What is emotional intelligence? “Emotional intelligence is a person’s ability to (1) perceive emotions in the self and others, (2) understand the meaning of these emotions, and (3) regulate one’s emotions accordingly in a cascading model.”
The first necessity of emotional intelligence is self-awareness, which includes an individual’s ability to recognize who they are and pinpoint their areas of development. Do they know their personality, strengths and weaknesses, needs, values, and goals? Do they react to certain situations appropriately? Are they honest and confident while displaying humility? The second aspect of emotional intelligence is self-management. Can the individual manage their emotions and behavior to encourage a positive outcome? This includes having self-control, being adaptable, taking initiatives, having optimism, and setting goals that they enthusiastically pursue. The third aspect is social awareness. Can someone accurately understand others’ emotions and moods when working in a group setting? This includes cross-cultural sensitivities, the ability to understand the emotional makeup of others, and the tact to treat them accordingly. The final aspect is relationship management. How can an individual build teams and create constructive working relationships? This facet focuses on influencing, building bonds, developing others, teamwork and collaboration.
The World Cup will be kicking off while we’re in the UK, and with it we will be able to experience one of the most cherished events in the country. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are arguably two of the best attacking players in the sport of football, as they call it here in Europe, yet their styles and personalities often are at odds. What makes them so distict? In business terminology, their respective emotional intelligences are polar opposites. We’ll take a look at what makes these two superstars so unique. Let’s start by analyzing Lionel Messi.
Lionel Messi, known worldwide as Messi, is number 10 on the futbol club FC Barcelona, one of the most popular and well known clubs in professional futbol. He is an Argentine futbol player who started playing at a very young age. Messi was diagnosed with a hormone deficiency in his childhood, and his family was unable to afford treatment so they moved to Barcelona, Spain. At the ripe age of 16, Messi made his first debut for the club, when several of the starters were struck with injury. He has since then become a regular starter, key player for his club and his country, arguably the best attacking player in the world, and has received awards including FIFA World Player of the Year (2009), FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball (2009), and World Soccer Player of the Year (2009, 20011, 20012). But why am I telling you all this information? So that you can truly grasp Messi’s emotional intelligence.
Messi exemplifies stellar self-awareness. His self-awareness is one of the reasons he is so widely popular around the globe. In an article dedicated to Messi they say “the Barcelona forward’s humbleness, humility and flawless character has proven to be the cutting edge in many major breakthroughs throughout his career.” Messi is seen as humble and far from showing any signs of pride or vanity, even with all his success he still praises God for every blessing that comes his way. He is said to be “the idol that everyone dreams of replicating” yet when you see this man in public, on television, in magazines, you would never guess he was so widely popular and famous. He has humility and knows his values, sticking to them since day one.
Self-management is another area of strength for Messi. Loss of emotional control during a match for athletes is expected. They get caught up in the emotions of the game and it can be seen in how they express themselves. Messi rarely lets his negative or angry emotions show. During futbol matches he has immense control over his reactions not only when he makes a mistake, but when another player plays dirty or when the crowd acts verbally abusive towards him. He holds a professional manner and focuses on his responsibility of representing himself and his club with respect while playing the game.
Messi’s story is one of going from rags to riches. His family was a poor family in Argentina and when Messi became successful and famous, he did not forget where he came from. His main focus with his philanthropy organizations is contributing to the welfare of helpless children. Seeing multi-million dollar donations to charities not only in his poor hometown but around the world is normal for the futbol star. He is unlike most professional sports figures in that money is not the only thing he donates, he donates his time. The Leo Messi Foundation helps to encourage young players to pursue their dreams and enhance their technical skills and futbol abilities. He works not only with individuals from Spain where he plays, but he has maintained relationships with individuals in Argentina and works with individuals from all over the world. If they all see Messi as a humble, amazing individual then he must posses a cross-cultural knowledge to help him communicate well with these individuals from around the world.
