Session Title: Use your emotional intelligence at the workplace to be a good leader
Speaker: G. Saravana Kumar, Professor, Jain University
Session description: Emotional Intelligence or EQ plays an important role in influencing the leadership style in taking decisions. Research has proven that Emotional intelligence is more needed than an intelligent quotient( IQ) for leaders in the hospitality and tourism sectors. Since leadership style influences the employees' performance it's important to use emotional intelligence in order to make the right decisions at right time. Emotional intelligence (otherwise known as emotional quotient or EQ) is the ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict. This study is about the influence of emotional intelligence on hospitality leaders and its based on primary as well as secondary data through published research articles and books. Studies have shown that those Managers who attended training on emotional intelligence exhibited higher EQ levels than before. Their EQ level before attending the training program and after one month of attending the training program was measured and it showed significant improvement in EQ levels of almost all Managers. This shows that creating awareness and training for Hospitality Managers and staff is important for using their EQ in the right way which will benefit the organization and also the customers. This study brings out the various levels of emotional intelligence and suggests measures to improve one`s Emotional intelligence levels for providing efficient management.
Bio: Professor Kumar is a Tourism & Hospitality Professional with 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry and 11 years of experience in the Academic field. He has conducted so many prestigious conferences. He has worked as Vice-principal in SRM University for around 6 years and handled F&B Service, tourism, F&B cost control subjects for Graduate students and trained students for placement interviews. He has also worked as Asst Curriculum head for 3.3 years at Chennais Amirta International Hotel Management Institute and Associate Professor in KL University and presently at Jain University, Bengaluru city, India since June 2020 in BMS-Tourism & Hospitality Management department. He is a lifetime member of the Indian Tourism & Hospitality Congress and the Indian Research foundation. He is the editorial board member of the International Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management and the review board member of Athens Journal of Tourism (ATINER) Greece. He has an award as "Best Vice-principal" at Chennais Amirta IIHM in 2016 and a " Best Achiever" award at Jain University in 2020.