www.hbr.org
BEST OF HBR 1998
IQ and technical skills are
What Makes a Leader?
important, but emotional
intelligence is the sine qua
non of leadership.
by Daniel Goleman
Reprint R0401H
IQ and technical skills are important, but emotional intelligence is the
sine qua non of leadership.
BEST OF HBR 1998
What Makes a Leader?
by Daniel Goleman
It was Daniel Goleman who first brought the Every businessperson knows a story about a
term  emotional intelligence to a wide audience highly intelligent, highly skilled executive
with his 1995 book of that name, and it was Gole- who was promoted into a leadership position
man who first applied the concept to business with only to fail at the job. And they also know a
his 1998 HBR article, reprinted here. In his research story about someone with solid but not ex-
at nearly 200 large, global companies, Goleman traordinary intellectual abilities and techni-
found that while the qualities traditionally associ- cal skills who was promoted into a similar po-
ated with leadership such as intelligence, tough- sition and then soared.
ness, determination, and vision are required for Such anecdotes support the widespread be-
success, they are insufficient. Truly effective leaders lief that identifying individuals with the  right
are also distinguished by a high degree of emotional stuff to be leaders is more art than science.
intelligence, which includes self-awareness, self-reg- After all, the personal styles of superb leaders
ulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill. vary: Some leaders are subdued and analytical;
These qualities may sound  soft and unbusi- others shout their manifestos from the moun-
nesslike, but Goleman found direct ties between taintops. And just as important, different situa-
emotional intelligence and measurable business re- tions call for different types of leadership.
sults. While emotional intelligence s relevance to Most mergers need a sensitive negotiator at
business has continued to spark debate over the the helm, whereas many turnarounds require
past six years, Goleman s article remains the defini- a more forceful authority.
tive reference on the subject, with a description of I have found, however, that the most effec-
each component of emotional intelligence and a de- tive leaders are alike in one crucial way: They
tailed discussion of how to recognize it in potential all have a high degree of what has come to be
leaders, how and why it connects to performance, known as emotional intelligence. It s not that IQ
and how it can be learned. and technical skills are irrelevant. They do
harvard business review " january 2004 page 1
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What Makes a Leader? " BEST OF HBR 1998
matter, but mainly as  threshold capabilities ; ers at senior levels within their organizations
that is, they are the entry-level requirements from the average ones. Those individuals were
for executive positions. But my research, along then extensively interviewed and tested, and
with other recent studies, clearly shows that their capabilities were compared. This process
emotional intelligence is the sine qua non of resulted in the creation of lists of ingredients
leadership. Without it, a person can have the for highly effective leaders. The lists ranged in
best training in the world, an incisive, analyti- length from seven to 15 items and included
cal mind, and an endless supply of smart ideas, such ingredients as initiative and strategic vi-
but he still won t make a great leader. sion.
In the course of the past year, my colleagues When I analyzed all this data, I found dra-
and I have focused on how emotional intelli- matic results. To be sure, intellect was a driver
gence operates at work. We have examined of outstanding performance. Cognitive skills
the relationship between emotional intelli- such as big-picture thinking and long-term vi-
gence and effective performance, especially in sion were particularly important. But when I
leaders. And we have observed how emotional calculated the ratio of technical skills, IQ, and
intelligence shows itself on the job. How can emotional intelligence as ingredients of excel-
you tell if someone has high emotional intelli- lent performance, emotional intelligence
gence, for example, and how can you recog- proved to be twice as important as the others
nize it in yourself? In the following pages, we ll for jobs at all levels.
explore these questions, taking each of the Moreover, my analysis showed that emo-
components of emotional intelligence self- tional intelligence played an increasingly im-
awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empa- portant role at the highest levels of the com-
thy, and social skill in turn. pany, where differences in technical skills are
of negligible importance. In other words, the
higher the rank of a person considered to be a
Evaluating Emotional Intelligence
Most large companies today have employed star performer, the more emotional intelli-
trained psychologists to develop what are gence capabilities showed up as the reason for
known as  competency models to aid them in his or her effectiveness. When I compared star
identifying, training, and promoting likely performers with average ones in senior leader-
stars in the leadership firmament. The psy- ship positions, nearly 90% of the difference in
chologists have also developed such models their profiles was attributable to emotional in-
for lower-level positions. And in recent years, I telligence factors rather than cognitive abili-
have analyzed competency models from 188 ties.
