In my opinion, leaders should be an example for their team regarding work. They should promote increased enthusiasm towards work, in order for their example to be followed by other members of their group. However, when assessing an individual's leadership potential it is necessary to take into consideration its emotional intelligence level. People's emotional intelligence refers to their ability of understanding motions and feelings and their attitudes and reactions in different situations (Chapman, 2009). The emotional intelligence level reveals how we read people, how we tend to use our emotions, how we understand and manage these emotions, and impressions.

The results of my EIQ 16 test have revealed interesting aspects about myself that I was not really aware of. For example, on the reading people aspect I rated level 3, which means that I am competent in this field. This means that I am normally aware of my feelings and emotions and that I pay attention to other' emotions also. In addition to this, it seems I am able to describe and express these feelings and to identify fake emotions in myself and in others.

Regarding management and leadership, this means that I am able to communicate and to network in an efficient manner, that I am able to influence people, and that I feel comfortable in social situations. This also means that I enjoy working in teams, and that I am able to support people. In my opinion, this is important for leaders because it helps them support their team members.

In the using emotions aspect I also rated level 3, which means that I am competent in this field. The results reveal that my thinking is influenced by emotions and feelings in a moderate way. This is actually a higher score than what I expected. This also means that my judgment does not take much into consideration instinct and intuition. Ad mentioned above, I try to take my decisions based on objective facts.

Regarding leadership and management, the results of this test reveal that I make sufficient good use of my emotions and feelings when making decision and taking control. This also helps handle problems with the help of innovation. However, this scores means that this is an area where there is room for improvement.

On the understanding emotion aspect, I rated level 4, which means that I am skilled in this field. In other words, I am able to properly identify basic emotions. This allows me to understand the causes that produce these emotions. An important aspect that must be taken into consideration is represented by the fact that I am able to understand complex, mixed, and contradictory emotions and how they change, develop, and progress in accordance with different situations.

Regarding management and leadership, it means that I am able to correctly evaluate individuals when assigning their tasks and activities. This is helpful in human resources management. In my opinion, leaders should not only lead other people, but they should understand each member of their team. This would help identify their abilities and skills, and would help increase productivity and efficiency.

On the managing emotions aspect I also rated level 3, which reveals my competence in this field. However, this means that I am not more open to emotions than most people. But this means that I am better at monitoring other people. Also, it seems I can make the proof of good self-control. Also, it seems I am quite competent at working with the emotions of other people.

Regarding leadership and management, this means that I am able to adapt to change, which is useful in the current business environment that determines a series of changes that companies must adapt to. Also, it means that I am able to manage pressure. The results in this aspect reveal that my characteristics in this field help me reach the established objectives.

Although I rated above average in this test in comparison with other people, I consider that the result of this test proves my leadership potential, but it also means that I must improve my emotional intelligence skills. Therefore, my leadership potential must be developed and improved in order to be able to address the objectives that I established for myself. This can be achieved through proper education and training, but there are also numerous things I can do by myself, as the test recommendations reveal, in order to...

Based on this evaluation, I can further decide how I should work on improving my emotional intelligence levels. In relation with this activity, I probably should observe the behavior of other people I interact with. This experience could be very useful in helping be build a foundation that is intended to serve me when I will occupy management or leadership positions in certain groups.
I should probably work on developing trust in others. I must admit that I am a person who does not trust others very often. But this test helped me understand that in order for others to trust me and my abilities, I must trust them also. I also understood that trust is important within a group in order to achieve the established objectives. In order to do so, I should express my feelings and emotions with others more often. I must say that I rarely admit to feelings of anxiety or concerns because I do not want others to underestimate my self-control abilities.

I should also work on involving others into the decision making process, especially at work. This is because members of the group should express their opinions on certain subjects, as this helps provide an increased number of views that are intended to help make better decisions. In order to improve my emotional intelligence score, I should try to identify and speculate on the emotions and feelings of myself and others in order to develop better procedures, schedules, and to improve the decision making process.

I also think I should be more open towards others and towards working with others. In order to do so, I should get involved in office politics, in observing the atmosphere within the team, and on maintaining network contacts. The emotional intelligence is important in such cases because it helps identify and manage conflict situations. Leaders should be able to manage such situations and to properly deal with conflicts within the team.

Conclusions

The Myers-Briggs test and the EIQ 16 questionnaire are very useful for people that are interested in their self development and improvement, in identifying their strengths and weaknesses, and in developing strategies intended to help them with their personal and career growth. In my case, these tests have revealed a series of aspects that I was not entirely aware of. Also, my opinion about myself does not always match how others see me, which these tests are able to identify.

The results of these tests have revealed that I have the potential of becoming a good leader, but that I also must improve a series of skills in order to reach this status. For example, my good communication skills, the fact that I am very organized, and the fact that I usually work hard are strengths that good leaders should have. I have also learned that the fact that I have the ability of good self-control can help in managing pressure and conflict situations.

However, the tests helped me identify a series of weaknesses that I must address in order to develop and improve my leadership skills. For example, I learned that I must improve my team working skills. In other words, I must work on involving others in the decision making process. I must pay attention to the feelings and emotions of others in order to better understand their behavior, their motivations, and stimuli. This way, I could better anticipate the moves of others, which would give me an advantage in working within a group. I think such tests are useful for determining one's personality, understanding behaviors and identifying possible careers. Based on these tests, individuals can identify their strengths and weaknesses and work on improving their activity.

Reference list:

1. Bolden, R. et al. (2003). A Review of Leadership Theory and Competency Frameworks. Center for Leadership Studies. Retrieved February 2, 2011.

2. Guardian Portrait of the Supervisor (2010). Keirsey. Retrieved February 3, 2011 from http://www.keirsey.com/4temps/supervisor.asp.

3. Chapman, a. (2009). Emotional Intelligence. Retrieved February 3, 2011 from http://www.businessballs.com/eq.htm.