Emotional Intelligence and Leadership

Emotional Intelligence and Leadership

Among the core leadership competencies required for global management is an overarching competence called emotional intelligence (E.I.).  In this article, we discuss emotional intelligence in detail and assess the impact it has on workplace performance, including its influence on team leadership and personal leadership.

Although an extension of the theory of 'social intelligence', identified by E.L. Thorndike in 1920, the concept of emotional intelligence exploded on the corporate scene in 1995 after the publication of Daniel Goleman's bestseller “Emotional Intelligence”.  Goleman followed with another bestseller in 1998 entitled, “Working with Emotional Intelligence”.  The theories and concepts developed by Goleman and others with respect to emotional intelligence have since strongly influenced the way effective leadership at an individual and organisational level is measured and evaluated.

What is emotional intelligence?

When considering effective leaders, most of us can quite readily think of examples from the sporting arena.  If pressed for reasons for this view, our answers are likely to include comments such as 'performs well under pressure', 'sets very high standards for him/herself and the team', 'makes the most of his or her ability always giving 100%' and 'a good team player'.  In simple terms, these are all characteristics of emotional intelligence.  Goleman describes a model of emotional intelligence comprising four domains and twenty competencies in his most recent book, “The Emotionally Intelligent Workplace”.  The four domains are self awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management.  The first two of these domains are personal.  Self-awareness is characterised by a deep understanding of one's emotions, strengths and weaknesses, an ability to accurately and honestly self-assess.  Self-management is about the control and regulation of one's emotions, the ability to stay calm, clear and focused when things do not go as planned, the ability for self-motivation and initiative.  The second two domains are social, and concern a person's ability to manage relationships with others. Social awareness covers empathy for example, in the ability to consider employees' feelings in the process of making intelligent decisions either on a one-to-one basis or as a group.  Relationship management covers the ability to communicate, influence, collaborate and work with colleagues.

"Emotional intelligence has an enormous impact in the workplace..."

For some time, we have recognised the importance of these components of emotional intelligence to those who go about their 'work' on the sporting field and intuitively we have understood their importance in the more traditional workplace.  However, it has only been in recent times that strong empirical evidence has been gathered which highlights the enormous impact high emotional intelligence can have in the workplace.  Researchers have gathered data from hundreds of companies and thousands of executives measuring the importance of individual emotional intelligence competencies, as well as the clusters of emotional intelligence competencies that make up each domain.  Goleman's own findings are typical.  When he compared star performers with average performers in senior leadership positions, he found that nearly 90% of the difference in their profiles was attributable to emotional intelligence factors.

"EI is the sine qua non of leadership..."

As Mr Goleman wrote in the Harvard Business Review 1998, 'it's not that IQ and technical skills are irrelevant. They do matter, but mainly as threshold capabilities, that is, they are entry level requirements for executive positions. My research, along with other studies, clearly shows that emotional intelligence is the sine qua non of leadership.'

How do you measure emotional intelligence?

Like most professional competencies, high emotional intelligence will be reflected in a person's behaviour in the workplace.  A 'special test' for emotional intelligence is therefore not necessary as a rigorous performance management system will include an assessment of the key components of emotional intelligence.  The most effective way to evaluate workplace performance is through structured behaviourally-based interviewing and 360o reference-checking conducted by high calibre, trained evaluators.  Careful definition of the key competencies and their behavioural indicators will ensure that the process evaluates such things as the way an executive controls his or her emotions during times of stress or the way he or she interacts with colleagues (including superiors, peers and subordinates); such measures can be routinely gauged through evaluations in the course of completing assignments in the area of management appraisal or executive search.

"High level employees over-estimate their own EI..."