companies, most of which were large and glo- Other researchers have confirmed that
bal and included the likes of Lucent Technolo- emotional intelligence not only distinguishes
gies, British Airways, and Credit Suisse. outstanding leaders but can also be linked to
In carrying out this work, my objective was strong performance. The findings of the late
to determine which personal capabilities drove David McClelland, the renowned researcher in
outstanding performance within these organi- human and organizational behavior, are a
zations, and to what degree they did so. I good example. In a 1996 study of a global food
grouped capabilities into three categories: and beverage company, McClelland found
purely technical skills like accounting and busi- that when senior managers had a critical mass
ness planning; cognitive abilities like analytical of emotional intelligence capabilities, their di-
Daniel Goleman is the author of Emo-
reasoning; and competencies demonstrating visions outperformed yearly earnings goals by
tional Intelligence (Bantam, 1995) and
emotional intelligence, such as the ability to 20%. Meanwhile, division leaders without that
a coauthor of Primal Leadership: Real-
work with others and effectiveness in leading critical mass underperformed by almost the
izing the Power of Emotional Intelli-
change. same amount. McClelland s findings, interest-
gence (Harvard Business School, 2002).
To create some of the competency models, ingly, held as true in the company s U.S. divi-
He is the cochairman of the Consor-
psychologists asked senior managers at the sions as in its divisions in Asia and Europe.
tium for Research on Emotional Intelli-
companies to identify the capabilities that typ- In short, the numbers are beginning to tell
gence in Organizations, which is based
ified the organization s most outstanding lead- us a persuasive story about the link between a
at Rutgers University s Graduate School
ers. To create other models, the psychologists company s success and the emotional intelli-
of Applied and Professional Psychology
used objective criteria, such as a division s gence of its leaders. And just as important, re-
in Piscataway, New Jersey. He can be
profitability, to differentiate the star perform- search is also demonstrating that people can, if
reached at [e-mail].
harvard business review " january 2004 page 2
What Makes a Leader? " BEST OF HBR 1998
they take the right approach, develop their away from the real work that needs to be
emotional intelligence. (See the sidebar  Can done, she might explain. And she will go one
Emotional Intelligence Be Learned? ) step further and turn her anger into something
constructive.
Self-awareness extends to a person s under-
Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is the first component of emo- standing of his or her values and goals. Some-
tional intelligence which makes sense when one who is highly self-aware knows where he is
one considers that the Delphic oracle gave the headed and why; so, for example, he will be
advice to  know thyself thousands of years able to be firm in turning down a job offer that
ago. Self-awareness means having a deep un- is tempting financially but does not fit with his
derstanding of one s emotions, strengths, principles or long-term goals. A person who
weaknesses, needs, and drives. People with lacks self-awareness is apt to make decisions
strong self-awareness are neither overly criti- that bring on inner turmoil by treading on bur-
cal nor unrealistically hopeful. Rather, they ied values.  The money looked good so I
are honest with themselves and with others. signed on, someone might say two years into
People who have a high degree of self- a job,  but the work means so little to me that
awareness recognize how their feelings affect I m constantly bored. The decisions of self-
them, other people, and their job perfor- aware people mesh with their values; conse-
mance. Thus, a self-aware person who knows quently, they often find work to be energizing.
that tight deadlines bring out the worst in him How can one recognize self-awareness?
plans his time carefully and gets his work done First and foremost, it shows itself as candor
well in advance. Another person with high self- and an ability to assess oneself realistically.
