Addressing Legal-Managerial Relationship Management Challenges through Emotional Intelligence

Abstract

Two key obstacles may prevent in-house counsel, when placed on interdisciplinary teams, from supporting the views, perspectives, and interests of others: (1) beliefs that it is the job of in-house counsel to provide legal guidance, not to support the views, perspectives, and interests of others; and (2) beliefs that supporting the views, perspectives, and interests of others may lead in-house counsel to suppress her own independent judgment. Emotional intelligence provides in-house counsel with a means to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to address these obstacles. Many of the tasks performed by in-house counsel require an aptitude for emotional intelligence (EQ). The components of EQ encompass self-awareness, self-regulation, internal motivation, empathy, and social skills. Emotional intelligence represents a critical core competency for in-house counsel who serve on interdisciplinary teams. The purpose of this article is to outline how emotional intelligence training may promote greater receptivity to supporting the views, perspectives, and interests of others among in-house counsel who are assigned to interdisciplinary teams.

Keywords: emotional intelligence, in-house counsel