Interestingly, in the context of leadership, recent studies by Sala (2001, www.eiconsortium.org) demonstrate that employees at senior levels in the organisation are more likely to have an inflated view of their emotional intelligence competencies, and less congruence with the perception of others, than lower level employees.  Sala proposes two explanations for these findings.  Firstly, that 'it's lonely at the top' and executives higher in the organisation have fewer opportunities for feedback as there are fewer people above them to provide such feedback and, secondly, it may be that people are, in general, less inclined to give constructive feedback to more senior colleagues .  Nonetheless, the importance of emotional intelligence to business performance and the likelihood that senior employees have an inflated view of their emotional intelligence merely highlights the importance of well-developed and well-executed performance management systems that measure emotional competencies.

Can you learn emotional intelligence?

Our traditional education system has in the past focused on the three 'R's and the development of our cognitive skills.  Therefore it is not surprising that, while  a few people may have naturally high emotional intelligence, most of us need some skill development in this area.  Fortunately, Goleman and others have shown that the bulk of scientific research in this area supports the view that emotional intelligence can be learned.

Developing your emotional intelligence skills is not something you can learn by reading a book or an article.  It takes training, practice and reinforcement. In the course of our work, we often have occasion to give executives feedback on their performance and management style as an outcome of behavioural-based interviewing and 360 o feedback. While many executives find this confronting and threatening, especially if they have little experience in receiving feedback, it is undoubtedly the first step in developing one's emotional intelligence as it brings attention to gaps and development opportunities.

Happy Job Hunting!

July 6

"Emotional intelligence" can improve communication

Most of us know what constitutes appropriate workplace behaviour, but when things get heated and emotions run rampant, even the most polished business professional can lose his or her cool. "Emotional intelligence," or the ability to perceive, assess and manage the emotions, is a hot topic in today’s workplace that can help managers and employees alike successfully communicate, resolve conflict and improve workplace productivity.

"Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize and positively manage emotions in oneself, in others and in groups," said Jackie Green, portfolio manager at the American Management Association. "What are the skills? They include self-awareness, self-regulation, self-motivation, social awareness and relationship management."

Research has shown that emotional intelligence can account for 85 percent or more of the success of effective leaders and individual contributors, according to Green. "In the workplace, emotions can affect attitudes, behaviour, relationships and performance positively or negatively," reported Green. She continued, "Developing emotional intelligence is the key to building relationships, getting along with people and overall effectiveness in the workplace."

"Creating an organizational culture that supports emotional intelligence is key," said Green. "Encouraging managers to create emotionally intelligent teams that are self-aware, self-regulating and self-motivating can lead to great success in any organization."

HR can benefit, too. Green has made it clear that employees and managers alike can benefit from the utilization of emotional intelligence. But she also claims that HR can benefit from its use as well. "HR can apply the principles of emotional intelligence to a variety of workplace situations," she said. Green listed the following examples, stating that emotional intelligence can assist HR in:

• building trusting relationships;
• creating an inspiring vision;
• making and announcing tough decisions;
• delegating difficult or unpleasant tasks and responsibilities;
• influencing and inspiring others who are fearful, reluctant or resistant;
• confronting difficult behavior and poor performance tactfully;
• creating a culture that encourages openness and authenticity;
• building unified teams out of fragmented, dysfunctional groups; and
• promoting consensus and collaboration out of divisive conflict.

"Emotional intelligence is a flexible skill that can be learned, unlike IQ," said Green. "HR should encourage managers to give employees the opportunity to practice the skills of emotional intelligence, to understand their own emotions and behavioural tendencies, to manage how they react to different situations and people, and to learn how to read and respond to other people."

"Emotional intelligence can be both learned and developed," encouraged Green. For example, the American Management Association offers two seminars in emotional intelligence: "Developing Your Emotional Intelligence" and "Leading with Emotional Intelligence." Also, now that you are able to define "emotional intelligence," you may be well-served to simply sit down with your colleagues and discuss what you can to improve the emotional intelligence of your employees.


Happy Job Hunting!

