Emotional intelligence of Trump in light of the Coronavirus Pandemic
Emotional intelligence is used to refer to the ability of an individual to read other people’s signals and react to them appropriately depending on the situation. Moreover, it includes the ability to understand personal emotions and those of people surrounding them. Notably, in leadership, EQ is crucial since it is used to effectively, empathize, understand, and comfortably work with people. To become a successful leader, it is essential to possess all the qualities associated with a high degree of emotional intelligence. Such as being a leader who has the complete trust of his/ her staff, listening to team members, and making careful and informed decisions.
Main points from the article
During the fight against the current Coronavirus Pandemic, Donald Trump has been viewed negatively by the public with people attributing his behavior to lack of empathy, care, and concern. The recent move by Trump of threatening to cut funds for World Health organization has been received with much criticism from the public, especially since WHO is highly dependent on the money to fight the virus. Other than that, Trump had denied claims of receiving a memo by a senior US official warning of economic devastation and mass causalities months before the pandemic began taking thousands of American lives. In a recent press briefing, Trump, with his vice president, walked out without leaving room for questions despite the yells from the reporters. Besides, his recent suggestion that disinfectant and ultraviolet light could be used as a treatment for Coronavirus has raised serious concerns from the scientific and medical community. Trump is facing constant scrutiny on his response techniques during this crisis, especially with his continuous underestimation of the virus’s contagion, deadliness, and disruption on the economy.
Systematic application.
Trump’s emotional intelligence is low, especially during these times that the country requires an emotionally available presidential leader. From the analysis above clearly, Trump lacks social awareness as a crucial component of emotional intelligence. Social awareness involves an individual’s ability to practice empathy by managing their emotions and recognizing the emotions of others. Most of trumps televised speeches are not empathetic to the audiences, particularly when addressing issues regarding the outbreak. Instead, he has focused on placing blames on different people and organizations, spreading disinformation, and suppressing reality. Leaders who practice empathy are more likely to connect with their audiences and succeed in any organization or position. Another lacking component is self-management or self- regulation, qualities which Trump lacks in most of his public addresses. Self-regulation is used to access the ability of leaders to control their emotions by avoiding lashing out, especially in front of subordinates. Trump’s sarcastic comments and outbursts in most of his briefings limit his emotional intelligence, especially since he has to make speeches to rectify his previous statements. People with high emotional intelligence breeds self- regulation.
Recommendations.
Emotional intelligence is crucial, especially during a political crisis or when handling matters of national importance. EQ improvement can be made through developing awareness of emotions, especially since recognizing personal emotions and those of others is a strong foundation of developing high emotional intelligence. Additionally, it is essential to practice tolerance and compassion. It is crucial to address people with harmony to create lasting connections, especially because emotional intelligence is about practicing empathy and effectively connecting with others. Having high emotional intelligence significantly improves leadership, especially in workplace environments.