emotional Intelligence. I scored lowest in social skills and motivation, but have high self-awareness and management

Jesse:

1) No, In a group, I usually do not volunteer to be the leader, but I can lead if necessary.

2) High School Senior Class President

3) 76/100 - lack in self-motivation, high self-management, social skills

Drew:

1) Not really

2) Manager, Captain

3) 73/100. Lack self-motivation and social skills. High self-awareness and self-management 

Raquel:

1) I do consider myself a leader

2) Captain of the WFU Club equestrian team (this year and last year)

3) I scored a 63/100 on the EI.  I have a low self-management, but have a high self-awareness.

Carolyn:

1) Yes. Except in group situations, I tend to let someone else take leader

2) Vice president of Finance for my sorority

3) 74/100. High empathy and management, but need to "brush up" on self-awareness, motivation, and social skills.

Overall, our EI results definitely correlate with how we see ourselves as leaders. Most of us do not consider ourselves leaders, or let someone else be leader instead, which explains why we all had "average" EI