awareness will be able to work with a demand- People with high self-awareness are able to
ing client. She will understand the client s im- speak accurately and openly although not
pact on her moods and the deeper reasons for necessarily effusively or confessionally
her frustration.  Their trivial demands take us about their emotions and the impact they
The Five Components of Emotional Intelligence at Work
Hallmarks
Definition
the ability to recognize and understand your self-confidence
Self-Awareness
moods, emotions, and drives, as well as their
realistic self-assessment
effect on others
self-deprecating sense of humor
the ability to control or redirect disruptive impulses trustworthiness and integrity
Self-Regulation
and moods
comfort with ambiguity
the propensity to suspend judgment  to think
openness to change
before acting
a passion to work for reasons that go beyond strong drive to achieve
Motivation
money or status
optimism, even in the face of failure
a propensity to pursue goals with energy and
organizational commitment
persistence
the ability to understand the emotional makeup expertise in building and retaining talent
Empathy
of other people
cross-cultural sensitivity
skill in treating people according to their emotional
service to clients and customers
reactions
proficiency in managing relationships and building effectiveness in leading change
Social Skill
networks
persuasiveness
an ability to find common ground and build rapport
expertise in building and leading teams
harvard business review " january 2004 page 3
Copyright © 2003 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.
What Makes a Leader? " BEST OF HBR 1998
Can Emotional Intelligence Be Learned?
For ages, people have debated if lead- the Consortium for Research on given subject did not mesh with his,
ers are born or made. So too goes the Emotional Intelligence in Organiza- they, too, were frightened of him.
debate about emotional intelligence. tions has shown they can even have Enlisting the help of a coach, the
Are people born with certain levels of a negative impact on people s job per- executive went to work to heighten his
empathy, for example, or do they ac- formance. empathy through practice and feed-
quire empathy as a result of life s expe- To enhance emotional intelligence, back. His first step was to take a vaca-
riences? The answer is both. Scientific organizations must refocus their tion to a foreign country where he did
inquiry strongly suggests that there is training to include the limbic system. not speak the language. While there,
a genetic component to emotional in- They must help people break old be- he monitored his reactions to the unfa-
telligence. Psychological and develop- havioral habits and establish new miliar and his openness to people who
mental research indicates that nurture ones. That not only takes much more were different from him. When he re-
plays a role as well. How much of each time than conventional training pro- turned home, humbled by his week
perhaps will never be known, but re- grams, it also requires an individual- abroad, the executive asked his coach
search and practice clearly demon- ized approach. to shadow him for parts of the day, sev-
strate that emotional intelligence can Imagine an executive who is eral times a week, to critique how he
be learned. thought to be low on empathy by her treated people with new or different
One thing is certain: Emotional in- colleagues. Part of that deficit shows it- perspectives. At the same time, he con-
telligence increases with age. There is self as an inability to listen; she inter- sciously used on-the-job interactions
an old-fashioned word for the phenom- rupts people and doesn t pay close at- as opportunities to practice  hearing
enon: maturity. Yet even with matu- tention to what they re saying. To fix ideas that differed from his. Finally,
rity, some people still need training to the problem, the executive needs to be the executive had himself videotaped
enhance their emotional intelligence. motivated to change, and then she in meetings and asked those who
Unfortunately, far too many training needs practice and feedback from oth- worked for and with him to critique his
programs that intend to build leader- ers in the company. A colleague or ability to acknowledge and understand
ship skills including emotional intel- coach could be tapped to let the execu- the feelings of others. It took several
ligence are a waste of time and tive know when she has been observed months, but the executive s emotional
money. The problem is simple: They failing to listen. She would then have intelligence did ultimately rise, and
focus on the wrong part of the brain. to replay the incident and give a better the improvement was reflected in his
Emotional intelligence is born response; that is, demonstrate her abil- overall performance on the job.
