Self-aware leaders are those who are courageous enough to look at their own weaknesses and vulnerabilities, determine how those those weak areas are holding them back from achieving more, and then do something about those vulnerabilities. Emotional intelligence is one of the ways a leader can assess their abilities to understand and manage their own emotional actions and reactions, and (I believe) more importantly, learn to understand the emotional or potential emotional actions and reactions of others in order to improve relationships. Great leaders are skilled at building and maintaining relationships with others. Great leaders know they cannot do everything alone, and need to have the courage to trust others yet hold others accountable for what they say they will do.