Essay Example: Emotional Intelligence and Resonant Leadership in Schools

Leadership refers to the process of directing followers or a group of people to attain their needs and goals (Boyatzis et al., 2013). To begin with, student leadership in the university is associated with many responsibilities which require partnership and collaboration to be effective. As a student leader, the experience is leadership is so challenging for the fact that, the rigours demands from the school and students makes it difficult to deliver. Surprisingly, the general survey and experience depict that in developed countries, leadership transitions rapidly by upholding to school reforms hence reducing leader responsibilities. Student leaders have to employ servant leadership techniques to make both students and the school understands their roles. Consequently, leaders apply leadership styles such as transformational, affiliate, and visionary hence helping students to achieve their goals. Resonant leadership, therefore, requires emotional intelligence and partnership for change to be realized.

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Transformational leadership is the most important philosophy which helps students to raise their concerns with the school system regardless of emotional complexities and challenges (Mathew & Gupta, 2015). Leaders motivate their followers to adhere to morality and collaboration to achieve transformational leadership. This incorporates virtues such as defining activities to be done by students according to their capacities. They will resonate to the culture by being committed hence envisioning themselves with emotional intelligence which is essential in leadership. Leadership is very challenging as it requires student leaders to have a series of qualities that must be put into practice. According to the study by Kouzes and Posner (2002), the possessed qualities of leadership must be practised as well as suggestions from other teachers taken in especially during challenging situations (Boyatzis et al., 2013). However, complex interpersonal dynamics helps a leader to learn to know how to develop a relationship that can realize the potential of the purported goals.

Martin Luther King Junior during his tenure as a leader experienced challenges which caused tension before ascertaining civil rights (Garrow, 2015). The reflection of this to student leaders is explicit for instance, the workforce imparted to them that creates stress. They spend many hours to solve student issues which are sometimes uncounted for but with resonant leadership skills, they successfully elucidate them. However, this has crepitated them to resonate and share the leadership experiences by encouraging them to work beyond reasonable doubts and deliver upon the roles in which they are given. Essentially, it is clear that when individuals are recognized and celebrated, they garner encouragement to perform better in various activities in which they are assigned. From this experience, leadership preparation improves performance in schools hence inspiring youngsters and other members on how to apply emotional intelligence to solve problems and culminate issues that affect them without any conflicts.

Student leaders transform values into actions by creating a positive emotional tone to the students. The resulting actions bring hope which is taught with resonant leadership and planned achievement of goals. The vision of ascertaining their goals bring students together hence commits them to what they are supposed to achieve in future. From the definition of transformational leadership, leaders are galvanized under the concept of envisioning the real, ideal, and unique image of good leadership qualities (Mathew & Gupta, 2015). This is seen from the positive emotional tone and outlook hence creating enthusiasm, accountability, excitement and shared the vision. The followers get positive energy and become genuine when presuming to work towards achieving their dreams. Recent studies illuminate how collaboration emerges especially in leadership. Enabling others to know how to work, act and conduct themselves is more like involving themselves in leadership. This empowers them thus giving them freedom in decision-making.

Leadership that points to touch people's hearts and minds requires the establishment of a caring relationship that leverages emotional and social competencies (Boyatzis et al., 2013). Leaders must be ready to help their followers or people who are authenticated in the relationship. Assisting a person move forward in relation to meeting his or her goals will touch the mind and heart hence enlightening them to think differently on how to make proper decisions and how to change the world around them. In the embattled setting like a school, it is comfortable to touch other people's hearts and way of thinking. A strategy like mutual respect and trust of the followers will improve the performance of collaboration and therefore, sparking other students to create better relationships when collaborating in different activities. The approach according to Richard Boyatzis and colleagues (2013), is the resonant relationship and it shows how leaders use their emotional intelligence to develop hope, compassion and shared meaningful relationships.

Compassion and empathy connect people to feel cared for and understood - notably, compassion and understanding work hand in hand by exploring free judgment characteristics and feeling the willingness to act for feelings without exploiting others. Compassion assists student leaders to impact the bottom line of the school setting. Leaders understand the desires and needs of students hence helping them to achieve their goals. This strategy results in the building of more leaders who are committed with transformation and empowerment of the followers and the community. Leaders with empathy are curious and caring about the feelings of others, and thereby they are ready to help them. One way through which compassion can be achieved is through coaching. It is one of the fastest ways to transition leaders to developmental and effective leadership. Competencies require design and teaching programs that unleash the upcoming leaders into active, empathetic and compassionate adults.

Demonstrating leadership to be in tune with the school's culture and significant role in bestowing legitimacy requires a collective response (Boyatzis et al., 2013). Not all schools support this collective behaviour, but leadership will play an essential role in empowering students to understand its purpose. However, this happens because it appears as a good example and role model and thereby effecting into a state that has dual collective effects on the feelings of the followers. Consequently, the situation can be right when the school's culture becomes prominent hence playing a critical role in creating compassion and empathy. The atmosphere created in the organization helps all people to adjust to the expressed feelings. They, therefore, create empathy which is suitable for sharing common emotions and addressing interpersonal challenges which leads to emotional intelligence.

In conclusion, resonant leadership develops from a relationship created, and it results in emotional intelligence which is healthy for many relationships. It makes leaders confide with themselves, become self -aware of problems affecting them in the leadership process and also reflect better qualities to their followers. They keep their promise through collective competencies hence bringing empathy and string trusting relationships. Leaders know and manage themselves especially with emotional control. It, therefore, becomes easy when dealing with followers for the fact that, they can avoid the stress that emerges from the created demands that require more time and energy to be fulfilled.

References

Boyatzis, R. E., Smith, M. L., Van Oosten, E., & Woolford, L. (2013). Developing resonant leaders through emotional intelligence, vision, and coaching. Organizational Dynamics, 42(1), 17-24.

Garrow, D. J. (2015). Bearing the cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian leadership conference. Open Road Media.

Mathew, M., & Gupta, K. S. (2015). Transformational leadership: Emotional intelligence. SCMS Journal of Indian Management, 12(2).