The situational leadership style can be used to solve problems on what a leader can do if group members disagree with newly introduced changes (Spector, 2005, p.3). The situational leadership style is based on a combination of task behavior, active listening, relationship behavior, constant interactions, leadership flexibility, and communication to find the best possible solutions to problems (Tang, 2007, p.5).
On the other hand, behavioral leadership focuses on the behavioral traits of a leader to stimulate certain behavioral responses by people who are led by the leader to develop quality, dedication to duty, and talent enhancement to stimulate and enhance employee performance (Walker et.al, 1998, p.1).
Here, behavior can be conditioned to achieve the anticipated response. Psychologist agree that leadership capabilities of men of old was due to their masculine traits and innate personal qualities which inherently influenced the most effective group (Watson, Hubbard & Wiese, 2000, p.2-9). Born leaders are characterized by innate drive, motivation, ambition, self-confidence, creativity, integrity, charisma and flexibility. On the other hand leadership can be promoted, because leadership can be taught (Vrba, 2007, p.3-5).
The transactional leadership style defines a leader who focuses on task responsibilities, motivates followers by their own self-interest, strives to fulfill goals based on a system of contingence rewards, and exchanges wages for the work done (Wong & Law, 2002, p.2-9). Such leaders lead by reward and punishment, issuance of directives. The leaders are action oriented, think inside the box to solve problems, very passive, and practice management by exception (Sosik & Megarian, 1999, p.5).
Methodology
The methodology used in this study was to gather qualitative data based on a survey, interview, and personality test on Thomas Vo. Thomas was selected to represent the class because of his diverse leadership experience in different settings. Preparations were made early and the interview started at 10:00 am. Surveys were conducted online and questionnaires were administered to the respondents directly.
The qualitative research method was used based on the interview which focused on the situational, great man and transactional leadership questionnaires to collect objective answers. The class ensured Thomas provided credible explanations by providing holistic explanations with classs consensus in the natural setting of the class.
The findings could be made transferable because the results could be generalized in any leadership situation based on judgment by the class and the professor, dependable because the results on the interview and the questionnaires on leadership theories could be replicated, and confirmed because each member of the class contributed to the findings. The personality test was conducted to identify the critical characteristics of Thomas as a leader draw on psychoanalytic study of introverts and extroverts.
Resource Analysis
Results due to the situational leadership questionnaire showed Thomas to a proactively listener to team members opinions, and used the results after careful evaluation to maintain and control implementation of decisions if team members disagreed with the action imposed.
That was in agreement with Thomass statement in the interview where he actively listens keenly to others before making decisions. That was also consistent with the situational leadership theory. In addition, Thomass option in the case of a member who tried to skip a meeting by taking a sick leave confirmed that he could have to talk with the member and explain the importance of the meeting, a trait consistent with the situational leadership style.
Thomass response to self-evaluation showed the behavioral leadership style components, which were elements consistently found in the survey, questionnaire, and interview statements. However, not all the elements that define behavioral leadership were present; implying the kind of leadership traits characterizing Thomas leadership style is a combination of different leadership theories.
The great mans leadership theory characteristics lacked because the basis of the theory is that leaders are born. Thomas acquired his leadership skills through training and experience, which refuted the presence of the traits of the great man theory. Thomas agreed that he was not born a leader, but made a leader, which implies leadership can be learnt and made.
The interview and survey showed that transactional leadership traits were inherent in Thomas, who agrees that bonuses were given to members at the end of the year based on their productivity, a situation that is defined on a reward and punishment basis.
Thomas agreed that imposing the maximum penalty corresponding to the severity of a mistake further showed the inherent characteristic of the transactional leadership element. Personality test showed Thomass leadership style to combine both extrovert and introvert characteristics. Thomas conducts self-evaluation on a daily basis in the evening after work to identify areas of improvement.
Conclusion
An analysis based on the evidence from different leadership theories, survey data, interview data, and personality test showed that Thomas to be an extrovert in combination with some introvert personality traits. That was because Thomas alludes to be energetic, reflective, intuitive, talks much, is lively, and is patient. Further analysis of the sources of information revealed Thomas to widely borrow leadership traits from different leadership theories.
References
Ardichvili, A. & Kuchinke, K. P. (2010). Leadership styles and cultural values among managers and subordinates: a comparative study of four countries of the former Soviet Union, Germany, and the US, Human Resource Development International, 5 (1).
Sosik, J. J., & Megarian, L. E. (1999). Understanding leader emotional intelligence and performance: The role of self-other agreement on transformational leadership perceptions. Group Organization Management, 24, 367-390.
Spector, P. (2005). Introduction: Emotional intelligence. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26, 409-410.
Tang, H. V. (2007). A cross-cultural investigation of academic leaders emotional intelligence and leadership effectiveness in Taiwan and the United States Unpublished dissertation, Texas A&M UniversityKingsville and Texas A&M University Corpus Christi.
Vrba, M. (2007). Emotional intelligence skills and leadership behavior in a sample of South African first-line managers. Management Dynamics, 16, 25-35.
Walker, H. M. et.al. (1998). Macro-Social Validation: Referencing Outcomes in Behavioral Disorders to Societal Issues and Problems, Behavioral Disorders, v24 n1 p7-18
Watson, D, Hubbard, B. & Wiese, D. (2000). Self-other agreement in personality and affectivity: The role of acquaintanceship, trait visibility, and assumed similarity.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 546-558. Wong, C. & Law, K. S. (2002). The effects of leader and follower emotional intelligence on performance and attitude: An exploratory study. The Leadership Quarterly,13, 243-274
Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to perceive, control, and evaluate emotions (Desimone, Werner and Harris 2002). There are various debates concerning EI. Some studies claim that EI is innate whereas others suggest that people can learn and improve their EI. Peter Salovey and John Mayer have studied EI since the year 1990.
According to them, EI is the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor ones own and others feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide ones thinking and actions (Salovey and Mayer 1990).
Salovey and Mayer developed a model of EI consisting of four factors. First, they claimed that the initial stage of understanding EI involves accurate perception of emotions. Perceiving emotions involves understanding nonverbal forms of communication such as body signals. Second, there is also reasoning with emotions.
This stage involves applying emotions so as to enhance mental activities. In this manner, emotions help individuals recognise things that attract attention. Third, there is understanding of emotions.
This is because different emotions may reflect different meanings and people may attempt to interpret such emotions so as to understand their causes. Finally, the model also proposed management of emotions. This entails controlling emotions and responses as well as considering emotions of others.
Salovey and Mayer claimed that they arranged the model from basic to high psychological processes. In other words, the lower levels compose of simple tasks such as perceiving and expressing emotions. Conversely, the higher levels consist of complex processes such as awareness, reflection and controlling emotions.
Proponents of EI believe that both an individual and an organisation derive value from understanding EI effects on organisations and individual productivity. In most cases, majorities of workers devote limited time to personal development due to busy schedules and commitments. This affects organisations.
As a result, organisations must develop employees development programmes in order to enhance EI. Organisations benefit from employees who are emotionally sensitive to customers and colleagues. This creates positive business relationships among all stakeholders. Investing in employees personal development increases productivity and motivation of the workforce.
Individuals also benefit from developing EI in terms improving their relationships at workplaces and social life. At the same time, they also develop a better understanding and handling of emotional situations of others.
The concept of EI also applies to organisational behaviours. It is relevant in the field of industrial and organisational psychology (I/O psychology). I/O psychology scientifically studies workforce, organisations, and workplaces (Robbins 2005). EI and I/O psychology enhance organisational development through improving the workplace environment, employees satisfaction and their well-being.
Organisations can rely on I/O for improving their hiring processes, educative programmes, and develop employees behaviours and attitude. In addition, studying organisational behaviour is also important for organisations during changes and developments.