largely in the neurotransmitters of the ity to absorb what others are saying. It s important to emphasize that
brain s limbic system, which governs And the executive could be directed to building one s emotional intelligence
feelings, impulses, and drives. Re- observe certain executives who listen cannot will not happen without
search indicates that the limbic system well and to mimic their behavior. sincere desire and concerted effort. A
learns best through motivation, ex- With persistence and practice, such brief seminar won t help; nor can one
tended practice, and feedback. Com- a process can lead to lasting results. I buy a how-to manual. It is much
pare this with the kind of learning that know one Wall Street executive who harder to learn to empathize to inter-
goes on in the neocortex, which gov- sought to improve his empathy spe- nalize empathy as a natural response
erns analytical and technical ability. cifically his ability to read people s re- to people than it is to become adept
The neocortex grasps concepts and actions and see their perspectives. Be- at regression analysis. But it can be
logic. It is the part of the brain that fig- fore beginning his quest, the done.  Nothing great was ever
ures out how to use a computer or executive s subordinates were terrified achieved without enthusiasm, wrote
make a sales call by reading a book. of working with him. People even went Ralph Waldo Emerson. If your goal is
Not surprisingly but mistakenly it so far as to hide bad news from him. to become a real leader, these words
is also the part of the brain targeted by Naturally, he was shocked when finally can serve as a guidepost in your efforts
most training programs aimed at en- confronted with these facts. He went to develop high emotional intelli-
hancing emotional intelligence. When home and told his family but they gence.
such programs take, in effect, a neo- only confirmed what he had heard at
cortical approach, my research with work. When their opinions on any
harvard business review " january 2004 page 4
What Makes a Leader? " BEST OF HBR 1998
have on their work. For instance, one man- look for potential leaders. Many executives
ager I know of was skeptical about a new per- mistake candor about feelings for  wimpiness
sonal-shopper service that her company, a and fail to give due respect to employees who
major department-store chain, was about to openly acknowledge their shortcomings. Such
introduce. Without prompting from her team people are too readily dismissed as  not tough
or her boss, she offered them an explanation: enough to lead others.
 It s hard for me to get behind the rollout of In fact, the opposite is true. In the first
this service, she admitted,  because I really place, people generally admire and respect
wanted to run the project, but I wasn t se- candor. Furthermore, leaders are constantly
lected. Bear with me while I deal with that. required to make judgment calls that require a
The manager did indeed examine her feelings; candid assessment of capabilities their own
a week later, she was supporting the project and those of others. Do we have the manage-
fully. ment expertise to acquire a competitor? Can
Such self-knowledge often shows itself in we launch a new product within six months?
the hiring process. Ask a candidate to describe People who assess themselves honestly that
a time he got carried away by his feelings and is, self-aware people are well suited to do the
did something he later regretted. Self-aware same for the organizations they run.
candidates will be frank in admitting to fail-
ure and will often tell their tales with a smile.
Self-Regulation
One of the hallmarks of self-awareness is a self- Biological impulses drive our emotions. We
deprecating sense of humor. cannot do away with them but we can do
Self-awareness can also be identified during much to manage them. Self-regulation, which
performance reviews. Self-aware people is like an ongoing inner conversation, is the
know and are comfortable talking about component of emotional intelligence that
their limitations and strengths, and they often frees us from being prisoners of our feelings.
demonstrate a thirst for constructive criticism. People engaged in such a conversation feel
By contrast, people with low self-awareness in- bad moods and emotional impulses just as ev-
terpret the message that they need to improve eryone else does, but they find ways to control
as a threat or a sign of failure. them and even to channel them in useful
Self-aware people can also be recognized by ways.
their self-confidence. They have a firm grasp of Imagine an executive who has just watched
their capabilities and are less likely to set a team of his employees present a botched
themselves up to fail by, for example, over- analysis to the company s board of directors.
stretching on assignments. They know, too, In the gloom that follows, the executive might
when to ask for help. And the risks they take find himself tempted to pound on the table in
on the job are calculated. They won t ask for a anger or kick over a chair. He could leap up
challenge that they know they can t handle and scream at the group. Or he might main-
alone. They ll play to their strengths. tain a grim silence, glaring at everyone before
Consider the actions of a midlevel em- stalking off.
