Emotional intelligence.

Introduction

This checklist explains the concept of emotional intelligence, sometimes referred to as EQ or emotional intelligence quotient, and why it is becoming more important. It gives an overview of the basic principles and outlines why it is relevant for managers. A brief self-test indicator is given at the end.

Emotional intelligence is increasingly being regarded as a major key to personal success and as being more important than IQ. Some of the most successful people in life today are those who are regarded as having a high level of emotional intelligence whatever their level of IQ. Being able to manage themselves and others successfully is often a crucial factor in their success. With a growing emphasis on 'soft skills', managers need to be able to sensitively handle other people, both within and outside the organisation.

National Occupational Standards for Management and Leadership

This checklist has relevance for the following standards:

D: Working with people, units 2, 3

Definition

The ability to perceive, and understand, personal feelings, and those of others. Emotional intelligence means recognising emotions and acting on them in a reflective and rational manner. A person employing emotional intelligence needs to have self-awareness and empathy for other people, together with self-restraint so that reactions are shaped by thought, and not feeling. In the workplace, this ability can greatly enhance interpersonal communication and people skills. Emotional intelligence was first broadly discussed by Daniel Goleman (See Thinker 053).

Emotional Intelligence at work

Most people do experience a range of both positive and negative emotions at work. Examples can include:

* Satisfaction--you have done an excellent piece of work

* Exhilaration--you have won a major contract

* Pride--you have helped someone out of a difficult situation

* Anger--your work has not been appreciated

* Frustration--because of delays in implementing your recommendations

* Anxiety--difficulty in meeting deadlines.

How does Emotional Intelligence work?

When emotions are experienced, such as satisfaction, anxiety or frustration, the human brain is programmed to respond to the threat and an emotional response is triggered. However, acting on that first impulse can lead to things being said or done that are later regretted. Emotional intelligence means that whilst you acknowledge that emotion, you then take a step back from that situation and let rational thought influence your actions.

Action checklist

1. Understand the theories of Emotional Intelligence

Two American psychologists, John D Mayer and Peter Salovey, first defined the phrase "emotional intelligence" in the 1980s. Daniel Goleman, another American psychologist later built on their work and published his well-known books on the subject. He also produced a framework for emotional intelligence, which consists of five elements:

* Self-awareness--understanding yourself, your strengths and weaknesses and how you appear to others

* Self-regulation--the ability to control yourself and think before you act

* Motivation--the drive to work and succeed

* Empathy--how well you understand other peoples' viewpoints

* Social skills--communicating and relating to others.

Other important researchers into Emotional Intelligence include Dr Malcolm Higgs and Professor Victor Dulewicz. They identified seven elements of emotional intelligence, which can be broken down into three main categories:

* The drivers--motivation and decisiveness. These two traits energise people and drive them towards achieving their goals, which are usually set very high.

* The "constrainers"--conscientiousness and integrity, and emotional resilience. In contrast, these two traits act as controls and curb the excesses of the drivers--especially if they are very high and undirected, or misdirected.

* The enablers--sensitivity, influence and self-awareness. These three traits facilitate performance and help the individual to succeed. (Source: People Management, 28 October 1999).

2. Ask what this means for me

The following competencies are considered necessary for managers, and have particular relevance for emotional intelligence. For example, managers need to be able to:

* manage themselves (self-regulation and constrainers) and not venting their frustration on staff

* have self-awareness of their real, not perceived, strengths and weaknesses

* motivate others as well as themselves

* counsel or coach others within the organisation (social skills, enablers)

* encourage others, and offer advice (social skills, enablers)

* develop good working relationships (empathy and enablers).

3. Test and develop your Emotional Intelligence

A major problem when testing for Emotional Intelligence is that there is no one agreed standard definition of the concept. Practitioners and trainers use a widely varying range of characteristics and assessment methods, and many of the tests available for measuring EI, through the Internet, for example, reflect this. These tests are, however, useful in making people aware of the issues involved and can give an indication of where an individual's emotional strengths and weaknesses lie.

Another problem is whether EI can be developed. Certainly, skills such as team building and motivation skills can be developed. There are numerous books, seminars and courses that aim to do just that, or at least to give a better understanding of the issues involved. Until more academically rigorous and tested assessment outcomes are agreed, it may be safest to say that, for the time being, only some facets of EI can be learned or taught. Others, like adopting a more understanding attitude, or building drive and determination, can only come from within.

Examples of EI tests can be found at

The Centre for Applied Emotional Intelligence (CAEI)

www.emotionalintelligence.co.uk/

The Hay Group Emotional Intelligence Services

http://ei.haygroup.com/about_ei/

The Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations

www.eiconsortium.org

The tests usually take the form of questionnaires or psychometric testing, measuring competencies or characteristics such as: emotional energy, stress, assertiveness, sociability, attitudes, decisiveness, objective judgement, selfesteem, courage and tolerance of and consideration for others. Some tests are wholly web-based; others paper-based. A simple test is given at the end of this checklist.

Managers should avoid:

* Assuming that you don't bring your emotions to work with you.

* Thinking that emotional intelligence is not relevant for your job.

* Thinking that your emotional intelligence needs no further development.

Additional resources

Books

The emotionally intelligent manager: how to develop and use the four key emotional skills of leadership, David R. Caruso and Peter Salovey

San Francisco, Calif.: Jossey Bass, 2004

The EI advantage: putting emotional intelligence into practice, Patricia McBride and Susan Maitland

London: McGraw Hill, 2002

Primal leadership: realizing the power of emotional intelligence Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee

Boston, Mass, Harvard Business School Press, 2002

This is a selection of books available for loan to members from the Management Information Centre. More information at: www.managers.org.uk/mic

Related management thinkers

Daniel Goleman--emotional intelligence (Thinker 053)

Organisations

The Centre for Applied Emotional Intelligence (CAEI)

The representative body for professionally qualified Emotional Intelligence practitioners in the UK and Europe: www.emotionalintelligence.co.uk/

The Hay Group Emotional Intelligence Services

http://ei.haygroup.com/about_ei/

The Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations

The EI Consortium aids the advancement of research and practice related to emotional intelligence in organizations Its mandate is to study all that is known about emotional intelligence in the workplace: www.eiconsortium.org

Emotional Intelligence Indicator ... nb this test has not been validated
in any way, and is intended to give an illustration only of a few of
the many characteristics that make up the overall concept of EI and
how they can be assessed and provide indicators for development.

                               1       2       3       4        5

Mark x in the appropriate  Low             Medium             High
column:

Self-awareness

You are aware of how you   Never           Sometimes          Always
are perceived by others

You are aware that your    Never           Sometimes          Always
moods can affect others
for better or worse

You are confident of your  Rarely          Sometimes          Always
abilities and feel that
most people respect you

Emotional Resilience

You are determined to      Not often       Usually            Always
see things through to
completion

You are comfortable when   Never           Usually            Always
you have to overrule
others' firmly held views

You are easily depressed   Always          Sometimes          Never
if things go wrong

Motivation

You always look for new    Never           Sometimes          Always
challenges and to exceed
existing targets

You always encourage your  Never           Sometimes          Always
staff to do the same

You find it difficult to   Always          Sometimes          Never
exercise self-discipline

Empathy

You find it hard to be a   Always          Sometimes          Never
good listener

You take into account      Never           Sometimes          Always
other people's concerns

You sense what other       Never           Sometimes          Always
people are feeling
without being told

Social Skills

You feel uneasy talking    Always          Sometimes          Never
to large groups

You are comfortable when   Never           Sometimes          Always
meeting and dealing with
new people

You always try to get      Never           Sometimes          Always
people to work together,
not against each other