It was Daniel Goleman who first brought the term “emotional intelligence” to a wide audience with his 1995 book, and it was Goleman that first applied that concept to business with his 1998 Harvard Business Review article, What Makes A Leader.

In his research, Goleman found that while the qualities traditionally associated with leadership—such as intelligence, toughness, determination, and vision—are required for success, they are insufficient.

Truly effective leaders are also distinguished by a high degree of emotional intelligence, which includes self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill.

IQ and technical skills are important, but emotional intelligence is the sine qua non of leadership. –Daniel Goleman

These qualities may sound “soft” and unbusinesslike, but Goleman found direct ties between emotional intelligence and measurable business results.

This is good news, especially for those of us in the social sector. They are the heart and soul of major gifts fundraising.

Believe it or not, building emotional intelligence skills is a formal part of the curriculum in the MBA program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

I work as a group facilitator for this popular elective called Group and Interpersonal Dynamics, affectionally known as “touchy feely”. For over 10 years, I have witnessed hundreds of students develop these skills.

If you’ve followed my blog, you know that I frequently write about building confidence and learning how to increase influence. These are a few of the traits needed to find people that have the interest and capacity to champion your big ideas. 

Although it’s essential to build the organizational infrastructure to hire fundraising staff, fund ongoing professional development, and budget for a database and technology, developing emotional intelligence skills is the key to sustainable success.

Not all people have or desire to develop these skills, and that’s ok. Effective teams work best when there are a wide range of skills and talent present. Make sure you have people with EQ skills in the mix.

Major Gifts Fundraising and Emotional Intelligence

We know that fundraising is not about money. It’s about sharing your resources to make the world a better place. That happens when a cause speaks to your values and touches your heart.

Logical thinking, insisting on accountability, and asking hard questions is expected by some donors – as it should be. However, you’ll never get to that point if you haven’t touched their heart.

That requires deep listening, self-awareness on your part, and being able to hold vulnerability – essentially feelings of joy, sadness, and anger among others.

That’s how to connect with human beings. That’s how to inspire a partnership with your donors. One where you join together to create change.

When someone cares deeply about a cause, and you’ve effectively made a connection with them, they move from being willing to contribute, to downright excited.

No, it’s not about the money. Check out Goleman’s 5 Components of EQ. Below, I offer quick some recommendations for applying them to fundraising and board development.

In the Board Room

When relating to donors and recruiting the perfect board member, showing confidence in yourself and your nonprofit is essential.

When your board meetings exude a spirit of inclusivity where everyone feels valued and welcome; where each person feels free to offer different perspectives and ideas that are controversial or unpopular, you have created a safe place that will bring out the best in people.

That’s not easy and it takes time and a commitment. Rather than looking for the perfect blend of attorney’s accountants, and marketing expertise on your board, consider adding EQ skills to the mix.

Enable your prized board members to go out into the world and become the ambassador, advocate, and asker that they yearn to be. That’s the key to success for your nonprofit.

Are you motivated to further develop your EQ skills?