Merriam Webster defines leadership as “a person who has commanding authority or influence” (“Leadership,” n.d., para. 14). By this definition, anyone who holds rank or influence is a leader. However, what often separates good leaders from average, or even bad leaders, is their attitude. Since an organization’s success or failure depends on the alignment of purpose, direction, and motivation among leaders and followers, leaders must develop positive attitudes in themselves and others to better achieve mission success (Department of the Army, 2019). The purpose of this article is to highlight the documented effects between emotional intelligence (EI), which is the ability to understand and positively influence subordinate and peer attitudes and motivations, and leadership effectiveness, while also offering methods to increase U.S. Army emotional competence.