Thus, human capital, emotional intelligence and organisational behaviours relate to understanding workplaces and positive behaviours of employees. Positive behaviours of employees have positive contributions to organisational objectives.
Relevance of Emotional Intelligence to individuals and organizations in the context of Organisational Behaviour
Organisational goals about employees behaviours aim at transforming employees behaviours in an effective manner (Desimone, Werner and Harris 2002). In organisations, the focus has been on employees behaviours that improve performance and behaviours that enhance teamwork and unity.
Most organisations focus their efforts on employees behaviours that improve organisational performance. Emotional intelligence falls in the second category of organisational behaviours that focus on improving teamwork and relationships.
However, ever since the works of Salovey and Mayer and later Goleman, EI has gained considerable recognition in modern organisations. EI has become relevant in the modern workplace. We can attribute this interest among organisations to their desires to enhance business performance and desire among management to predict employees behaviours.
The works of Mayer and Salovey have continued to influence the field of EI. They have created a link between emotions and mental capabilities of subjects and concluded that the two are inseparable. Thus, they concluded that emotions and cognitive were important in studying decision-making processes among people as they influenced how people react to situations.
The challenge with EI is the concept of measurement. This is because measurement remains the main source of controversy in studying EI and its application in organisational behaviours. Past studies have relied on testing as the basis for measuring EI. However, we have to acknowledge that EI remains a matter of personal experience.
Based on personal experiences, the measurement of EI is prone to personal bias due to self-assessment. However, self-reports have remained effective approach in measuring EI in a given context as Jordan and Troth noted (Jordan and Troth 2004).
These studies maintain that assessing factors like emotional awareness can only be accurate when self-report is the tool of measurement. This is because people can identify their own behaviours and reactions in certain situations. As a result, they can measure such situations from lack of interest to situations that demand attention.
According to Jordan and Ashkanasy, combination of self-reports and peer reports as tools of measurements of EI can provide the valid measure of emotional self-awareness among teams (Jordan and Ashkanasy 2006). These tools of measuring EI are at initial stages of development. However, studies claim that such tools have psychometric validity. Thus, they give reasonable and valid results of EI measures.
Application of EI in organisational behaviours relies on empirical data that can prove findings and claims most scholars in this field advocate. However, critics believe that EI lacks sufficient data to prove such applications in organisations.
Such critics argue that potential applications of EI in organisational behaviours have not undergone thorough testing to prove their validity due to infancy stage of such measurement tools in relation to other areas of measuring personality and intelligence (Locke 2005). In addition, these critics also claim that proponents of EI applications in organisational settings rely on data based on flawed models of EI.
These models are not consistent with the original definition as Mayer and Salovey suggested. In addition, some of these studies have wide coverage than the original model of Salovey and Mayer. Such studies have created opportunities for critics to dismiss claims by proponents of EI applications in workplaces (Daus and Ashkanasy 2003).
EI remains a controversial issue in relation to organisational behaviour as Daus and Ashkanasy discovered (Daus and Ashkanasy 2003). Landy and Locke have criticised popular models of EI (Landy 2005; Locke 2005). These researchers view these models based on their shortcomings. Landy and Locke argue that modern models of EI originated from discredited views of Thorndike which are more than 80 years old.
This was the source of social intelligence. Some of these criticisms fail to consider recent scientific works on EI with reference to organisations. For instance, Ashton-James concurs with the definition of EI in the works of Ashkanasy (Ashkanasy and Ashton-James 2004).
However, he criticises the methods and abilities of how to measure EI. According to Ashton-James, any attempt to measure EI should put emphasis on respondents abilities to experience emotions that they should give their feedback on during EI tests. However, we must recognise that Ashton-James criticise EI from its original definition.
This is necessary because various proponents and critics promulgate their own definitions of EI as the case of Goleman and Bar-On (Goleman 1998; Bar-On 1997). According to these critics, EI is a modern reflection of social intelligence. These scholars further argue that any model of intelligence that relies purely on intellectual capabilities cannot sufficiently explain human behaviours and capabilities in practical situations.
Locke fiercely criticises the EI that it is an approach that has a political motivation through egalitarian ideas as everyone will, in some form, be equal in intelligence to everyone else (Locke 2005).
Landy also supports this idea. Locke notes that EI is not an appropriate field of scholarly study and should not apply to organisations. However, proponents argue that Locke still cling to outmoded models of the past where such research relied solely on mental processes and behaviours in order to provide explanations for organisational behaviours.
Studies that support EI and organisational behaviour emerged after the work of Ashforth and Humphrey as forms of support to their idea (Ashforth and Humphrey 1995). According to Humphrey and Ashforth, EI is influential in areas of service provision, and leaders may also engage emotional labour so as to motivate and influence moods of their employees and improve performance of the organisation.
These studies suggest how EI is significant in the service industry where employees interact with customers and other employees. We can see the rapid growth of service sector. In this field, EI is useful for employees who serve customers as they can be able to manage different emotions in order to meet given core values of organisations.
This is how we can link job performance to employees EI as their abilities to control emotions may aid them cope with work requirements. Later studies have raised interest in the subject and referred to such works as affective revolution in organisational behaviours. In addition, studies of Robbins show latest research that supports EI in organisational contexts (Robbins 2005).
From the renewed interests in the subject, we can argue that EI is not a new form of social intelligence or another theory to study intellectual intelligence.
EI has emerged as a strong area of study in the field of I/O psychology and studies in organisational behaviours. Thus, we can use EI to predict and understand behaviours in organisations. These studies prove the relevance of EI in understanding and predicting organisational behaviour.
We can observe how critics like Ashton-James have changed the definition of EI. However, we should look at EI from the earlier perspective of Salovey and Mayer. This is the ideal definition of EI that future researchers should base their criticisms.
At the same time, scholars interested in understanding EI should review scholarly works that focus on EI in order to understand theoretical underpinning of the concept. This shall enable them understand EI and its application in organisational behaviour.
Conclusion
We have noted the development of EI and its practical application in understanding and predicting organisational behaviours. This implies that the concept of EI shall continue to evolve in organisational behaviour studies. The field has gained recognition after the study by Ashforth and Humphrey.
The focus on emotional abilities of employees continues to influence the field of organisational behaviour. Organisations find EI useful in their attempts to enhance workforce productivity and predict their behaviours. At the same time, organisations find EI relevant in recruitment and selection of employees that can adapt to different situations.
This enhances team effectiveness and organisational output (Jordan and Ashkanasy 2006). Some studies have also shown that organisations that focus on EI have improved their healthy relationship among employees (Goleman 1998). Golemans applications of EI in workplace using concepts of self-management, empathy, self-awareness and social skills demonstrate the positive application of EI in organisations.
We must also appreciate the works of critics that claim distract the theory of EI. Such criticisms lead to further studies in the field of EI and organisational behaviours. Thus, some scholars have concluded that emerging studies are good indicators of developments in this field of study and claims by critics lack substantial grounds.
Organisations using EI tests to assess and predict behaviours of their employees face difficult tasks in developing strategies for EI testing, methods, and processes.
In addition, EI lacks official body that can control types of tests subjects take. Still, these tests may be subjective and have different meanings depending on personal experiences of the subjects. To this end, we must also note the inherent bias as subjects may not provide true responses due to ambiguities with some of the test materials.
Reference List
Ashforth, Blake, and Ronald Humphrey. Emotion in the workplace: A reappraisal. Human Relations 48 (1995): 97-125.
Ashkanasy, Neal, and Claire Ashton-James. Performance impacts of appraisal and coping with stress in workplace settings: The role of affect and emotional intelligence. Research in occupational stress and wellbeing 3 (2004): 1-43.