ployee who was invited to sit in on a strategy But if he had a gift for self-regulation, he
meeting with her company s top executives. would choose a different approach. He would
Although she was the most junior person in pick his words carefully, acknowledging the
the room, she did not sit there quietly, listen- team s poor performance without rushing to
ing in awestruck or fearful silence. She knew any hasty judgment. He would then step back
she had a head for clear logic and the skill to to consider the reasons for the failure. Are
present ideas persuasively, and she offered co- they personal a lack of effort? Are there any
gent suggestions about the company s strat- mitigating factors? What was his role in the de-
egy. At the same time, her self-awareness bacle? After considering these questions, he
stopped her from wandering into territory would call the team together, lay out the inci-
where she knew she was weak. dent s consequences, and offer his feelings
Despite the value of having self-aware peo- about it. He would then present his analysis of
ple in the workplace, my research indicates the problem and a well-considered solution.
that senior executives don t often give self- Why does self-regulation matter so much
awareness the credit it deserves when they for leaders? First of all, people who are in con-
harvard business review " january 2004 page 5
What Makes a Leader? " BEST OF HBR 1998
trol of their feelings and impulses that is, portunity presents itself, and people with low
people who are reasonable are able to create impulse control just say yes.
an environment of trust and fairness. In such By contrast, consider the behavior of the se-
an environment, politics and infighting are nior executive at a large food company. The
sharply reduced and productivity is high. Tal- executive was scrupulously honest in his nego-
ented people flock to the organization and tiations with local distributors. He would rou-
aren t tempted to leave. And self-regulation tinely lay out his cost structure in detail,
has a trickle-down effect. No one wants to be thereby giving the distributors a realistic un-
known as a hothead when the boss is known derstanding of the company s pricing. This ap-
for her calm approach. Fewer bad moods at proach meant the executive couldn t always
the top mean fewer throughout the organiza- drive a hard bargain. Now, on occasion, he felt
tion. the urge to increase profits by withholding in-
Second, self-regulation is important for formation about the company s costs. But he
competitive reasons. Everyone knows that challenged that impulse he saw that it made
business today is rife with ambiguity and more sense in the long run to counteract it. His
change. Companies merge and break apart emotional self-regulation paid off in strong,
regularly. Technology transforms work at a lasting relationships with distributors that ben-
dizzying pace. People who have mastered their efited the company more than any short-term
emotions are able to roll with the changes. financial gains would have.
When a new program is announced, they don t The signs of emotional self-regulation,
panic; instead, they are able to suspend judg- therefore, are easy to see: a propensity for re-
ment, seek out information, and listen to the flection and thoughtfulness; comfort with am-
executives as they explain the new program. biguity and change; and integrity an ability
As the initiative moves forward, these people to say no to impulsive urges.
are able to move with it. Like self-awareness, self-regulation often
Sometimes they even lead the way. Con- does not get its due. People who can master
sider the case of a manager at a large manufac- their emotions are sometimes seen as cold
turing company. Like her colleagues, she had fish their considered responses are taken as a
used a certain software program for five years. lack of passion. People with fiery tempera-
The program drove how she collected and re- ments are frequently thought of as  classic
ported data and how she thought about the leaders their outbursts are considered hall-
company s strategy. One day, senior executives marks of charisma and power. But when such
announced that a new program was to be in- people make it to the top, their impulsiveness
stalled that would radically change how infor- often works against them. In my research, ex-
mation was gathered and assessed within the treme displays of negative emotion have never
organization. While many people in the com- emerged as a driver of good leadership.
pany complained bitterly about how disrup-
tive the change would be, the manager mulled
Motivation
over the reasons for the new program and was If there is one trait that virtually all effective
convinced of its potential to improve perfor- leaders have, it is motivation. They are driven
mance. She eagerly attended training ses- to achieve beyond expectations their own
sions some of her colleagues refused to do and everyone else s. The key word here is
so and was eventually promoted to run sev- achieve. Plenty of people are motivated by ex-
eral divisions, in part because she used the new ternal factors, such as a big salary or the status
technology so effectively. that comes from having an impressive title or
I want to push the importance of self-regu- being part of a prestigious company. By con-
lation to leadership even further and make the trast, those with leadership potential are moti-
case that it enhances integrity, which is not vated by a deeply embedded desire to achieve
only a personal virtue but also an organiza- for the sake of achievement.