Relationship management can be seen in Messi’s life through his role on FC Barcelona. He is one of three captains on a major professional futbol team. Being captain requires you to influence individuals and promote teamwork and collaboration. He is in charge of keeping all individuals in line and being the roll model for what is expected of prestigious individuals on FC Barcelona. Players on his team have spoken about the good relationship that Messi has with each individual. Messi differs from most leaders in that he is very quiet and reserved but because of this they have greater respect for what he has to say. Kobe Bryant, arguably one of the best to ever play basketball, states that he believes Messi is the best futbol player out there. Messi has gained respect from other athletes and individuals across the world not only for his skills but because of the relationships he has built with these individuals.
Christiano Ronaldo Real Madrid Forward/Midfielder
Widely regarded as one of the best players in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo plays a versatile forward on the soccer, or football, field. He is also currently regarded as the most marketable football star. Not one to be shy to headlines, Ronaldo makes news with both his impressive football skills on the field and his not so impressive personal skills off of it. Looking at Ronaldo through the lens of Emotional Intelligence leaves us with an interesting diagnosis. He seems very aware of his soccer skills and isn’t shy to flaunt them, even to the point of outright showing off. He also possess a large personality with he leaves unfiltered most of the time and generates much negative feedback. In the midst of all of these, Ronaldo seems to check himself and his image by both commenting on his public perceptions and involving himself in the greater community through philanthropic work. He doesn’t seem to perceive his own emotions and behaviors as necessarily bad, but is able to understand somewhat how they are negatively perceived by others and chooses other courses of action to make amends.
Ronaldo rates highly in self-awareness due to the fact that he understands his strengths and likes. In the world of football, he is known to be sharp with good vision, giving him the ability to predict certain plays and react well. He transformed his body upon arriving at Manchester United, giving him a better ability to keep possession of the ball. Conditioning coach Mike Clegg has praised his work ethic and dedication to improvement. He is very aware of his athletic ability and works hard to improve his game even after achieving world-wide success. Upon achieving fame in the football world, Ronaldo has admittedly paid attention to the way he dresses himself, often opting for the extravagant with fashionable sunglasses, bags, belts, and unique footwear. He also is known for his love of cars and enjoys showing off a new purchase. He has reportedly bought at least 14 luxury cars since 2006, featuring models from BMW, Bentley, Porsche, and Ferrari among others.
His attitude towards them, however, is not lasting as he doesn’t drive any one for long periods of time, and has even totaled a Ferrari within weeks of purchase. He knows his tastes and caters to them whenever possible. His strong self-awareness does translate itself onto his unfavorable public image, however, as his strong opinions on the extravagant aspects of life often come across as arrogance. He has since regretted a statement he made in 2011, “People are jealous of me as I am young, handsome, and rich”. He knows his current status in life and often over boasts his position.
He is not unaware of his unfavorable projection as moody and arrogant and admits that it has hurt his reputation and popularity. He offers that it is his competitive nature that causes him to seem overly abrasive. He has said, “”If I am in the swimming pool with my girlfriend sometimes we like to have a race. Sometimes you have to give her an opportunity to be happy, but I win because I don’t like to lose”. He recognizes the flaws in his character but is unable to reconcile them within himself, leading to a low score in self-management. From an early age, he hasn’t always been the master of his actions, often putting himself in situations of tension. As a young boy, Ronaldo was expelled from school for throwing a chair at the teacher. He later explained himself by stating, “He
disrespected me”. He is very impulsive and reacts quickly without much previous thought. His self-management off of the field is also questionable. In 2005, he was arrested on suspicion of raping a woman in a London hotel subsequently to have the charges dropped due to insufficient evidence. He seems to disregard the consequences of his actions, relying on his fame and fortune to pad his style.
Early in his career, he was described as having an arrogant image on the field which was greatly represented in the media. He is still often seen moaning and scowling during matches. He has since complained that the media is portraying an unfair image of him. He recognizes that people respond negatively about the way he handles himself, but resorts to complaining rather than working to correct these behaviors and attitudes. His on field behavior is often still negatively perceived. He is known to over celebrate his own successes on the field and under recognizes those of his team mates. In fact, this action was brought to the forefront when, playing in the Champions League final for Real Madrid, he ripped off his shirt and ran towards the sidelines.
