SIGNIFICANCE OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN LEADERSHIP ROLES FOR FINANCIAL PLANNERS

Emotional Intelligence is a necessity in our present times. It gives us the knowledge and integrity to manage ourselves and see through our goal attainment. Emotional Intelligence also serves a key role in our functionality as an individual both in personal life and in a professional arena. At work our social milieu as well asour team interaction makes a significant impact on our work performance. This is true for financial planners whose nature of work involves meeting financial targets and managing teams who may at times show a dip in performance. This paperis a correlational study that evaluates potential relationships of emotional intelligence (five components like self- awareness, managing others, managing emotions, empathy, and social skills) in senior managers. The outcome of this study reveals the need for the financial planning industry to acknowledge emotional intelligence as one of the key roles in self-awareness and social skills. The essence of this study is in realizing that the financial services industry intentionally attracts individuals who display essential sales and marketing characteristics and how EI complemented the sought-after behaviors needed in the industry. This study focuses on an innate ability that would alter existing characteristics making individuals capable of managing stress, a factor that influences the success and profit of a company (Shah & Maheshwari, 2013)