Relevancy of Demand for Emotionally Intelligent Leaders in Contemporary Scenario | Original Article

ABSTRACT:

ABSTRACT

While organizational and analytical skills are necessary for project managers, there has been an increasing demand for emotional intelligence in recent years. The Future of Jobs report by the World Economic Forum supports the increasing demand by employers for emotional intelligence and other social skills. This is relevant for project managers since, in essence, their work involves having a deep understanding of people. To lead projects to success, they must manage their people resources more effectively and to do so, they must understand those people first. The ability to connect and empathize with others has become a lot more important due to one of the other project management trends: the rise in remote working.

An excellent example of leveraging emotional intelligence for the greater good comes from Dave Birdsall, senior manager at The Parker Avery Group. He has noticed the interesting project management trend of scheduling daily touch point meetings for more than just work. The agendas for these daily stand-ups are no longer just about work. These meetings not only serve as means to keep tabs on work items but also give people an outlet to socialize. I have found by doing this, I am able to stay on top of what people are working on and ensure that their work-life balance is not suffering.”