Rather than personally manage himself, Ronaldo rather attempts to save face through other channels. He is moderately socially aware because he understands that he clashes with those around him, but does work to reconcile. The main issue is that he fails to work on himself. He adds positive actions to the pool of negative ones instead of reducing the amount of the negative. His main tool to add positivity to his image is involvement with many philanthropic ventures. In 2009, he donated 100,000 pounds to the hospital that saved his mother’s life from cancer so they could build a cancer center. In 2012, he joined FIFA’s 11 for Health program to raise awareness among kinds on how to avoid and protect themselves from drug addiction, HIV, malaria, and obesity. In 2013, he became Save the Children’s new Global Ambassador in the fight against child hunger and obesity. He is able to recognize the social acceptance of giving back and has adopted that as his proof of being a good guy.
In addition to padding is imaging through charity work, Ronaldo has worked to build more personal relationships, although that road has been rocky as well. He has said he would rather be remembered as a role model than one of the world’s best football players. If he truly believes in this goal, he should spend some time thinking of the impact of the personal legacy he leaves behind, media persona as well as soccer star. He extends his influence and therefore relationships across the world with multiple endorsement deals with companies such as Nike, KFC, Coca-Cola, and Emporio Armani. His impact has stretched far enough to cause him to become the fourth football player to be represented as a statue at Madame Tussauds in London. He is praised by coaching staff for his dedication to the team and the game bu deos not have many strong personal relationships outside the realm of soccer, earning him a mid to low score with relationship management.
Now that we have compared two individuals participating in the World Cup, let’s compare two individuals competing in the NBA finals, another exciting matchup happening at the moment. Lebron James and Tim Duncan are currently battling for basketball supremacy, and though they are two of the best to ever play the game, like Ronaldo and Messi, their personalities differ greatly. Let’s take a look at what makes each of them see the world as they do.
LeBron James is arguably the best player in the NBA, yet is an athlete who has little regard for the rest of his teammates, which is reflected in nearly every game the Cavaliers or Heat have played. In the picture above, LeBron is caught doing his iconic chalk toss, a perfect representation of his low Emotional Intelligence, since he treats himself like an almighty god.
While it is often assumed that the success of a team or group is based off of each member’s ability to discern each other’s emotions in order to form a cohesive unit, LeBron serves as an example of someone who disregards all forms of Emotional Intelligence.
LeBron has a very low amount of Self-Awareness, as he has very little concern for his strengths, weaknesses or goals since he believes himself to be a nearly perfect human being. For example in a USA Today interview in 2005 he said, “Everywhere I’ve been, I’ve been the best player. I love being a leader, and I love being the best. I just want to get better. It’s not about being cocky or selfish or anything like that. It’s just how I am.” Such tendencies show his lack of concern for emotional growth, and provide support that he is quite unaware of his room for personal improvement for a better emotional intelligence.
LeBron James also has very little social awareness, since he has very little sensitivity towards his teammates and coaches. Instead, he believes that he is the only reason why the Heat is as successful as he allows them to be. Since he does not believe his team can with the championship without his abilities, he does not take the time to evaluate the emotional sensitivities of his teammates, attributing towards his negative public view. As has been shown in countless interviews and press conferences, he is perfectly fine with angering or arrogantly answering the media in order to maintain his persona of being elite. By putting down others in defense of himself, he demonstrates minimal social awareness.
Since LeBron has been treated like a superstar, he is fairly unable to manage his emotions and actions. During a post-game interview, LeBron is overheard claiming that a question asked towards his teammate is “retarded”, which shows his weak self-management in guarding his words. LeBron also does little to adapt to his surroundings, but rather believes that everyone should cater towards his wants and needs. If he were to improve his adaptability and initiative, the increase in Emotional Intelligence would positively impact the Heat.
Finally, the self-confidence and cockiness that LeBron James exhibits provides quite the indication that his relationship management is inadequate, if not nonexistent. In the video above, LeBron makes a worker for the Cavaliers go out of his way to pick up his warm-ups off the floor, rather than humanely giving them to the worker. While it is understandable that an athlete on the same caliber as LeBron James would also be cocky, LeBron is so disillusioned of his role in society that he stands above the rest. He is simply a successful athlete, not a superior being that can treat workers, and even his own teammates, poorly.
