Emotional intelligence plays key role for leaders Published Oct. 10, 2014 By Master Sgt. Francisco Zamorano Airman Leadership School Commandant TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- "Check your emotions at the door," is something that you may have heard throughout your career from different supervisors. Not only is that unrealistic, it's impossible. Every day you wake up with some sort of emotion and those emotions are tied to the things that are happening in and around your life. Whether those emotions are happy, sad, content or ecstatic, all of the great leaders I remember had the ability to positively influence others by using their emotional intelligence. They figured out what some leaders never do; their emotional intelligence quotient is just as important as their intelligence quotient. In fact, studies conducted by renowned psychologist Ulric Neisser show that an IQ only accounts for 20 to 25 percent of employment success. The rest is attributed to one's EQ. Recently, I attended an EI workshop, with some of Travis' finest, conducted by Dr. Patricia Maggard, Emotional Intelligence Training and Research Institute faculty member. In the workshop she gave each of us a penny and asked us to identify with the year on the penny, describing what major life event we could recall. The events in the class ranged from the birth of a child to job promotions to the tragic events of 9/11. That exercise set the tone for the rest of the two-day course. It proved that each of us, leaders in the Air Force, were too, driven by emotion. We examined different facets of leadership, the history of social intelligence and how it impacts a leader's effectiveness. Interestingly enough, EI starts with a healthy self-awareness. Your self-worth and dignity often reflect how well you work with others and the ability to think constructively in emotional situations. Once you increase self-awareness you are equipped to discern what is happening and are better able to empathize with others. Maggard explains, "Empathy is the ability to accurately understand and constructively respond to the feelings and thoughts of others." On Jan. 18, 1921, Marine Gen. John Lejeune, writes, "One must put himself in the place of those whom he would lead; he must have a full understanding of their thoughts, their attitude, their emotions, their aspirations, and their ideals; and he must embody in his/her own character the virtues which he would instill into the hearts of his/her followers." I would dare to say, Lejeune was ahead of his time. In our daily grind we often become saturated with tasks and timelines. The meetings and overflowing inboxes are often distractors from our most important resource -- people. Effective leadership is a lot of things but it is nothing without people. At the end of the workshop, I came to realize what EI really meant. It means effective leaders know how to transform their subordinates not by emotion but by understanding emotions. The vital components of EI such as self-awareness, discerning the emotional barometers of others, and employing empathy can enhance decision making and your overall ability as a leader. What's your EQ?