Emotional Intelligence: A Guide for School and District Leaders
November 6, 2023
Today’s challenges have some school and district leaders taking a more expansive view of their responsibilities and, as a result, the leadership skillset they need.
“It’s no longer enough for us to just assume our position as principals is limited to operations and instruction,” says Suzan Harris, the principal of Henderson Middle School in Jackson, Ga. “It has to go back to being a human first.”
Harris’ perspective is the premise of this special report—that being an effective educational leader means not only being able to manage schools and districts, but also emotions and relationships. In short, it requires emotional intelligence.
“Emotional intelligence is being smart about your feelings," says Robin Stern, one of the authors of Emotional Intelligence for School Leaders. "It’s using your thinking to inform your emotional life and using your emotions to inform your cognitive life."
In this special report, you’ll hear from experts and practitioners. The report includes a video explaining emotional intelligence, a look at how and why leaders are honing theirs, a quiz to assess your understanding of the concept, a downloadable with useful tips, and exclusive survey data.
We hope this report can help school and district administrators examine and develop their emotional intelligence, and ultimately be better equipped to lead.
“It’s no longer enough for us to just assume our position as principals is limited to operations and instruction,” says Suzan Harris, the principal of Henderson Middle School in Jackson, Ga. “It has to go back to being a human first.”
Harris’ perspective is the premise of this special report—that being an effective educational leader means not only being able to manage schools and districts, but also emotions and relationships. In short, it requires emotional intelligence.
“Emotional intelligence is being smart about your feelings," says Robin Stern, one of the authors of Emotional Intelligence for School Leaders. "It’s using your thinking to inform your emotional life and using your emotions to inform your cognitive life."
In this special report, you’ll hear from experts and practitioners. The report includes a video explaining emotional intelligence, a look at how and why leaders are honing theirs, a quiz to assess your understanding of the concept, a downloadable with useful tips, and exclusive survey data.
We hope this report can help school and district administrators examine and develop their emotional intelligence, and ultimately be better equipped to lead.
- School & District Management School Leaders Need Emotional Intelligence. Here's How They Build ItThe stress of the last few years has made emotional intelligence a crucial trait for educational leaders.School & District Management From Our Research Center How Emotionally Intelligent Are School and District Leaders? We Asked TeachersAsked about traits like empathy, teachers rated principals higher than they rated district leaders.School & District Management Video Video: Emotional Intelligence, ExplainedA look at what emotional intelligence is and why it matters for educational leaders.School & District Management Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About Emotional Intelligence?What are the traits of emotionally intelligent school and district leaders? Take this quiz to find out.School & District Management Download Downloadable: Tips to Improve Your Emotional IntelligenceTips from education leaders on building skills like empathy and motivation.