A distinguished success coach focused on driving high performance among senior executives and leaders, Sabu Thomas has more than three decades of experience. Having devoted his entire professional life to helping people succeed and live impactful lives, Sabu’s career kicked off as an HR professional.

The best of the best leaders are not those who just lead with their brains; they lead with their entire hearts and souls too.

The above line captures the spirit of a leadership style that resounds deeply, not only with an individual’s brain but also their emotions and purpose in a beautiful manner. Think of a leader who successfully clearly balances empathy, and also intuition with a strategic vision. This is the real power of Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Spiritual Intelligence (SI) combined.

In today’s super interconnected and fast-paced world, leaders will need to traverse through very complex business challenges. Apart from this, they also must ace the emotional and ethical aspects as well.

Emotional Intelligence is our ability to understand and manage emotions and it has long been recognized as a basis of effective leadership. It is the bridge between self-awareness and meaningful relationships and turns understanding into impactful action. Spiritual Intelligence is the ability to align one’s actions with deeper values and purpose and it is also emerging as a key complement that offers leaders the clarity to inspire and the courage to lead with integrity.

One of my coachees recently asked, "Is it appropriate to set Spiritual Maturity as my ultimate life goal and align my career goals accordingly?" Through our coaching sessions, he discovered that Emotional Maturity serves as the foundation for embarking on the journey toward Spiritual Maturity, with the two complementing and reinforcing each other. This coaching experience provided both the coachee and me, as his coach, with fascinating new perspectives.

In this article, I would like to talk about how EI and SI - the two key forms of intelligence, can together create a perfect balance in leadership. We can then also understand how leaders have the ability to be resilient and nurture resilience, inspire trust, and build meaningful connections. And all these will enable them to drive sustainable success.

Understanding EI
So, what is EI? Emotional Intelligence is the skill that helps one comprehend, manage, and influence their own emotions and also those of others.

It has five key components:
1. Self-awareness helps leaders recognize their emotions and also the triggers and how these emotions make them react or respond. Accepting emotions is a natural process and requires meaningful and nurturing co-existence.
2. Self-regulation can manage impulses and help leaders stay composed under tremendous pressure and respond appropriately.
3. Empathy can nurture open connections by understanding others' feelings. The key is to seek to understand before being understood.
4. Social skills can help build collaborative relationships using complementary competencies that exist in different individuals.
5. Motivation is what drives one to persist toward their goals and this motivation will come from internal sources as well as the external environment.

After coaching a couple of hundred senior leaders from varied industries, I realized that about 75 percent of them want to choose EI as a core development area and want to keep SI as a key spoke of their wheel of life. EI is a game-changer in leadership. Through my own coaching experience, I’ve seen how leaders with high EI can build trust effortlessly. They make their teams feel valued understood and inspired not by authority but by their ability to connect on a human level. The toughest challenges are thus navigated with composure and precision. These leaders create an environment where teams thrive, whether in resolving conflicts or driving innovation. The teams know that their leader has both the emotional insight and resilience to guide them.

What is Spiritual Intelligence?
SI is what helps align one’s actions with higher values. It helps cultivate a sense of purpose, and remain centered even amidst disorder.

There are three key aspects to it: purpose-driven decision-making, where leaders make choices that reflect their core values; compassion and mindfulness that nurture a leadership style rooted in kindness and awareness; and lastly, an understanding of the interconnectedness of everything that fosters a sense of unity and shared responsibility within teams/communities. On a deeper coaching interrogation, we find that a lack of these softer elements creates mental blocks that prohibit the best use of one’s competencies.

Spiritual Intelligence brings a grounding force in leadership. Leaders with strong SI have the ability to inspire the teams through their clarity of purpose and their long-term vision. They can see beyond short-term gains. A purpose-driven leader navigating organizational changes may use SI to support decisions with long-term vision and ethical principles. This can earn leaders both trust and loyalty.

If you want to unlock your full potential as a leader and lead with both your heart and a definite purpose, do explore coaching for sure

Correspondingly, during times of crisis, leaders with SI display a sort of calmness that is able to comfort their teams and inspire shared resilience and a commitment toward goals.

How do EI and SI Complement Each Other?
EI and SI can together generate a deep impact on leadership and make it effective. When SI offers leaders a higher perspective, emotional regulation meets purpose. This helps one stay focused and balanced during times of crisis. When actions are secured in a deeper sense of purpose, leaders are able to regulate their emotions more effectively - this ensures calmness and clarity in stormy spells.

Furthermore, empathy is boosted by spiritual awareness. Leaders who cultivate both intelligences can understand team emotions and recognize the underlying values and motivations that actually drive them. This deep understanding allows leaders to connect authentically and build trust. EI and SI can together build resilience and inner peace—SI provides the grounding to recover from setbacks with grace and EI ensures leaders communicate and guide their teams effectively during challenges. Consequently, a united and inspired environment is now formed.

Practical Applications for Leaders
Leaders who aspire to build EI and SI can begin with some simple yet impactful practices:

Journaling: To enhance self-awareness, that is EI, keep a journal. It will also help you recognize emotional triggers and help clarify your purpose - that is SI.

Empathy and Mindfulness: Practicing this in team interactions builds authentic connections.

Self-Research: Leaders who do continuous self-research and analytics of their actions can get meaningful insights to perform better by managing their mental blocs appropriately.

Aligning Team Goals with a Greater Vision: This can instill a sense of collective purpose.
In my coaching experience, I’ve witnessed leaders transform by developing both intelligences. One client, for example, faced a challenging team restructuring. After using journaling to simplify values and actively practicing empathetic listening, the client was able to traverse the change in a transparent manner. This also earned him the team’s trust. It eased his transition phase and also strengthened his leadership presence.

Another time, a coachee who was highly educated from two prestigious B schools and had grown very quickly in his career ladder found it very difficult to manage his emotions, especially at home with his spouse as well as with peers. A deeper understanding of EI and SI helped him to mend his ways and become more effective in his career as well as his personal life. He received insights into more meanings in what he does, considering the overall purpose of his life.

In Conclusion
Today, only leaders who can incorporate both Emotional Intelligence and Spiritual Intelligence will be able to create a lasting impact. EI and SI together empower leaders to be more authentic, show compassion, and also possess a vision that inspires everyone else.

While each one of you reflects on your leadership journey, do remember to think of the areas where EI and SI could enhance your leadership.

If you want to unlock your full potential as a leader and lead with both your heart and a definite purpose, do explore coaching for sure.