Ei Sust 1

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TITLE
“Great leaders are not heads down. Great leaders see around corners, shaping their future, not
just reacting to it”Roselinde Torres, 2014, TED Talk,"What Makes A Great Leader" In an
unpredictable present and facing an uncertain future, what might be a good portfolio of qualities
for a business leader hoping to grow a sustainable yet profitable business? Using relevant
literature, discuss.

Introduction
It is important to note that business leaders hoping to grow a sustainable , yet profitable
business need a specialised portfolio of skills and qualities . Sustainability and Corporate
Responsibility are important issues for organisations in the 21st century. Organisational leaders
must have forward thinking plans and visions for sustaining the planet within which they operate
as well as social responsibility towards its people through an emotionally laden process.
Emotional Intelligence (EI) has shown an impressive track record in efficiency and superior
performance of leaders in organisations that have adapted environmental, social and economic
sustainability strategies. Goleman (1998) identified a EI competence framework that outlines a
portfolio of skills that forward thinking leaders have. The key finding is that transformation takes
place more constructively when emotional intelligence is used . Further , Emotional Intelligence
have been identified as a key skill in building teams and channeling team efforts towards
sustainability .

This paper will argue that Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the key skill that leaders need for
the sustainability of our natural and socioeconomic environments.

Background
Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility are important issues for organisations in the 21st
century. The degradation of our environment through population growth, overconsumption and
waste of resources , global warming and the business pursuit of pure profits present great risk
for sustainability and makes the future of our planet look increasingly bleak.Hargreaves and
Fink argue that sustainability is not just about something that lasts. Sustainability looks at ways
of developing things or making things without compromising the development or survival of
other things in the environment . (Hargreaves & Fink 2000).
Monika Theilig Student number : 17656167 Subject Code : BUO5PSD
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The leaders of our organisations have to be the drivers for positive change, they need to be able
to lead in such a way that inspires people to think and behave in responsible ways for
sustainability.

Organisational leaders must have forward thinking plans and visions for sustaining the planet
within which they operate as well as social responsibility towards its people through an
emotionally laden process. Blachfellner stresses that company’s leaders need to radically
redefine their economic strategies if they want to foster sustainable living conditions on earth.
He adds that to act in a sustainably economic fashion , the company leaders and stakeholders
have to not only consider value creation for the company , but also for the environment and
society . (Blachfellner 2012). It is important to differentiate sustainability thinking form the
traditional protectionism thinking , in that sustainability thinking is proactive and strategic and is
based on the future. (Víctor et al. 2009) According to several authors , sustainable and
responsible behavior is not only based on rational decisions but ‘‘it is flanked and motivated by
emotions.’’ (Kals et al. 1999, p179 )

Emotional and Social Intelligence have shown an impressive track record in efficiency and
superior performance of leaders in organisations that have adapted environmental, social and
economic sustainability strategies.
After 20 years of research , EI was first presented in a framework in 1990 by Salovey and
Mayer. They define Emotional Intelligence as “...the ability to monitor one’s own and other’s
feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one’s
thinking and actions.” (Salovey & Mayer 1990 p186 ) They argue that Emotional Intelligence is
a subset of Social Intelligence and theirs is a widely used definition.

Cherniss (2010) explains that emotions play a role in everyday life and people have different
perceptions , understanding , use and management of emotions. . Boyatzis says that “EI
competency causes effective or superior performance because it is an ability to recognise,
understand and use emotional information about oneself and others. ” (Boyatzis & Ratti 2009, p
821 ) George goes on to say that leadership is an “emotion laden process”.(George 2000, p 53)
Intuitively EI is linked to the leadership process.
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EI has been studied across different organisational settings such as organisational leadership
(Mumford et al. 2000), emotional leadership (Zaccaro 2002) and transformational Leadership
(Bass & Riggio 2010). The key finding is that transformation takes place more constructively
when emotional intelligence is used for influence, inspiration, motivation and building
relationships with followers. Bass (2002, p78 ) notes that “It is clear that social and emotional
intelligences contribute to the frequency with which individual leaders are seen as
transformational.” Several studies done by Abraham and Roberts (Abraham 2005) indicate that
there is a strong correlation between leadership and EI. Research done by Walter ( 2011) found
that EI helps us better understand leadership behaviour and effectiveness.

