of tactics to make the team buy into the idea , but everything fails . Might it then be okay for the leader to “ manipulate ” the team into compliance ? - That ’ s , for the organization ’ s good ? In fact , if the leader ’ s motives could hardly be described as selfinterested , is it even accurate to designate their tactics - however surreptitious , crafty , or devious - as manipulative at all ?
I however have to point out that Manipulation in most cases self-destructs leaders . Word gets out on manipulators and people grow less and less likely to respond in a positive manner to their manipulation . This leads me to the dark side of high levels of EQ ; negative manipulation .
People with high emotional intelligence can use it to unfair advantage . This can be in a way of helping , protecting , and promoting oneself and others , or using EQ to promote oneself at the cost of others . In this way , EQ gets closer to Machiavellianism - the art of socially manipulating others in order to achieve one ’ s own selfish ends . When used in this way , other people become social tools to be used to push oneself forward even at considerable expense to them .
Majority of leaders with high levels of EQ use their emotional skills to manipulate people they lead for personal gain . If you
Due to the growing recognition that emotional intelligence - like any other skill - can be used for good or evil in leadership , it is critical to consider the values that go along with it and where it ’ s actually useful . This should be incorporated in leadership trainings . One should hold it in mind and heart as they sharpen their own leadership skills .
polish your emotional skills , you are more likely to become better at manipulating others . When you ’ re good at controlling your own emotions , you can disguise your true feelings . When you know what others are feeling , you can jerk at their heartstrings and motivate them to act against their own best interests .
This is what leads to negative emotional manipulation which has led to the fall of many leaders . Such leaders find it easy to rob people of their capacities to reason . If their values are out of step with those of the people they lead , the results can be devastating .
We need to be aware of leaders who have self-serving motives , and use emotional intelligence as a weapon for manipulating others . Such leaders intentionally shape their emotions to fabricate favorable impressions of themselves .
So , due to the growing recognition that emotional intelligence - like any other skill - can be used for good or evil in leadership , it is critical to consider the values that go along with it and where it ’ s actually useful . This should be incorporated in leadership trainings . One should hold it in mind and heart as they sharpen their own leadership skills .
George Mbithi is a Communications and Governance professional currently based at the East Africa Regional Leadership Center for the Young African Leaders Initiative , YALI . You can reach him via
mail on : Mbithig @ gmail . com .