Bar-On, Reuven. Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory: A measure of Emotional Intelligence, Toronto: ON: Multi-Health Systems, Inc, 1997.
Daus, Catherine, and Neal Ashkanasy. Will the real emotional intelligence please stand up? On deconstructing the emotional intelligence debate. The Industrial and Organizational Psychologist 41 (2003): 69-72.
Desimone, Randy, Jon Werner, and David Harris. Human Resource Development, 3rd ed. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt College Publishers, 2002.
Goleman, Daniel. Working with emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam Books, 1998.
Jordan, Peter and Neal Ashkanasy. Emotional intelligence, emotional selfawareness and team effectiveness. Linking Emotional Intelligence And Performance At Work (2006): 145-164.
Jordan, Peter and Ashlea Troth. Managing Emotions During Team Problem Solving. Human Performance 17 (2004): 195-218.
Landy, Frank. Some historical and scientific issues related to research on emotional intelligence. Journal of Organizational Behavior 26 (2005): 411-424.
Locke, Edwin. Why emotional intelligence is an invalid concept. Journal of Organizational Behavior 26 (2005): 425-431.
There have been changes in IQ scores as years advance. The high scores recorded in the rise of IQ are because of the changing trend in evaluation taking a turn from strictly intellectual testing to testing of competence in the light of psychological statuses gauging empathy, initiative and the self-discipline of people (Riley, 2013).
It is agreeable that IQ has limits because there are limitations to IQ as it relies mainly in intellectual intelligence without. It is more factual without express assurance of competence because it lacks any emotional connections. IQ limitations emerge from the incapability of encompassing other human qualities, which promote the success of an individual (Lopez-Zafra, Garcia-Retamero & Berrios, 2012).
The great divide in competence is the utilization of emotions and cognition through the capability of using the mind and the heart in a concurrent manner. Through competence divide, there is a combination of expertise, thoughts and feelings. This differs with pure cognition in performance with no combination of feelings in performance (Queendom, 2013).
Emotional intelligence helps in developing a manner for handling situations in an emotionally conscious way. That requires a capacity of intellectual competence through support of cognitive abilities.
The great divide remains between the emotional and purely cognitive capabilities of the brain. The divide exists in professions where there is need for contact with people requiring connection to their feelings for a better delivery of services (The Hay Group, 2013).
Emotional intelligence is important in the field of human resources for organizational growth and competence (Cherniss, Grimm & Liautaud, 2010). Emotional intelligence makes a difference in human resources partitioning because it opens up the possibility for understanding of people and making good use of their input in the organization for the achievement of a competitive edge (Hein, 2013).
This happens in the human resources management because it is all about handling people and requires ample understanding of the thoughts and feelings of others, then integrating it into the needs of the organization for success (Skinner & Spurgeon, 2005).
Peter Principle is the over reliance on individuals with too much expertise and skills in top positions within organizations without consideration of their people management skills (Smithson, 2010). While working in an editing firm, one the chief editor resigned to take up a better paying job in a different organization and the editor next in line got the opportunity of taking up the position of chief editor.
He was a dedicated person, after getting the position of chief editor; he started bullying people and got at loggerheads with reporters on issues of interpersonal relationships. Attention to people is a valuable resource since it gives a chance for attending, and treating them in a manner that recognizes their needs, and feelings (Dickinson & Villeval, 2012).
Emotional tone deafness is a social awkwardness initiator in that it does not take the feelings of people into consideration. Empathy, therefore, holds a social responsibility through promotion of consciousness to peoples emotions (Skinner & Spurgeon, 2005).
The contagiousness of emotions runs through the fact that emotional consciousness helps in the practice of democracy, expressiveness and trust. This allows for open atmospheres providing chances for development of personal bonds within an organization.
In sports, there is need for unity for the performance of a teams effectiveness (High performance systems. Inc, 2013). When a couch is flexible and trusting of the efforts of his team members, he creates a social atmosphere where each member feels valuable to the team following the example of their leader and that pays off to the leadership of the team leader.
Through empathy, an initiator connects to the emotions of others and works at the realization of their innermost needs (Hosea, 2012). It provides room for development of trust and long-term relationships respecting the emotions of others with concern to their thoughts and feelings (Ingram & Cangemi, 2012).
It allows conscious aware of feelings and the social appropriateness in the expression of physical influence of others. It promotes balance in all aspects of life such as health, work and family in the achievement of personal goals and values and this self-awareness helps in leadership (Team Technology, 2013).
A social extrovert may be with a hindrance of some of the effectiveness of communication qualities required of a good leader (Zimmerman, 2013). Extroverts are naturally outgoing, but they lack communication skills to drive a leader into quality interaction with subordinates in an emotionally connected manner (Bonvicini, 2007).
A change catalyst must possess special qualities, such as expertise, self-confidence, motivation, commitment, initiative, optimism, and influence for effective transformation (The Hindu, 2013). A change catalyst uses personal competencies to manage resistance and perseveres while presenting cases and handling of consultants as they influence change (Fleischer, 2012).
Fear of litigation makes people incapable of speaking the truth afraid to go against company policies. Speaking out is damaging that most people stay silent on issues about incorrect factors.
Whistle blowers face persecution because the implications of their action go against company regulations of protection of organizational secrets. Companies focused on breach of their policies made by whistle blowers (Lavan, & Katz, 2005).
References
Bonvicini, K. A. (2007). Physician empathy: Impact of communication training on physician behavior and patient perceptions. (PhD Thesis., University of Phoenix.). Web.
Cherniss, C., Grimm, L.G., & Liautaud, J.P. (2010). Process-designed training: A new approach for helping leaders develop emotional and social competence. Journal of Management Development, 29(5), 413-431.
Dickinson, D. L., & Villeval, M. C. (2012). Job allocation rules and sorting efficiency: Experimental outcomes in a peter principle environment. Southern Economic Journal, 78(3), 842-859. Web.
Fleischer, S. (2012). The perceived relevance of professional leadership competencies among mid-level managers in student affairs at four-year institutions of higher education. (Dissertation, California State University, Long Beach). Web.
Hosea, M. (2012). Empathy and the magic of influence. Marketing Week, 50-52. Web.
Ingram, J., & Cangemi, J. (2012). Emotions, Emotional Intelligence and Leadership: A Brief, Pragmatic Perspective. Education, 132(4), 771-778.
Lavan, H., & Katz, M. (2005). Disciplining Employees for Free Speech, Whistle Blowing, and Political Activities. Journal Of Individual Employment Rights, 12(2), 119-135.
Lopez-Zafra, E., Garcia-Retamero, R., & Berrios Martos, M. (2012). The Relationship between Transformational Leadership and Emotional Intelligence from a Gendered Approach. Psychological Record, 62(1), 97-114.
Skinner, C., & Spurgeon, P. (2005). Valuing empathy and emotional intelligence in health leadership: A study of empathy, leadership behaviour and outcome effectiveness. Health Services Management Research, 18(1), 1-12. Web.
Smithson, R. (2010). Smithson: Is Tiger Woods proving the Peter principle? Kelowna Capital News. Web.
Performance in work places is not just about completion of tasks assigned to an individual that matters. Work performance is rated on task completion, contextual behavior and ability to make logical decisions (Mersino 2007).
Our focus in this paper will be on the emotional aspects that guide ones decision making ability and other extra behavior that promote mutual interaction between individuals in work places. Emotional intelligence is a significant requirement for team work; there is a coherent link between successes attained in team work to the level of emotional intelligence held by the members of the team (Stough & Saklofske 2009, p. 189).
Research indicates that emotional load in work places varies with the type of work, some jobs have greater emotional load on workers than others. Jobs with high emotional load include; nursing, management jobs and service providers. They involve dealing directly with people of different emotional levels. To successfully work in such an environment, one requires a high level of emotional intelligence.