Furnham and Petrides ( 2006) explains that EI firstly , carries on a timeless interest in
interpersonal skills, secondly EI is optimistic and positive, and thirdly it enables people with
lower IQ’s to succeed as leaders . Murphy et al (2006) agree with Furnham and say that people
with low or average IQ’s succeed in leading with EI sets of skills . Dess and Picken (2000) say
that smarter managers are not necessarily the answer when leading organisations towards
sustainability strategy. They argue that organisational leaders with a vision towards
sustainability must create and encourage. Both of these are ruled by Emotional Intelligence
skills .

The United Nations Global Compact initiative (Cetindamar 2007) is calling on leaders where
they are guiding and helping businesses to act responsibly and take action for a more
sustainable future. The call is to align strategies with universal principles on social development,
inequality, poverty, human rights, fair labour environments, ecological environment and
anticorruption. They want businesses to take action that advance societal goals . This requires
emotive and social skills such as self awareness, social awareness, self management and
Relationship management as cited by Boyatzis and Goleman (Goleman et al. 2002). Social and
Ecological Sustainability suggests a demand for emotions and evoking feelings and expressing
organisational goals with EI skills will drive performance. (Newman et al. 2010). Newman et al
(2010) say that tasks that require better emotional skills show stronger correlations with how
high EI scores and performance .
Goleman (1998) identified a EI competence framework that outlines a portfolio of skills that
forward thinking leaders need. The first is to be selfaware; once you become self aware you
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have the ability to see that you are part of the problem. This means that people in organisations
that have been denying that anything is wrong with the way that they are conducting business
and are not following sustainable and responsible strategies, realise that they are part of the
problem and have a paradigm shift. Recognising that you are part of the problem is the first
phase of moving towards change. The second is self management,in which phase you can
manage and control your thoughts and behaviour in a more socially responsible way . Emotional
self control , trust, adaptability and initiative are examples of self management skills. This could
mean seeing the opportunity to use alternative energy in the organisation which would have to
be initiated and managed. The third is social awareness; in this phase decisions are made with
empathy based on social and organisational responsibility. Emotions influence business
decisions and at this stage the Leaders realise that achievements are not only internal but
extend to outside the organisation. Lastly , in the Relationship management phase EIntelligent
leaders use their skills to develop and empathise with others to better understand and manage
all the stakeholders in the team , through conflict management, catalysing change, building
bonds, teamwork and collaboration via emotions.

Further , Emotional and Social Intelligence have been identified as key skills in building teams
and channeling team efforts towards sustainability . Northouse (2004) defined Leadership as
having a basis of four common themes which include having a process, having influence ,
occurring in groups and attaining a goal. He thus defines leadership as “a process whereby an
individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal” ( Northouse 2004).
To achieve this we need leaders that have a specific set of skills that enforce a culture of caring
and cooperation at all levels. EI is the key requirement for achieving cooperation and
successful team work . (Ordun & Beyhan Acar 2015) Prati et al (Prati et al. 2003) further add
that EI is critically important to effective leadership and team performance ,making it one of the
most notable social effectiveness constructs as teamwork is essential to achieve complex
sustainability objectives. Team work needs leaders with EI skills including good communication
skills, empathy, and innovation. EIntelligent leaders are capable of innovative thought and
creation. (Scott & Bruce 1994)

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Conclusion
Goleman ( 2002) said that EI matters more than IQ for leaders and this builds a strong case for
driving organisations towards ecological and social as well as economic sustainability. Although
cognition is important , it is not enough when relating to sustainable business thinking. Based on
all the research done on EI , sustainable business leadership can advance vision and action
through the emotive skills that are necessary to create participation and collaboration in teams.
Sustainability leadership is a social process that stems from relationships within groups and
group dynamics always require emotional understanding and management. This paper has
highlighted that EI has shown an impressive track record of efficiency and superior
performance in leaders that have adapted sustainability strategies. Further, EI has been
identified as a key skill in building teams and channeling team efforts towards sustainability. The
evidence is clear : the key skills that leaders need to carry organisations towards social,
environmental and economic sustainability are grounded in Emotional Intelligence.

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