Len Grady IT Project Manager, HRSDC
Cell: (613) 222-8162 | Office: (819) 956-9326 
lgrady@rogers.com | http://visible.me/lengrady-ei

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June 28

10 Habits of REALLY Emotionally Intelligent People

Emotionally intelligent people:

1.    Label feelings rather than people, making a distinction between what they think and what they feel.
2.    Own (take responsibility for) their own feelings and emotional reality. (Check in your body; where & what are your feelings?) Do not stuff or negate their emotions.
3.    Acknowledge when their negative emotions aren’t serving them & others and self-regulate to problem-solve whatever is causing the emotion, (use tension release processes and your breathing).
4.    Look for learning and growth in their negative emotions.
5.    Self-regulate to change unhelpful emotions into energized states (i.e. anger can become passion or drive to take action).
6.    Are respectful towards and validate other people’s feelings, regardless of what they think of them AND regardless of their age.
7.    Place their own agenda aside in order to step into someone else’s shoes, applying the resulting empathy, by communicating it or otherwise supporting the other person.
8.    Do not play the blame game (or send someone on a guilt-trip!)
9.    Limit judgement and criticism (aim for eliminating both) of others, and honor everyone’s unique path and emotional reality.
10.    Do not try to control or change others. (It ain’t possible.)

Happy Job Hunting!

Len Grady IT Project Manager, HRSDC
Cell: (613) 222-8162 | Office: (819) 956-9326
lgrady@rogers.com | http://visible.me/lengrady-ei

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Contact me: lgrady

June 27

The following is taken from "The Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations Guidelines" ( www.eiconsortium.org ).

  Guidelines for Best Practice
The following 22 guidelines represent the best current knowledge about how to promote emotional intelligence in the workplace. They apply to any development effort in which social and emotional learning is a goal. This would include most management and executive development efforts as well as training in supervisory skills, diversity, teamwork, leadership, conflict management, stress management, sales, customer relations, etc.

These guidelines are based on an exhaustive review of the research literature in training and development, counseling and psychotherapy, and behavior change. The guidelines are additive and synergistic; to be effective, social and emotional learning experiences need not adhere to all of these guidelines, but the chances for success increase with each one that is followed.

The guidelines are divided into four phases that correspond to the four phases of the development process: preparation, training, transfer and maintenance, and evaluation.  Each phase is important.

These guidelines were developed for the Consortium by Daniel Goleman and Cary Cherniss, with the assistance of Kim Cowan, Rob Emmerling, and Mitchel Adler. If you are interested in the full technical report that includes all the supporting research for each guideline, you view the full technical report online or download the document in Word 6.0/95 format from. The address of the Consortium’s Web site is www.EIConsortium.org.

  Paving the Way
1. Assess the organization’s needs: Determine the competencies that are most critical for effective job performance in a particular type of job. In doing so, use a valid method, such as comparison of the behavioral events interviews of superior performers and average performers. Also make sure the competencies to be developed are congruent with the organization’s culture and overall strategy.

2. Assess the individual: This assessment should be based on the key competencies needed for a particular job, and the data should come from multiple sources using multiple methods to maximize credibility and validity.

3. Deliver assessments with care: Give the individual information on his/her strengths and weaknesses. In doing so, try to be accurate and clear. Also, allow plenty of time for the person to digest and integrate the information. Provide the feedback in a safe and supportive environment in order to minimize resistance and defensiveness. But also avoid making excuses or downplaying the seriousness of deficiencies.

4. Maximize learner choice: People are more motivated to change when they freely choose to do so. As much as possible, allow people to decide whether or not they will participate in the development process, and have them set the change goals themselves.

5. Encourage people to participate: People will be more likely to participate in development efforts if they perceive them to be worthwhile and effective.  Organizational policies and procedures should encourage people to participate in development activity, and supervisors should provide encouragement and the
necessary support. Motivation also will be enhanced if people trust the credibility of those who encourage them to undertake the training.