Recruitment of personnel for jobs with high emotional loads requires the use of proper emotional measuring tools that effectively selects the right individual for the position. Further training on emotional management skills need to organized often for such employees and when a need arises. Motivation should also be used to help and encourage individuals at work places improve their emotional intelligence.
Motivation as pointed out by Stough & Saklofske (2009 p184) is capable of creating loyalty among workers and makes redirect them towards their cause. A persons empathy is very important in developing ones emotional intelligence, empathy makes one to reflect on the impact the decisions he makes has on others. It allows one to considers both the positive and negative consequences of his decisions and makes appropriate judgment prior to.
Social skills are very vital for mutual interaction between peers as well as subordinates in work place. A visionary and intelligent thinker must be complimented by emotional intelligence in order to be able to link and work with others in a team.
People who are aggressive and socially engaging are more capable of developing an influential network of relationships than those who are not social (Wall 2007, p. 48). Lack of emotional intelligence is an inhibition to social integration. High IQ alone is not a measure of successful career or professional performance; one requires people skills to be able to work effectively with others.
Emotional intelligence at work places
Emotional intelligence at work places is measured against the following parameters; energy, stress, optimism, self esteem, change, detail and courage (Wall 2007, p. 50). Energy as a measure of emotional intelligence focuses on the physical involvement that an individual directs to the execution process of the job. The energy that an individual directs to carrying out a project tends to vary with the mood as well as the interest that they have in the job.
Self esteem defines the value that we regard ourselves with, people with high esteem attach high value to themselves where as those with low esteem tend to underrate themselves. Self esteem also looks at the belief we have over what we are capable of doing. Those who regard themselves excessively high or have very high self esteem tend to disregard others or view others as lesser beings than them (Stough & Saklofske 2009). Such an attitude may be a hindrance to effective social interaction with others.
Workers like it when factors that compromise their self esteem are eliminated in the work environment so that the work they do is well appreciated by the seniors. Business managers who do not regard their employees with high value are more likely to get poor performance from the employees compared to those who appreciate and regard their employees. Stress refers to the way human beings tend to react to situations that undermine their capability. Stress also encompasses the reactions that we have over what we are not willing to accept in our lives
Details refer to ones ability to check and point out the fine details of the job requirement. Some managers are more keen on details where as others apply the hands type of leadership in business. The later manager may be more involved in affairs that would better be left to employees to handle.
This is an indication of lack of emotional intelligence for managers to be too involved in fine details that the workers are supposed to take care of on their own. It is important to be keen to work details and ensure all is going on well as a manager in an organization; however this should be carried out at a moderated level so that the workers are allowed some little freedom to direct themselves.
Managers who on the other hand keep their eyes to the work at a distance and allow the workers to rule and make decisions on their own are more likely to promote carelessness at the work place. Human beings react and adapt to the work environment according to the standards that are set out for them.
A hand off leadership is a show of lack of proper human skills to engage the workers more closely. Change as a parameter of measuring emotional intelligence reflects on ones ability to adapt to new ideas and process in the work place. There are individuals who are used to routine work and quite resistant to changes in the work place. These are classified as the low achievers who can not work hard to adapt to new changes in the routine (Wall 2007, p. 52). Work environments that offer variability and change calls for
Optimism is a measure of the persons positive mentality over a given task. A low measure in optimism as pointed out by Stough & Saklofske (2009, p. 179) indicates a gloomy and faulty finding person not able to cope with pressure in crisis. A high score in optimism is an indication of a positive mentality, the problem with very optimistic people is high trust in people that blurs their sense to identify mistakes or problems in what they do.
Courage measures peoples ability to face challenges, demanding positions requires that people take decisions that may hurt some people and favor others. Making a decision that hurts some people requires courage, in organizations, such decisions are inevitable. Even the very best decisions made or proposed will always have a percentage of people opposed to it, when it is made, the people opposed to it feel offended or hurt.
Direction is another important parameter that measures the workers emotional intelligence. Direction describes and individuals sense of decision making. There are people who can not make independent decisions on their own. They depend on decisions made in group or from the advice from other people. Decision making is a significant aspect of leadership, leading a group of people involves making decisions for the people and giving them the direction to follow.
People who score highly on the aspect of direction are more comfortable making decisions. (Mersino 2007, p. 12) indicates that those who score extremely high on the parameter of direction have a tendency to make a decision everything. Such people have a problem with delegation and tend to struggle to do everything on their own. It is important to learn how to trust the ability of other people and be willing to work with them.
It also counts to be assertive and tolerant to other people. An assertive person is more reasonable to the demands or requirements that he makes on others. They should be persuasive to convince people to agree to what they want them to do. Skills to solve conflicts are necessary for a person to be rated as being assertive.
Conflicts often arise as a result of differences between the warring parties, solving a conflict requires an assertive mind to make the differing person agree to a common consensus. People with low scores on this parameter; have a problem holding people accountable for their action (Wall 2007, p. 56).
Very high scores on the other hand is an indication of being harsh and repellant. This is more likely to hurt and damage the mutual relationships that one has with others. Tolerance is a measure of ones ability to forgive as well as their patience on issues. Intolerant people are more emotional and their emotions are easily triggered when a crisis hits.
Promoting emotional intelligence in work places
Programs which enhance emotional intelligence should be encouraged in work places for effective team work. It is only by team work that good performance can be realized in an organization. Lack of emotional intelligence in members of an organization, especially the leaders is a major cause of poor work performance and low achievement.
Emotional intelligence, being an aspect of the human character can be developed and changed with time in an individual. This can only be achieved through programs that help individuals change and adapt to desired emotional characteristics. Mentorship programs can be vital programs that organizations can utilize to mentor their employees to adapt desired emotional intelligence.
Most employees endowed with the very best technical skills like engineers score poorly in human skills. Many organizations can not do without this type of employees because of the type of business they deal with. The best such organizations can do is to mentor the identified cases and train them to acquire good interpersonal skills.
Psychological guiding and counseling programs are also vital especially to extreme cases of persons with low interpersonal skills. Guiding and counseling programs are meant to assist an individual considered as a victim of a given behavior to reflect on the possible consequences of the behavior.
After reflecting on the consequence, the individual is expected to do soul searching and come up with possible ways through which he can avoid the consequences or creating the problem. In this case, it is the victim who makes a decision and not the counselor.
There are well established counselors who offer the counseling services and successfully manage to assist individuals to seek solutions to their psychological and emotional problem. The process of referring an employee identified as lacking in emotional intelligence should be done with tact so that such an employee does not feel intimidated.
The working environment should be conducive enough as to avoid eliciting a lot of stress from the workers. Stress as we have discussed hampers a persons ability to apply emotional intelligence. If the work conditions put a lot of unnecessary demand to the workers, they are likely to react back without applying emotional intelligence. The attitude that the managers have towards the employees also determines how the employees behave towards them.
The first published materials about the subject emotional intelligence were launched into the market in the early 1990s (Salovey & Brackett 2004, p. 33). At this point, the business managers had a belief that success is determined by personal qualities. Such personal qualities focused on ones ability to establish and maintain a trusting relationship with the customers.
The personnel working in sensitive work environment such as manufacturing human and animal drugs and food need to have a high emotional intelligence. This is because the products manufactured in such companies or organizations are consumed directly by human beings or animals. Incase the people handling such products at preparation or packaging point do not have proper emotional intelligence, they can cause a widespread negative impact on the lives of the consumers by poisoning.
Such a typical example is the Tylenol crisis in which an unidentified criminal poisoned the pain relieving capsules with cyanide causing the death of about seven people in Chicago (Cherniss & Adler 2000, p. 1). This crisis caused the company much of its market after its reputation was spoilt following the incidence.