tional strength. Many of the bad things that If you are looking for leaders, how can you
happen in companies are a function of impul- identify people who are motivated by the drive
sive behavior. People rarely plan to exaggerate to achieve rather than by external rewards?
profits, pad expense accounts, dip into the till, The first sign is a passion for the work itself
or abuse power for selfish ends. Instead, an op- such people seek out creative challenges, love
harvard business review " january 2004 page 6
What Makes a Leader? " BEST OF HBR 1998
to learn, and take great pride in a job well nosedive on circumstances outside their con-
done. They also display an unflagging energy trol; others might have seen the setback as evi-
to do things better. People with such energy dence of personal failure. This portfolio man-
often seem restless with the status quo. They ager, however, saw an opportunity to prove
are persistent with their questions about why she could lead a turnaround. Two years later,
things are done one way rather than another; when she was promoted to a very senior level
they are eager to explore new approaches to in the company, she described the experience
their work. as  the best thing that ever happened to me; I
A cosmetics company manager, for exam- learned so much from it.
ple, was frustrated that he had to wait two Executives trying to recognize high levels of
weeks to get sales results from people in the achievement motivation in their people can
field. He finally tracked down an automated look for one last piece of evidence: commit-
phone system that would beep each of his ment to the organization. When people love
salespeople at 5 pm every day. An automated their jobs for the work itself, they often feel
message then prompted them to punch in committed to the organizations that make that
their numbers how many calls and sales they work possible. Committed employees are
had made that day. The system shortened the likely to stay with an organization even when
feedback time on sales results from weeks to they are pursued by headhunters waving
hours. money.
That story illustrates two other common It s not difficult to understand how and why
traits of people who are driven to achieve. a motivation to achieve translates into strong
They are forever raising the performance bar, leadership. If you set the performance bar high
and they like to keep score. Take the perfor- for yourself, you will do the same for the orga-
mance bar first. During performance reviews, nization when you are in a position to do so.
people with high levels of motivation might Likewise, a drive to surpass goals and an inter-
ask to be  stretched by their superiors. Of est in keeping score can be contagious. Leaders
course, an employee who combines self-aware- with these traits can often build a team of
ness with internal motivation will recognize managers around them with the same traits.
her limits but she won t settle for objectives And of course, optimism and organizational
that seem too easy to fulfill. commitment are fundamental to leadership
And it follows naturally that people who are just try to imagine running a company without
driven to do better also want a way of tracking them.
progress their own, their team s, and their
company s. Whereas people with low achieve- Empathy
ment motivation are often fuzzy about results, Of all the dimensions of emotional intelli-
those with high achievement motivation often gence, empathy is the most easily recognized.
keep score by tracking such hard measures as We have all felt the empathy of a sensitive
profitability or market share. I know of a teacher or friend; we have all been struck by
money manager who starts and ends his day its absence in an unfeeling coach or boss. But
on the Internet, gauging the performance of when it comes to business, we rarely hear peo-
his stock fund against four industry-set bench- ple praised, let alone rewarded, for their em-
marks. pathy. The very word seems unbusinesslike,
Interestingly, people with high motivation out of place amid the tough realities of the
remain optimistic even when the score is marketplace.
against them. In such cases, self-regulation But empathy doesn t mean a kind of  I m
combines with achievement motivation to OK, you re OK mushiness. For a leader, that
overcome the frustration and depression that is, it doesn t mean adopting other people s
come after a setback or failure. Take the case emotions as one s own and trying to please ev-
of an another portfolio manager at a large in- erybody. That would be a nightmare it
vestment company. After several successful would make action impossible. Rather, empa-
years, her fund tumbled for three consecutive thy means thoughtfully considering employ-
quarters, leading three large institutional cli- ees feelings along with other factors in the
ents to shift their business elsewhere. process of making intelligent decisions.