6. Link learning goals to personal values: People are most motivated to pursue change that fits with their values and hopes. If a change matters little to people, they won’t pursue it. Help people understand whether a given change fits with what matters most to them.

7. Adjust expectations: Build positive expectations by showing learners that social and emotional competence can be improved and that such improvement will lead to valued outcomes. Also, make sure that the learners have a realistic expectation of what the training process will involve.

8. Gauge readiness: Assess whether the individual is ready for training. If the person is not ready because of insufficient motivation or other reasons, make readiness the focus of intervention efforts.

  Doing the Work of Change
9. Foster a positive relationship between the trainers and learners: Trainers who are warm, genuine, and empathic are best able to engage the learners in the change process. Select trainers who have these qualities, and make sure that they use them when working with the learners.

10. Make change self-directed: Learning is more effective when people direct their own learning program, tailoring it to their unique needs and circumstances. In addition to allowing people to set their own learning goals, let them continue to be in charge of their learning throughout the program, and tailor the training approach to the individual’s learning style.

11. Set clear goals: People need to be clear about what the competence is, how to acquire it, and how to show it on the job. Spell out the specific behaviors and skills that make up the target competence.  Make sure that the goals are clear, specific, and optimally challenging.

12. Break goals into manageable steps: Change is more likely to occur if the change process is divided into manageable steps. Encourage both trainers and trainees to avoid being overly ambitious.

13. Provide opportunities to practice: Lasting change requires sustained practice on the job and elsewhere in life. An automatic habit is being unlearned and different responses are replacing it. Use naturally occurring opportunities for practice at work and in life. Encourage the trainees to try the new behaviors repeatedly and
consistently over a period of months.

14. Give performance feedback: Ongoing feedback encourages people and directs change. Provide focused and sustained feedback as the learners practice new behaviors. Make sure that supervisors, peers, friends, family members – or some combination of these – give periodic feedback on progress.

15. Rely on experiential methods: Active, concrete, experiential methods tend to work best for learning social and emotional competencies. Development activities that engage all the senses and that are dramatic and powerful can be especially effective.

16. Build in support: Change is facilitated through ongoing support of others who are going through similar changes (such as a support group). Programs should encourage the formation of groups where people give each other support throughout the change effort. Coaches and mentors also can be valuable in helping support the desired
change.

17. Use models: Use live or videotaped models that clearly show how the competency can be used in realistic situations. Encourage learners to study, analyze, and emulate the models.

18. Enhance insight: Self-awareness is the cornerstone of emotional and social competence. Help learners acquire greater understanding about how their thoughts, feelings, and behavior affect themselves and others.

19. Prevent relapse: Use relapse prevention, which helps people use lapses and mistakes as lessons to prepare themselves for further efforts.

  Encouraging Transfer and Maintenance of Change
20. Encourage use of skills on the job: Supervisors, peers, and subordinates should reinforce and reward learners for using their new skills on the job. Coaches and mentors also can serve this function. Also, provide prompts and cues, such as through periodic follow-ups. Change also is more likely to endure when high status
persons, such as supervisors and upper-level management model it.

21. Develop an organizational culture that supports learning: Change will be more enduring if the organization’s culture and tone support the change and offer a safe atmosphere for experimentation.

  Did It Work?  Evaluating Change
22. Evaluate: To see if the development effort has lasting effects, evaluate it. When possible, find unobtrusive measures of the competence or skill as shown on the job, before and after training and also at least two months later. One-year follow-ups also are highly desirable. In addition to charting progress on the acquisition of competencies, also assess the impact on important job-related outcomes, such as performance measures, and indicators of adjustment such as absenteeism, grievances, health status, etc.

Happy Job Hunting!

Len Grady IT Project Manager, HRSDC
Cell: (613) 222-8162 | Office: (819) 956-9326
lgrady@rogers.com | http://visible.me/lengrady-ei

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Contact me: lgrady