Tim Duncan: Power Forward for San Antonio Spurs
Tim Duncan, “The Big Fundamental,” is an incredibly emotionless, down to earth individual, who just so happens to be one of the most elite basketball players to ever play the game. To opposing fans, he is someone who plays with a boring, simplistic style, and appears to be cold and unfeeling on and off the court. However, to his teammates and those who know him, he is beloved for his leadership, humility, and quiet kindness that has made him an inspirational driving force for one of the most remarkable basketball teams of the millennium. This success is due to exceptionally high emotional intelligence on the part of Duncan, a feature that has permeated his career from the beginning.
A huge reason for his performance is the awareness he has of himself and how he can best use that to positively impact the world around him as an athlete and citizen. Duncan admits that he is a quiet human being, with a little bit of a different or awkward persona. However, rather than open up his demeanor to the masses, he rather knows that for him, it is ideal to remain as he is, and he embraces this attitude as a way of quietly reflecting on what he has done, and what he must do better. Rather than open up to the masses, Duncan chooses to open up only to his teammates, who ascribe him as a humorous and kind human being when in the company of close friends, and also admit that he is in his element when playing alone and focusing on himself.
By recognizing this key aspect about himself, he was able to position himself in environments which would be most suited to his success, and manage himself in a way which would most likely lead him to achieving the most he possibly could. According to Duncan, he was raised on the motto, “Good, better, best, never let it rest; until your good is better, and your better is best.” Duncan has lived by this motto and consciously shaped himself into the athlete and person he is by working tirelessly on and off the court to make his best to be elite. Through his intense training regimens, he is able to stay dominant even as he becomes one of the oldest NBA players, due to his knowledge of what he needs to work on, and his drive to be the best. Coming from the US Virgin Islands and not playing basketball until high school, it would have been impossible for him to have achieved what he had without this ethic. At Wake Forest University he chose to major in psychology off the court, which he has said greatly contributed to his ability to regulate himself and his emotions. In fact, his ability to keep a calm, straight demeanor is so well known that he was once ejected from a game for apparently laughing at a referee’s bad call, which was so out of the norm for him that the ref reacted overbearingly. His never ceasing straight face has earned tremendous respect around the league, and the harsh call drew outrage from supporting and opposing fans alike.
Though he has created a bit of a seemingly boring persona around himself, Duncan has generally been very aware of his social environment and created a safe, non-flashy career where no outside force significantly affects his playing. He has engaged in multiple charities, and has been called one of the NBA’s most kind and generous players. Otherwise, he likes to stay out of the limelight, refusing to engage in the significant spending that entraps many other players, and generally avoiding the public eye. Though insuring he could focus on basketball, he has lost the benefits that high profile sponsorships bring, and is typecast by many around the country as a player who is incredibly effective, yet wholly unexciting to watch. The satirical newspaper The Onion has long run a hilarious series of articles describing Duncan doing mundane, overly-intelligent tasks, making him seem more like an accountant than a basketball superstar.
However, though less than perfect in managing his social perception as a whole, he is exceptional at building relationships and leading the individual members of his team. Coach Greg Popovich has worked with Duncan since the beginning of his career, and the two now appear to have a relationship more as equal colleagues than as a player and coach. Each builds off of the other and knows exactly what to expect from their relationship, and this close bond has brought the pair a total of four championship titles. Likewise, Duncan has expertly helped to mold some of the most elite players in the game, such as Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard, and many more. A vital reason for the Spurs remarkable success is the ability of their players to move as a perfectly functioning single unit while playing. Duncan has created an environment where they know each other to such a personal degree that they are able to seamlessly run their offense and defense in complete reliance and trust on each other to do their part, yielding one of the most spectacular shows in fundamental basketball.
All of this is due to his exceptional emotional intelligence. Duncan knows himself, and knows exactly the kind of work he needs to put in, correct environment, and ideal interactions for him to be one of the best basketball players to ever touch the court, as well as an exceptional human being. Tim Duncan is a perfect example of the success that can be achieved by being self-aware and unwavering in analyzing the world for the better, and his achievements truly serve as an inspiration for all who dream to follow in his footsteps.
We hope this analysis is as enjoyable to you as it has been for us, and by reading it, you get a sense of what we have so far been learning on our adventure abroad. We are excited to see how each of these individuals will use these qualities to claim the top spots in each of their sports this year, and thanks for reading!
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