Critical Thinking 1

Critical Thinking Assignment

Simon Cheung
October 18, 2010

Summary of Goleman
 In the article “The Emotional Intelligence of Leaders”, Goleman (1998)

believed that “emotional intelligence” is paramount in leaders of modern

organizations; even more important than actual skills related to their job

functions. Since we are hardwired to feel, the author stated that it is

impossible to separate our emotions when we go to work. He articulated the

importance of self-awareness in leaders. Goleman suggested that “self-

awareness is essential to realistic self-assessment” (22), and self-awareness

also leads to self-confidence which is essential for leaders. However, unlike

regular intelligence that we are born with and cannot be changed, the author

explained several ways successful leaders can utilize emotion and develop

their emotional intelligence. He noted that leaders often lose their jobs if

they cannot lead or adapt to changes; both of these reasons are directly

related to emotions. His research in U.S. children discovered a positive

correlation between one’s ability and success in controlling his or her

emotions, particularly impulses, early on in childhood and his or her future

academic success. Furthermore, Goleman pointed out that optimism is a

vital emotional trait in leadership. It allowed optimists to handle rejections

and motivating others when there are setbacks in the organization. The

author suggested that even though emotional intelligence is important; it

has actually declined because we are spending less time in developing it in

recent years. The advent of digital communication and the accompanied

technologies means we are using less time to interact with one another on a

more personal level, he asserted. Moreover, Goleman concluded that leaders

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cannot be effective unless they understand emotions and utilize them to

their advantage, especially in the modern fast changing organizational

environment.

Summary of McCrimmon

In the article “Thought Leadership: a Radical Departure from

Traditional, Positional Leadership”, McCrimmon (2005) presented a new

leadership approached he termed “thought leadership.” (1065) He defined

thought leadership as “championing of new ideas.” (1066) McCrimmon used

a myriad of examples in different organizational environment to point out the

usefulness of thought leaders and one of his main points which is thought

leaders are not necessarily managers thus no managerial skills are even

required. Take it one step further, the author explained that thought leaders

do not even have to be in the same company, let alone inside the company’s

leadership structure. Since every person has the opportunity to become a

thought leader, McCrimmon noted, this type of leadership is not controlled

within any existing leadership positions and no appointment is necessary. He

indicated that thought leadership is neither not top-down nor bottom-up; it

has no particular directions within the organizational structure. The author

pointed out that these thought leaders can arise from anywhere, anytime in

an organization. McCrimmon used Martin Luther King as an example to show

that thought leaders can even be dead and continue to have effect.

McCrimmon explained the key features of thought leadership which mostly

centered on situation around innovation and new ideas; therefore, technical

skills of the leaders are more important actual interpersonal skills they

possess. He claimed that “emotional intelligence is not essential for thought

leadership” (1068). McCrimmon explained that the willingness or the urge

champion new ideas is not learned while traditional leadership skills that can

be learned. The author concluded that thought leadership best described

what really transpire in organizations that depends on new ideas or

innovations.

Discussion

Characteristics of any leader in any modern organizations might

include intelligence, confidence, optimism, inspiration, proficiency, and

communication. Goleman (1998) included many of these traits in his article

and explained how emotion intelligence relates to them. However, although

McCrimmon (2005) provided a myriad of examples of thought leadership in

different industries, he failed to link thought leadership to the common

characteristics one usually associated with leaders; therefore, I prefer

Goleman’s approach and his discourse on emotional intelligence. In this

discussion, I will point out why Goleman’s discussion is more convincing in

modern organizational environment.

First, Goleman correctly asserted that emotion is part of being human

thus cannot be separated out at workplace. Having understood the reality

that emotions do exist in the workplace, we can better understand the

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relationships between our emotions and emotional intelligence. This created

the basis of which one can develop emotional intelligence and utilize it to

lead others. While every leader should possess basic level of intelligence and

basic competency in their related field, not every leader have mastered their

emotions or have sufficiently developed their emotional intelligence. Since

many of the leadership traits often go together, understanding the

relationship between them can help leaders make improvement. For

example, a confident leader is often optimistic or an inspired leader is often

a great communicator. Goleman’s explanation of how one start with self-

awareness to self-assessment, then self-assessment leads to self-confidence

is an example of how these traits develop together. In the course of my

employment, I have the opportunity to interact with several government

agencies. Within those highly structured agencies, I can clearly observe that

leaders with higher emotional intelligence are more effective in getting

positive results. People in leadership positions that have lower emotional

intelligence are less likely to deliver positive outcomes even though they are

fully competent in their job.

Secondly, Goleman also correctly pointed out the effect of digital

communication and related technologies have on our emotional intelligence.

In my work, I was provided with a wide choice of communication methods.

However, I often prefer digital communications such as emails and instant

messages. While these methods may seem more convenient, there are also

less personal. Therefore, it is likely that I can go without talking to an actual

person for hours at a time. This is my personal example where the

opportunities to develop emotional intelligence can be limited by modern

communication technologies. Furthermore, Goleman suggested ways to

increase leaders’ emotional intelligence while traditional intelligence cannot

be readily increased. This part of the article is particular useful to both

current and prospective leaders. It provided insight that people can turn into

action to improve themselves.

On the other hand, although McCrimmon’s examples of thought

leadership were useful in explaining what thought leadership is; it did little to

convey how thought leaders came to be. Because he suggested that this

type of leaders can be anyone from anywhere, it is difficult to identify in the

present time. Many of the author’s examples can only be identified after the

fact. The example of Martin Luther King is particularly interesting because

Dr. King is undoubtedly a thought leader; however, I would assert that Dr.

King possesses great emotional intelligence before he became a thought

leader. I would suggest that without emotional intelligence and exceptional

interpersonal skills, Dr. King might not be as effective in delivering his

message.

While I concede that organizations where innovations are integral,

there are a lots of thoughts leaders. However, thought leaders are actually

necessary for those organizations. People that work with or within these

organizations often possesses those specialized skills, creative approaches

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and even the right personalities for them to become thought leaders. Since

the qualities of thought leaders cannot be developed, thought leaders can

only be identified and not developed. McCrimmon’s article did not provide

readers with adequate information on how to become effective thought

leaders or for organization how to acquire thought leaders.

In conclusion, both emotional intelligence and thought leaderships are

relatively modern concepts in management that provide unique insights.

While emotions play an important part in our lives, the unique quality of

thought leadership should not be easily discount; especially when

innovations and new ideas are important in many modern organizations.

However, Goleman provided a much actionable information that manager

and prospective managers can use to improve themselves to become more

effective leaders.
 References

Goleman, D. (1998). The emotional intelligence of leaders. Leader to Leader,

(10), 20-26. Retrieved from Business Source Complete database.

McCrimmon, M. (2005). Thought leadership: a radical departure from

traditional, positional leadership. Management Decision, 43(7/8), 1064-
1070. Retrieved October 14, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Global.
(Document ID: 914809821).