I found this Christian Leadership Alliance (CLA) blog entry (Trace the Face by Dr. Mark Vincent) very interesting and thought I'd share...
The author points out: "But through repeated self-reflection and articulation of our desires, emotions, and thoughts, we can discover our sticking points and begin moving into a new place beyond them. And God’s sculpting work will continue."
Our Social-Emotional Leadership concentration in both the Master's in Education and the Master's in Organizational Leadership touches on this and the concept of Emotional Intelligence. There are many, albeit similar, definitions of EI or EQ, but I'll offer this one from Harvard Business School: "the ability to understand and manage your emotions, as well as recognize and influence the emotions of those around you."
To put it in a different order, I suggest the key for leadership is to be able to "understand and recognize" in order to "manage and influence." But, in any case the leader begins with himself or herself. A practical use is this description from Helpguide.org:
"Emotional intelligence (otherwise known as emotional quotient or EQ) is the ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict. Emotional intelligence helps you build stronger relationships, succeed at school and work, and achieve your career and personal goals. It can also help you to connect with your feelings, turn intention into action, and make informed decisions about what matters most to you."
Back to the blog author... he suggests that with self-awareness being an integral part of your life journey you can actively work to shape yourself into the person you desire to be. Hopefully our desirable images are meant to reflect God and His desire. If this is so, awareness can neutralize resistance and God's sculpting work continues to our delight. Hasten that part of the journey.
- Ken Yunevich, Associate Dean of Online and Graduate Studies, York University