The act was the first of its kind in the history of the company. Business leaders in the company had not anticipated such an action from the workers and did not understand how to handle it.
A series of meetings held in response to coin out a solution to the problem led to the following resolutions; that there was need to develop a statement of our own values, and the need to develop a testing mechanism for the managers of the organization. A lot of changes taking place in the market places such as innovation, globalization, and completion require that organizations endeavor to promote people with a high level of emotional intelligence (Cherniss & Adler 2000, p. 3).
Technical advances have been so rapid in the recent years which require that the workers have to keep upgrading their skills and knowledge so as to be at the same level with the changing technology. Organizations need to have programs that ensure smooth adjustment of the employees to adapt the new skills.
Most business managers now recognize to the fact that success at work places is not just about ones cognitive abilities. In the early years, the American business leaders emphasized simply the individuals cognitive abilities in recruiting employees. The testing tools used for recruitment included; the scholastic aptitude test and the graduate management admission test (Salovey & Brackett 2004, p.9). It has since been realized that technical and cognitive skills alone do not qualify a successful employee.
One needs to be equipped by emotional intelligence as well. Learning institutions, even those recognized for producing the finest MBA students do not have programs that enhance their students emotional intelligence. They instead believe that emotional intelligence is inculcated in individuals when they are still young. The problem with this has been passing to industries employees who do not have well developed emotional intelligence.
Cherniss and Adler (2000, p. 7) point out that the human brain remains plastic and capable of making new connections with new experiences and requirements on it. This means that there is no limit to the age of learning emotional intelligence. It is not a factor that is inherited but can be learned irrespective of age. The increasing global market brings to companies and organization a variety of customers who demand more of emotional intelligence on those who serve them.
Changing a persons behavior and habits is not easy as pointed out by Cherniss and Adler (2000, p. 8) in their research. The two psychologists allude that behavior and habit change, is hard because the human brain adapts by default to the option of dealing without thought and feelings. It is important for organizations to develop and train their staff on emotional intelligence.
Considerations for creating opportunities of emotional intelligence at work places
This chapter focuses on the possible benefits that companies and organizations are bound to benefit from creating opportunities for emotional intelligence in work places. Business leaders have to understand the behavioral issues of the staff so as to be able to create better teams among the staff.
A staff that is well equipped with emotional intelligence can develop a good social relationship amongst themselves. Good social relationship among staff develops a good social capital. Emotional intelligence makes people to be able to control their emotions and develop ways of dealing with work related stress. It also improves the ability of the staffs decision making skills especially when they are under pressure.
Besides, emotional intelligence also makes people to be able to adapt easily to the changes in the organization (Hughes & Bradford 2007, p. 57). Current market scenarios call for quick learning and adaptations to the recurrent changes in technology and other ways of transacting business.
Emotional intelligence among the staff enhances the building of a better working environment with. A harmonious and conducive working environment can only be developed by a staff that has learned and known how to apply human skills in terms of emotional intelligence. An energetic and listening team is significant for a business enterprise to succeed in its projects. Better leaders are developed by inculcating aspects of emotional intelligence in the staff on a long term basis (Hughes & Bradford 2007, p. 23).
Changes in the business market are so rampant and rapid and require an adaptive work force that is aware of emotional intelligence and how to apply it. Organizations that emphasize on emotional intelligence are more capable of succeeding in the economic meltdown, able to grow while those that emphasize on cognitive and technical skills only continue to downsize (Mersino 2007, p. 12).
Emotional intelligence in a business organization enables a staff to be able to understand the needs of the clients and be able to respond to them appropriately. Emotional intelligence is important during business negotiations, business is more about negotiations.
Subjects of negotiation in business enterprises include; salaries for employees, their welfare, prices for items between customers and suppliers as well as the workers unions. The business leaders involved in these negations must always maintain high levels of emotional balance during the negations. Lack of emotional intelligence during the negotiation process can easily result into a crisis and stall the negotiation.
Business leaders are constantly tasked with the burden of making decisions on behalf of the organizations board of management. The decisions made are always in favor of some programs that go along to affect some members of the organization positively or negatively. The demand of making such decisions constantly can cause fear and anxiety in the person making them (Salovey & Brackett 2004, p. 35). In our day to day business activities, we often fall short in our job requirements.
Whenever we fail to satisfy the customers needs, the customers and other business observers are bound to give their ratings and criticize the work and services we offer. Our response to the rating and critics we get from the people has to be well guarded by our emotional intelligence. If we do not apply emotional intelligence and respond inappropriately, then it is hard to realize our weakness and improve on them.
Learning emotional intelligence
As pointed out earlier, there is no well established curriculum that trains people on emotional intelligence. Not even the finest MBA courses have an aspect of training students on emotional intelligence. Consulting firms have identified this shortfall, and are currently utilizing the opportunity through seminars and workshops. There are different adverts framed with very attractive words on how the consultants can raise ones emotional intelligence in a single day.
Through the workshops and seminars, the consultants claim to make one emotionally competent through the programs they have design. Most of the programs are designed from a motivation point of view to challenge the listener by reflecting on a series of real life examples (Mersino 2007, p.8).
Research indicates that it is possible to help people irrespective of their age to learn emotional intelligence. There are two perspectives in learning emotional intelligence that have to be clearly distinguished for proper learning. The two perspectives are cognitive and emotional learning.
Scientists point out two distinct brain areas from which emotional and cognitive aspects are linked. The distinction is responsible for the interrelatedness between cognitive and emotional abilities in people. The cognitive part of the brain is linked to the cortex where as the emotional and social part of the brain is linked to the circuitry part of the brain (Cherniss & Adler 2000, p. 23).
Cognitive learning is more about fitting new information in already existing brain structures. On the other hand, emotional learning involves changing our habits such as the way we approach people, how we give others feedback and more. In order to achieve this, we need to change the ways we think and reason.
Emotional intelligence defines a persons identity through actions and thought. Learning emotional intelligence involves discarding the old habits and adapting new ones; the process is not an easy one and is always met with resistance. It is a process that takes quite some time, the one day seminar as claimed by most of the consultants in this field is more unattainable.
Motivation marks the beginning point for the learning process of emotional intelligence. This sets the pace in the learning process and acts as an eye opener especially among the adults who have already learned hoe top relate with others. Before commissioning an emotional training process, the trainers need to carry out a needs assessment for the organization. In this process possible challenges to emotional learning among the members of the organization are identified.
Major challenges to conducting emotional intelligence learning in an organization are dealing with skeptical minds that can not associate the process to the desired results (Salovey & Brackett 2004, p. 51). Before the intended trainees establish a link between the training and the expected results, it is not possible for them to elicit the results.
After carrying out a needs assessment, the next most important aspect to consider is identification of important competencies that are needed for success. It should be noted that every organization has it different work requirements and when designing a training program for them, the focus should be specifically on the competencies required for the job. The training process must be tailored to the individual as well as the industry in which the person works for the person to be able to make a link.
It is important to establish the particular emotional competences that need to be focused on in order to be able to do a proper evaluation of the learning process. The most important competences as pointed out by Wall (2007, p. 56) include; self awareness, and interpersonal relations skills.
The next perspective to look at when preparing an emotional learning program is the assessment of the personal strengths as well as weakness that the people in the focus have. It is one thing that business leaders understand the difficult associated with leading particular groups.
Identifying the particular emotional intelligence aspects that they require to solve the problem is yet another problem. The learning program should be designed to enable the staff identify the emotional competences required of them to go about the problems they encounter while interacting with others.
