Unleashing leadership potential:: Toward an evidence-based management of emotional intelligence

Abstract

Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the two co-founders of Google, drew on their mathematical brilliance to create the innovative algorithm behind Google’s search engine. Forced to compete against already well-established Internet search providers (like Yahoo and AltaVista), however, Brin and Page recognized that this was not enough. Without an inspired, highly motivated workforce, their burgeoning new venture would ultimately fail to outshine competitors. So how did Google attain the unique position it holds today? We believe this is due — in part — to Sergey Brin and Larry Page’s emotional intelligence. To guide the company during initial growth and development, for example, they selected an experienced business leader, Eric Schmidt, as chief executive officer, or CEO (Larry Page just recently took over the CEO position from Eric Schmidt). Like Brin and Page, the newly appointed CEO valued open emotional expression. Together, the trio created an emotionally supportive culture that encourages employees to express who they are as individuals while engaging in creative, innovative behavior. Furthermore, the founders of Google have shown empathy toward both employees and society at large. Google has, accordingly, been ranked as high as number one in national employee satisfaction surveys. Also Brin and Page founded their charity, Google.org, at the time of their initial public offering of stock. All in all, its founders’ qualities in terms of both cognitive and emotional intelligence have helped Google develop a uniquely innovative, entrepreneurial, and stimulating atmosphere. Unlike few other business concepts, the notion of an emotionally intelligent leader has caught the interest and stirred the imagination of scholars and practitioners alike. Some authors have gone so far as to proclaim emotional intelligence as the ‘‘sine qua non of leadership,’’ arguing that emotional intelligence accounts for up to 90 percent of the difference between star performers and average