Leadership and emotional intelligence

In this Prishtina Talks presentation, Vehbi Zeqiri — licensed in leadership by the Institute of Leadership and Management in London, trained in neuro-leadership and emotional intelligence at the Academy of Leadership Sciences in Switzerland, executive director of a foundation for leadership and professional advancement, with an academic background in economics, finance and Islamic banking from Malaysia — takes up two fundamental and closely tied subjects: leadership, and emotional intelligence.

Zeqiri begins with the basic question of what leadership is and why it is so needed today, arguing that some 70% of organisational and social problems come from weak or unsuitable leadership. He draws the essential distinction between a manager and a leader — a distinction that dates back to the time of Adam Smith and that even today is rarely understood properly, since in Kosovo and in the world alike we have far more managers than leaders. Through concrete and historical examples, he defines leadership as “a process in which the leader influences an individual or a group of people” — not a place in a hierarchy or a social rank, but a way of life.

In the second half, Zeqiri turns to emotional intelligence, the idea popularised by Daniel Goleman, and argues that without it no other competence of leadership works fully. He examines how emotional intelligence is developed through self-awareness, self-control, empathy and the management of relationships, and how it applies in practice in leading an organisation, a family and oneself. The lecture closes with concrete recommendations for developing those abilities in anyone who aspires to lead — not necessarily in the institutional sense, but as a way of living and of influencing others.

Some of the points covered: 📌 Why 70% of problems come from weak leadership 📌 The chief difference between a manager and a leader 📌 Leadership as a process, not a position or a rank 📌 The history of the idea: from Adam Smith to today 📌 Emotional intelligence according to Daniel Goleman 📌 The four components: self-awareness, self-control, empathy, relationships 📌 Why the other competences do not work without emotional intelligence 📌 Practical recommendations for developing leadership and EI

📍 Prishtina Talks