Top 5 posts from July

It’s easy to see why Susan MacKenty Brady’s story about watching the hit Disney movie Inside Out with her daughters was July’s most-viewed post. The movie provides a clever, entertaining, and accurate illustration of a little girl’s “inner voice” that we all can relate to. As Susan writes, “We are only as effective as leaders (and partners and parents for that matter) as we are able to manage our internal dialogue.” And since the rest of this month’s most-read posts (listed below) also explain emotional skills that are critical to leading in the 21^st century, she’s obviously not alone.

1. Inside Out and disgust…fuel of the inner critic

What we think and feel drives what we say and do. Leave it to Disney’s animated movie Inside Out to illustrate this concept so brilliantly.

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2. IQ gets you hired. Emotional intelligence gets you promoted.

Marty Jordan was recently coaching a leader who had the potential to do great things. I’m sure you know this type of person—smart, quick, articulate, and out to prove he is the smartest person in the room. Turns out that a little thing called emotional intelligence was missing. And that “little” thing was holding him back.

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3. Presence matters

Amy Cuddy studies people (often leaders) who just seem to have that special something that distinguishes them from the crowd. And oftentimes that special something is…leadership presence. They look and act, and even feel confident, competent, powerful, and self-assured. They look like leaders. And she knows how they do it.

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4. 5 skills successful leaders share

There are no “magic bullets” or “secret formulas” to successful, results-oriented leadership. However, Mitchell Nash has identified 5 core disciplines that successful leaders share. And each of the following disciplines can be learned and improved upon. It simply takes commitment and practice.

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5. Developing leaders who make a difference

Linkage consultants are always pretty busy, but two in particular have been especially busy recently, writing for publications like Forbes and Training Industry magazine. Susan MacKenty Brady’s co-written article in Forbes about Coaching Your Inner Critic provides concrete directions we can all use to be better leaders (and happier too). And Mark Hannum’s feature in Training Industry magazine provides valuable insight on how the best organizations develop leaders who make a difference.

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So, what do you think? Are emotional skills the most important for leaders to develop? Please share your thoughts with us below.