Just like any learning process, an assessment tool and an enhanced way of providing feedback need to be devised so that the learners can be evaluated and given appropriate feedback. It is a bit trickier in giving back feedback on peoples achievement in learning emotional intelligence. Emotional competencies of a person reflect a persons real identity as discussed earlier.
It also reflects the persons self esteem giving a feedback on these competencies is often responded to in a defensive manner (Mersino 2007, p. 253). A good relation ought to be established between the learner and the trainers so that the learner is able to trust the feedback given to them by the trainers.
If trust is established, learners are more likely to belief the feedback as accurate and work hard on attaining more positive results. Learners of emotional intelligence should be allowed enough time to reflect on the feedback as well as the possible consequences of the said feedback. They should further be assisted to adapt to the desired emotional competencies.
Conclusion
Studies on emotional intelligence have come up very recently and especially how to apply them in the business context. The old business leaders emphasized more on cognitive and technical skills at the expense of emotional intelligence. It has now been realized that high intellectual quotient capabilities must be complimented by emotional intelligence for proper performance at work place (Hughes & Bradford 2007, p. 69).
In this regard, there are tools that have been established to measure peoples emotional intelligence during recruitment processes. This is in the light of realizing the demanding work environment that the current global market presents to business leaders. The demand causes pressure which requires that we learn human skills to be able to interact well in the business and achieve our set goals
There are many benefits for business leaders who are emotionally intelligent. Emotional intelligence enables both business leaders and employees to be able to understand reasonably each others feelings. It is also important in conflict resolution process as well as negotiations.
Customer care personnel need to be well equipped with emotional intelligence because they interact quite often with customers. Sometimes customers have bitter complains about the organizations services or products. Attending to complaining customers requires a sober mind to tactfully convince the customer. The other business departments equally demand emotional intelligence just like customer care department.
Those with poor or low emotional intelligence should be assisted to learn emotional intelligence and be well equipped to interact socially. Contrary to the widely held perception, emotional intelligence can be learned at all ages provided only that the learner is given time and the trainers use well researched modes of content delivery. Good workers in organizations but who have low emotional intelligence should be assisted to develop emotional intelligence and offer the valuable manpower to the organization.
Reference List
Cherniss, C. and Adler, M. (2000). Promoting Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. Alexandria: American Society for Training and Development.
Hughes, M. & Bradford, J. (2007). The Emotionally Intelligent Team: Understanding and Developing the Behaviors. San Francisco: Jossey Boss
Mersino, A. (2007). Emotional intelligence for project managers: the people skills you need to. New York: AMACOM.
Salovey, P. and Brackett, A. (2004). Emotional Intelligence: Key Readings on the Mayer and Salovey Model. New York: National Professional Resources Inc
Stough, C. and Saklofske, D. (2009). Assessing Emotional Intelligence: Theory, Research and Applications. New York: Springer
Wall, L. (2007). Coaching For Emotional: The Secret To Developing The Star. New York: AMACOM
Emotional intelligence (EI) involves understanding ones emotions plus those of others and using these capabilities to ensure the best outcomes for all concerned. EI also revolves around knowledge of the source of emotions, what emotions mean, and the kind of information they provide towards being able to work well with others.
The MayerSaloveyCaruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT), is an assessment tool that measures and tests aspects of EI. This analysis concentrates on knowledge and rarely on the ability to perform the tasks related to the knowledge measured.
Unlike the past, when all a person needed was intelligence in order to be successful, the present day scenario has made EI mandatory for success; way above intelligence quotient (IQ). Both managers and employees should be capable of managing themselves as well as other persons in order to be successful. Emotional intelligence is practical within a working environment if an individual handles the moods, emotions and impulses of other individuals with utmost sensitivity (Eisenberg, 2000).
According to Sutton (1991), emotions, both negative and positive play a vital role in an individuals life, both in the workplace and at home. Excitement and satisfaction are common when an employee gets an appreciable hike, wins a contract or a promotion from the management.
However, frustration and anger prevail when an individuals efforts are not appreciated by the right people. Emotions shoot up when an employee is pressured to work within stringent deadlines. Such stressing situations that are common within the context of a home or office, especially while dealing with different individuals, result from the inability to make an intelligent assessment of the various possible emotions.
Emotional intelligence in the recent past has received considerable attention as potentially useful aspect in predicting and understanding an employees performance and success in the workplace.
According to Rotundo & Sackett, (2002), EI is a complex and multifaceted ability to be efficient and effective in majority of the lifes domains, as well as job success. Further, EI has been defined on the basis of competencies as a learned capability associated with emotional intelligence that translates to phenomenal performance in the place of work.
Cognitive intelligence
On the other hand, Cognitive intelligence is defined as the intellectual capabilities such as writing, reading, logic, analyzing, reason and prioritizing. Tests conducted to measure cognitive ability are used in performance analysis. Such tests are used to measure an individuals ability to solve problems in various cognitive spheres. The distinction between emotional intelligence and cognitive intelligence is evidenced in the psychometric tests of assessing cognitive ability and psychometric tests of intelligence (Sparrowe et al., 2001).
Cognitive intelligence as a latent trait is assessed by psychometric tests. The cognitive ability is also assessed by tests that change over time; varying on the age as well as intelligence.
Strengths of emotional intelligence and cognitive intelligence
With reference to job performance, cognitive intelligence has been identified to relate to such job performance dimensions as organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and task performance. While OCB involves activities that are vital in achieving the organizations objectives, though not formally considered as part of a job, task performance concerns the primary substantive duties that are formally considered part of the job (Rotundo & Sackett, 2002).
Theoretically, cognitive intelligence fosters task performance through the knowhow of rules, procedures and facts relevant to the technical core of the job. It further enhances OCB through such aspects as rules, procedures and facts vital for effective cooperating, helping and endorsement for the organization.
Employees considered limited by their cognitive abilities may reconsider focusing on the benefits of high emotional intelligence as they often report low job performance in most jobs. With low job performance, there is a relatively larger room for correction and improvement.
For instance, a salesperson who fails to retain the interest of possible customers is likely to lower the possibility of mistakes in future. As such, failure to attain job performance through cognitive intelligence can be compensated for through complementary mechanisms under emotional intelligence. Some of the strengths of emotional intelligence are as follows:
First, additional mechanisms include proficiency at identifying and understanding the emotions of other individuals. This is achievable within the working environment whereby organization members interact with coworkers, supervisors, support staff, and with outsiders such as patients, clients and customers. In the process of interacting, emotions are publicly displayed through vocal, facial and bodily signals that relay vital messages about their intentions, attitudes and goals (Sutton, 1991).
For individuals with low cognitive intelligence and high emotional intelligence, such pertinent information may be transformed to high-risk performance. On the contrary, an individual with high cognitive intelligence and low emotional intelligence can accurately detect the publicly displayed emotions to facilitate interpersonal functioning and coordination necessary for enhancing task performance.
Additionally, information about other peoples intentions, attitudes and goals may be transformed into frequent OCB by individuals exhibiting low cognitive intelligence and high emotional intelligence. Such individuals can, for instance, depict the need for assistance for individuals exhibiting anxiety and sadness (Eisenberg, 2000).
Secondly, emotional intelligence can enhance job performance of low-cognitive-intelligence individuals through regulating emotional influences to cater for social relationships. If an employee generates and displays genuine emotions, rather than fake ones, he/she is likely to receive favorable reactions. Showing genuine concern for coworkers problems enable employees to develop stronger relationships than employees showing less concern.
To develop good social relationships, individuals with high emotional intelligence and low cognitive intelligence may use their abilities to manage emotions. With well established and strong social relationships, there are higher chances of enhancing task performance through advice and social support. Similarly, favourable working relationships will highly prompt employees to participate in OCB more often to the advantage of colleagues (Sparrowe et al., 2001).
