The capacity to understand and control your own emotions and those of the people around you is crucial. Education leaders with a high degree of emotional intelligence understand what they are feeling, what their feelings mean, and how these feelings can impact other people. They are also masters of sensing the feelings of others and helping them to find a place of emotional balance.
For education leaders, emotional intelligence is vital for success. If you are not born with it, don’t worry, it is a skill that can be developed. You can start by training yourself to listen more than you talk. By listening first, you can observe the tone that the person is using. This will allow you to understand the mood that you are in, and counter it with a tone and language that will help bring them to a healthy emotional space.
Also, you have to learn to read facial expressions and body language. This, more than anything, will allow you to gauge a person’s emotional state. When they speak, what facial expression are they conveying? How about their body language? Do they seem loose or uncomfortable? Once you know this information, you can counter with an appropriate emotional response.
We almost forgot to talk about emotional self-control
Emotional intelligence also includes the ability to control your emotions. If you can control your emotions, you can better control the outcomes. One thing is for certain, the high paced world of education leadership is a place where emotions and tempers can easily flare. One moment you may have a teacher that is upset because you didn’t respond to their email or a student who thinks that suspending him for 10 days is unfair.
Couple with that visits from disgruntled parents and also higher-ups, and you will find yourself dealing with a powder keg of emotions. However, regardless of how much you want to react to negative energy with some negative energy of your own, you have to remain calm and be the voice of reason. Self-control is an essential education leadership skill.