Some executives would have blamed the For an example of empathy in action, con-
harvard business review " january 2004 page 7
What Makes a Leader? " BEST OF HBR 1998
sider what happened when two giant broker- people to speak more openly about their frus-
age companies merged, creating redundant trations, and she helped people raise construc-
jobs in all their divisions. One division man- tive complaints during meetings. In short, her
ager called his people together and gave a empathy allowed her to understand her team s
gloomy speech that emphasized the number of emotional makeup. The result was not just
people who would soon be fired. The manager heightened collaboration among members but
of another division gave his people a different also added business, as the team was called on
kind of speech. He was up-front about his own for help by a wider range of internal clients.
worry and confusion, and he promised to keep Globalization is another reason for the ris-
people informed and to treat everyone fairly. ing importance of empathy for business lead-
The difference between these two manag- ers. Cross-cultural dialogue can easily lead to
ers was empathy. The first manager was too miscues and misunderstandings. Empathy is
worried about his own fate to consider the an antidote. People who have it are attuned to
feelings of his anxiety-stricken colleagues. The subtleties in body language; they can hear the
second knew intuitively what his people were message beneath the words being spoken. Be-
feeling, and he acknowledged their fears with yond that, they have a deep understanding of
his words. Is it any surprise that the first man- both the existence and the importance of cul-
ager saw his division sink as many demoralized tural and ethnic differences.
people, especially the most talented, departed? Consider the case of an American consult-
By contrast, the second manager continued to ant whose team had just pitched a project to a
be a strong leader, his best people stayed, and potential Japanese client. In its dealings with
his division remained as productive as ever. Americans, the team was accustomed to being
Empathy is particularly important today as bombarded with questions after such a pro-
a component of leadership for at least three posal, but this time it was greeted with a long
reasons: the increasing use of teams; the rapid silence. Other members of the team, taking
pace of globalization; and the growing need to the silence as disapproval, were ready to pack
retain talent. and leave. The lead consultant gestured them
Consider the challenge of leading a team. to stop. Although he was not particularly fa-
As anyone who has ever been a part of one can miliar with Japanese culture, he read the cli-
attest, teams are cauldrons of bubbling emo- ent s face and posture and sensed not rejection
tions. They are often charged with reaching a but interest even deep consideration. He was
consensus which is hard enough with two right: When the client finally spoke, it was to
people and much more difficult as the num- give the consulting firm the job.
bers increase. Even in groups with as few as Finally, empathy plays a key role in the re-
four or five members, alliances form and clash- tention of talent, particularly in today s infor-
ing agendas get set. A team s leader must be mation economy. Leaders have always needed
able to sense and understand the viewpoints of empathy to develop and keep good people, but
everyone around the table. today the stakes are higher. When good people
That s exactly what a marketing manager at leave, they take the company s knowledge
a large information technology company was with them.
able to do when she was appointed to lead a That s where coaching and mentoring come
troubled team. The group was in turmoil, over- in. It has repeatedly been shown that coaching
loaded by work and missing deadlines. Ten- and mentoring pay off not just in better per-
sions were high among the members. Tinker- formance but also in increased job satisfaction
ing with procedures was not enough to bring and decreased turnover. But what makes
the group together and make it an effective coaching and mentoring work best is the na-
part of the company. ture of the relationship. Outstanding coaches
So the manager took several steps. In a se- and mentors get inside the heads of the people
ries of one-on-one sessions, she took the time they are helping. They sense how to give effec-
to listen to everyone in the group what was tive feedback. They know when to push for
frustrating them, how they rated their col- better performance and when to hold back. In
leagues, whether they felt they had been ig- the way they motivate their protégés, they
nored. And then she directed the team in a demonstrate empathy in action.
way that brought it together: She encouraged In what is probably sounding like a refrain,
harvard business review " january 2004 page 8
What Makes a Leader? " BEST OF HBR 1998
let me repeat that empathy doesn t get much plea, for instance, and when an appeal to rea-
respect in business. People wonder how lead- son will work better. And motivation, when
ers can make hard decisions if they are  feel- publicly visible, makes such people excellent
ing for all the people who will be affected. collaborators; their passion for the work
But leaders with empathy do more than sym- spreads to others, and they are driven to find
pathize with people around them: They use solutions.