Thirdly, job performance individuals with low cognitive intelligence can be enhanced by emotional intelligence through the effects of emotions on the individuals thoughts and actions. Individuals with low cognitive intelligence but intelligent emotionally can attain high levels of task performance and OCB in most jobs, by managing their emotions towards strengthening their motivation and quality of their decisions.
For instance, understanding that anger leads individuals to undermine the level of risk in situations prompts managers to suppress anger while in the process of making an important financial decision; thus portraying positive task performance. Similarly, an employee that understands the importance of positive emotions in enhancing motivation will boost positive emotions towards engaging in OCB (Gardner, 1983).
Although open for discussion, it has been proven that emotional intelligence will often relate to the job performance of an individual within the organization with low cognitive intelligence, and in turn compensate for the low cognitive intelligence. However, as cognitive intelligence increases, emotional intelligence should be less positively related with job performance.
Emotional intelligence is associated with certain benefits. Unlike in 1918, the Intelligence quotient (IQ) is now rated 24 points higher; a direct consequence of more schooling, better nutrition and smaller family sizes. However, emotional quotient (EQ) is lower between the two periods.
The low EQ is evidenced by the bahaviours common with kids in the current times; more aggressive, more angry and unruly, more lonely and depressed, nervous and prone to worry. Cases of crime and violence are on the rise; drug abuse is persisting, cases of alienation and despair rising, unwanted pregnancies, school dropouts, eating disorders and even bullying (Wood et al., 2010).
In business and psychology, it has become a pass time to predict job performance. When the performance assessment is carried out comprehensively using data from subordinates, peers and superiors, EQ predicts a higher performance thrice as good as IQ. Emotional intelligence contributes up to 90 percent for leadership through the influence, team skills, self-confidence, political awareness and achievement drive. However, unsuccessful leaders, we depicted as being angry, lacking empathy, moody, defensive and critical.
In corporate setting and blue-collar occupations, emotional intelligence assessments have been employed in predicting success and failure. Furthermore, the assessments have been instrumental in predicting aggression in the workplace, academic dropout, ability to recover from severe mental conditions and ability to cope with extreme medical conditions (Eisenberg, 2000).
Limitations of emotional intelligence and cognitive intelligence
Although many writers and scholars of intelligence have denoted the need for emotional intelligence as a necessary condition for effective leadership or productive leader-members relations, an empirical study to scrutinize this link suggests otherwise. Contention and issues of controversy touch on the definition and methods of measurement or predicting emotional intelligence; and what EI is supposed to measure or predict.
Although it allows us to maintain relationships and keep our actions under control, emotional intelligence is variously dismissed as being just another management concept.
More often than not, organizations encourage their employees to embrace emotional intelligence both during the hiring and development stages of their careers at the organisation. Individuals with low emotional intelligence view the move by the HR as an intrusion or hindrance into their personal lives. Consequently, emotional intelligence cannot be learned overnight but requires time and effort to learn and practice it correctly (Sosik & Megerian, 1999)
Unlike cognitive intelligence, that is measurable using psychometric tests, emotional intelligence is people ability and measurement of the social skills among individuals is a daunting task. Numerous analysis and effort are required in order for a successful analysis to be conclusive.
Cognitive ability and emotional intelligence in modern organisations
Organizations instituting leadership development programs depend on the feedback of coworkers to have a clue of how their leaders conduct themselves in the workplace. Variations exist in the results of employees self-ratings compared to the ratings by their supervisors, coworkers and subordinates. Management development often focuses on primary skills, abilities and knowledge that are considered fundamental to high-performing individuals or effective leadership behavior.
The important leader behaviours are defined and acknowledged in a way that allows for their assessment and feeding back to the individual. Once an analysis of the key traits is done, the concerned individual is motivated to increase their understanding of areas of strength and weakness, in turn driving the development of improved leadership behaviour (Conway & Huffcutt, 1997).
In an effort to improve the organization as well as the individuals performance, organizations invest considerable resources into skill development the individuals on the management level and above. As expected, increase in the return on investment points to the progressive employee development strategies.
In addition to the management of skill development during a management-development initiative, it is essential to consider the skills an organization terms crucial for improvement. Organizations are guaranteed of better performing leaders championing for higher returns on investment if investment in the right skills is successful (Wood et al., 2010).
In a similar tone, the lines of intelligence testing movement are adhered to by roots of emotional intelligence. Various forms of intelligence, such as social intelligence or the ability to act wisely towards other individuals exist. This aspect of intelligence has since its conception been a daunting task to measure, compared to measuring an individuals cognitive abilities.
Despite the challenges, attempts to measure social intelligence have established that it is composed of three aspects: social knowledge, attitude toward society and degree of social judgment (Gardner, 1983). Further research was instrumental in coining of the concept emotional intelligence, as the presence of cognitive ability.
It was a few years later that emotional intelligence was brought to the mainstream public and was quickly embraced by the leadership development community. Organization value emotional intelligence as it provides a framework for the measuring and designing of emotionally-based soft skills. According to Goleman et al. (2002), emotional intelligence is designed for use in organizational theory, research and practice to develop effectiveness of individuals both in leadership positions and workplace.
Emotional intelligence in organizational outcomes has also been correlated with performance, and especially with linkage to leadership performance. Research conducted by Sosik and Megerian (1999) established leaders with high emotional intelligence performed better than their low emotional intelligence colleagues. Performance on job-related cognitive ability tasks have also been linked with emotional intelligence.
A survey conducted in 1997 on benchmark was conducted on various corporations. From the survey, Goleman (1998) discovered 80 percent of companies focused on trying to promote emotional intelligence in their employees through training and development. While it was implemented during the recruiting and evaluation processes, almost 90 percent of desired traits for entry-level workers but were correlated with emotional intelligence.
Following the results of various studies conducted across corporations the world over; it was conclusive that evidence pointed to the importance of emotional intelligence for the entry and success in the workplace today. Similarly, inclusion of emotional intelligence competencies is important as concluded by the agricultural education research.
Goleman (1998) further argues that in order to apply emotional intelligence in the workplace, two set of competencies ought to exist: personal and social. Similarly, a divergent view postulates that eight factors should be considered while implementing emotional intelligence in an organization. These reservations arise because individuals differ in the abilities to handle emotions; while others may manage personal emotions and anxieties well, handling other peoples emotions might prove impossible.
As such, researchers have concluded that individuals underlying basis for their levels of ability is neutral. Additionally, the human brain is considered plastic; ready to learn at every given opportunity. Variations in emotional skills can be compensated, especially if the concerned parties are willing to take up the task.
References
Conway, J. M. & Huffcutt, A.I. (1997). Psychometric properties of multisource performance ratings: a meta-analysis of subordinate, supervisor, peer and self-ratings. Human Performance. 10, 331-360.
Eisenberg, N. (2000). Emotion, regulation, and moral development. Annual Review of Psychology. 51: 665697.
Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: the theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basis Books.
Goleman, D. (1996). Emotional Intelligence. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. London.
Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R. & McKee, A. (2002). Primal leadership: realizing the power of emotional intelligence. Harvard Business School Press: Boston.
Rotundo, M. & Sackett, P. R., (2002). The relative importance of task, citizenship, and counterproductive performance to global ratings of job performance: A policy-capturing approach. Journal of Applied Psychology. 87: 6680.
Sosik, J. J. & Megerian, L. E. (1999). Understanding leader emotional intelligence and performance: the role of self-other agreement on transformational leadership perceptions. Group and Organization Management. 24, 367-390.
Sparrowe, R. T., Liden, R. C., Wayne, S. J. & Kraimer, M. L. (2001). Social networks and the performance of individuals and groups. Academy of Management Journal. 44: 316325.
