The Intersections of Leadership and Emotions : Lessons and Actions Leading to Change

Emotions affect us, and they affect our work. Yet there is a tendency to view the role of emotion in leadership as something that must be under control and out of sight. This presents a gap in leadership practice. Emotional intelligence is one tool for capitalizing on the powerful role of emotions in human interactions for more effective leadership. In this article, we describe the relation-ship between emotions and leadership. We present findings based on data collected from participants in a recently implemented emotional intelligence leader development workshop aimed to increase participants’ understanding of emotional intelligence and improve their emotional intelligence skills toward the generation of positive organizational change