their knowledge to improve their companies But sometimes social skill shows itself in
in subtle but important ways. ways the other emotional intelligence compo-
nents do not. For instance, socially skilled peo-
ple may at times appear not to be working
Social Skill
The first three components of emotional intel- while at work. They seem to be idly schmooz-
ligence are self-management skills. The last ing chatting in the hallways with colleagues
two, empathy and social skill, concern a per- or joking around with people who are not
son s ability to manage relationships with oth- even connected to their  real jobs. Socially
ers. As a component of emotional intelligence, skilled people, however, don t think it makes
social skill is not as simple as it sounds. It s not sense to arbitrarily limit the scope of their rela-
just a matter of friendliness, although people tionships. They build bonds widely because
with high levels of social skill are rarely mean- they know that in these fluid times, they may
spirited. Social skill, rather, is friendliness with need help someday from people they are just
a purpose: moving people in the direction you getting to know today.
desire, whether that s agreement on a new For example, consider the case of an execu-
marketing strategy or enthusiasm about a new tive in the strategy department of a global
product. computer manufacturer. By 1993, he was con-
Socially skilled people tend to have a wide vinced that the company s future lay with the
circle of acquaintances, and they have a knack Internet. Over the course of the next year, he
for finding common ground with people of all found kindred spirits and used his social skill to
kinds a knack for building rapport. That stitch together a virtual community that cut
doesn t mean they socialize continually; it across levels, divisions, and nations. He then
means they work according to the assumption used this de facto team to put up a corporate
that nothing important gets done alone. Such Web site, among the first by a major company.
people have a network in place when the time And, on his own initiative, with no budget or
for action comes. formal status, he signed up the company to
Social skill is the culmination of the other participate in an annual Internet industry con-
dimensions of emotional intelligence. People vention. Calling on his allies and persuading
tend to be very effective at managing relation- various divisions to donate funds, he recruited
ships when they can understand and control more than 50 people from a dozen different
their own emotions and can empathize with units to represent the company at the conven-
the feelings of others. Even motivation con- tion.
tributes to social skill. Remember that people Management took notice: Within a year of
who are driven to achieve tend to be optimis- the conference, the executive s team formed
tic, even in the face of setbacks or failure. the basis for the company s first Internet divi-
When people are upbeat, their  glow is cast sion, and he was formally put in charge of it.
upon conversations and other social encoun- To get there, the executive had ignored con-
ters. They are popular, and for good reason. ventional boundaries, forging and maintaining
Because it is the outcome of the other di- connections with people in every corner of the
mensions of emotional intelligence, social skill organization.
is recognizable on the job in many ways that Is social skill considered a key leadership ca-
will by now sound familiar. Socially skilled pability in most companies? The answer is yes,
people, for instance, are adept at managing especially when compared with the other com-
teams that s their empathy at work. Like- ponents of emotional intelligence. People
wise, they are expert persuaders a manifesta- seem to know intuitively that leaders need to
tion of self-awareness, self-regulation, and em- manage relationships effectively; no leader is
pathy combined. Given those skills, good an island. After all, the leader s task is to get
persuaders know when to make an emotional work done through other people, and social
harvard business review " january 2004 page 9
What Makes a Leader? " BEST OF HBR 1998
skill makes that possible. A leader who cannot  need to have.
express her empathy may as well not have it at It is fortunate, then, that emotional intelli-
all. And a leader s motivation will be useless if gence can be learned. The process is not easy.
he cannot communicate his passion to the or- It takes time and, most of all, commitment.
ganization. Social skill allows leaders to put But the benefits that come from having a well-
their emotional intelligence to work. developed emotional intelligence, both for the
It would be foolish to assert that good-old- individual and for the organization, make it
fashioned IQ and technical ability are not im- worth the effort.
portant ingredients in strong leadership. But
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Further Reading
What Makes a Leader? is also part of the
Harvard Business Review OnPoint collection
Best of HBR on Leadership: Emotionally
Harvard Business Review OnPoint
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Great Performance
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Harvard Business Review
July August 2000
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