Sutton, R. I. (1991). Maintaining norms about expressed emotions: The case of bill collectors. Administrative Science Quarterly. 36: 245268.
Wood, J., Zeffane, R., Fromholtz, M., Wiesner, R., Creed, A., Schermerhorn, J., et al. (2010). Organisational behaviour: Core concepts and applications (2nd ed.). Brisbane: John Wiley and Sons.
The primary aim of this paper is to define emotional intelligence and show how assisting people in a working environment co-exist together and work hard in order to achieve the organizational goal. Emotional intelligence is a core feature in the working environment as it helps in building a strong working relationship through an understanding of each other. One can know and show concern for different needs, challenges, and unique priorities. Emotional intelligence can be the one thing that sets the line between accomplishment and total failure.
Meaning of Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the ability to be able to see their own and other peoples emotions, to be able to identify different reactions, and label them correctly and appropriately. It also adopts emotional information to guide creative thinking and behavior. One applies the aggregate capacity to act with a purpose, to think with a rational mind, and to deal effectively with the surroundings in order to understand fully the emotions of oneself and people around.
Emotional intelligence means being self-aware and able to manage emotions, recognize them, deal constructively with the emotions of others, and motivate oneself. (Travis Bradberry, 2009). Emotional intelligence is a type of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor own and others emotions in order to discriminate among them and to use the information to guide ones thinking and actions (Mackay, 2010).
Social intelligence is the ability to understand and relate to people. It helps to act wisely in human factor according to Thorndike. Thorndike also explains further by including inter-personal intelligence, which is the ability to understand other people, and intra-personal intelligence, which is a correlative ability turned inward (Mackay, 2010).
Importance of Emotional Intelligence at Workplace
One is able to know when and how to express emotions and do it under control without affecting fellow workmates. Employees can handle the stress that comes with the job. They also have the advantage of managing their feelings under the situations of duress at the workplace. Emotional intelligence is necessary to learn personal and social skills that are needed to identify and calculate if we want to be able to reach performance superiority.
By knowing our emotions and how they affect us and others, and also understanding our weaknesses and strengths, we are able to assess ourselves and have a strong sense of directions along with knowing where we can be useful and where we cannot.
The employers will have an insight on how to inspire and guide employees, managing any changes, promoting collaborations and cooperation among the work team and, in turn, improving performance. Employee is made aware of the greater good they can contribute towards the benefit of the organizations increasing performance.
Understanding feelings, duties, and demands encourages individuals to work more effectively and share ideas and opinions with the fellow employees and employers without any fear. This eases on how to boost spirits of individuals with the help of understanding their needs and feelings. This leads to a happy working environment and people will focus more on their work.
Conclusion
Emotional intelligence has come to be one of the greatest characteristics in organizations of this era. It has found an attention in the eye of management, which applies it to be of more interest in the future. Those organizations that employ emotional intelligence are proven to be more successful than those companies that do not have the same practice, because such technique helps them improve the employees job quality.
References
Mackay, A. (2010). Motivation, Ability and Confidence Building in People. New York: Routledge.
Travis Bradberry, J. G. (2009). Emotional Intelligence 2.0. New York: TalentSmart.
Emotion is the object of study in many fields of knowledge: psychology, sociology, anthropology, organizational behavior, neuroscience, etc. Although the scholars and scientists explore emotions from different perspectives, most of them agree that emotion provides a unique source of information about the environment and that it unavoidably informs thoughts and actions (Druskat et al., 2006, p. 27). Thus, emotions inevitably take part in the decision-making process. However, the majority of people do not perceive their emotions in this way, and in most of the cases try to avoid them in an attempt to be rational and logical. The ability to understand and comprehend ones emotional states and signals is called the emotional intelligence. According to psychologists, emotional intelligence includes (a) the ability to perceive, appraise, and express emotions accurately; (b) the ability to access and generate feelings when they facilitate cognition, (c) the ability to understand affect-laden information and make use of emotional knowledge; and (d) the ability to regulate emotions to promote the emotional and intellectual growth and well-being (Druskat et al., 2006, p. 28). The outcomes of such skills are always rewarding because they cause self-development, the refinement of communicational habits, and the better learning capabilities and, thus, provoke the educational and professional improvement.
Emotional Intelligence and Working Performance
Commonly it is considered that employees must leave their emotions behind while working. However, this idea has proved to be wrong. Emotions can be regarded as the indicators of conditions in which a person stands. The negative feelings inform about a stressful situation and ignoring them prevents from finding solutions and answers and can induce the greater psychological distress. Such attitude causes the low performance in each aspect of social life. Low performance is especially undesirable in business and work.
The activities that support emotional intelligence provoke the higher productivity, and this is one of the essential factors for the profitability increase (Stein & Book, 2006, p. 62). The consideration of ones emotions allows more commitment to work and more focus on tasks. Emotional intelligence helps to build positive relations among the team members and, therefore, enhances the organizational culture. The positive and friendly working climate motivates the staff creativity and increases the organizational innovativeness. Thus, emotional intelligence benefits both the organizational executives and subordinates. The employees commitment and high productivity creates the competitive advantage for business and increases progress and development. And the employee who has the abilities comprised in the emotional intelligence becomes capable of self-evolvement through unlocking his or her potentials, and consequently comes to a high level of psychological and job satisfaction.
Emotional Competence and Leadership
The well-developed personal potentials are especially important in leadership. In all cultures and all times, a leader has been regarded as the one to whom others look for assurance and clarity when facing uncertainty or threat, or when theres a job to be done (Golemen et al., 2013, p. 5). For the efficient guiding of others, one needs to have a great deal of emotional composure, self-discipline, and positive and inspiring attitudes.
The effective leadership influences the emotions of the team members and directs them in the right and productive way. First of all, a leader is a person who is aware of the importance of the self-development and who is engaged in the process of learning all the time. By continuous learning, a leader transforms his professional and communication skills into personal strengths and acquires the personal integrity (Golemen et al., 2013, p. 47). The emotional integrity is crucial in addressing other people emotions. Moreover, the emotional competence plays a significant role in creation and maintenance of the organizational culture that motivates the emotional and professional development of the employees.
The stimulation of the subordinates competence and the achievement of the results are the principal goals of leadership. First of all, a leader is a person who inspires by his own example. Thus, development of emotional intelligence abilities is of great importance. The successful leader is the one who is perceptive, knowledgeable, and who can regulate emotions and make use of them. The leader inspires confidence in all aspects, only in this case he or she becomes able to provoke the employees commitment, integrate the employees benefits and goals with the benefits of organization, and create a right orientation to the results achievement and progress.
Conclusion
Emotional intelligence is interrelated with the persons psychological sustainability, and it extracts advantages in the personal life and work. Emotional intelligence includes empathy, social responsibility, and the skills of building healthy interpersonal relations (Stein & Book, 2006, p. 23). The emotional competence of employees and managers benefits the organization by the creation of the positive and flexible working environment, high level of engagement in work and productivity that inevitably induce the financial and organizational profits. Emotional intelligence is bound to advance the culture of the interpersonal relationship both in the small communities and in the society at the global scale. Thus, it is recommendable for individuals and organizations not to neglect the emotions in the decision-making processes and to apply the activities that stimulate the emotional intelligence growth.
References
Druskat, V., Sala, F., & Mount, G. (2006). Linking emotional intelligence and performance at work: Current research evidence with individuals and groups. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2013). Primal Leadership: Unleashing the power of emotional intelligence. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press.
Stein, S., & Book, H. (2006). The EQ edge: Emotional Intelligence and your success. Toronto, Canada: Jossey-Bass.
Annotated bibliography
Druskat, V., Sala, F., & Mount, G. (2006). Linking emotional intelligence and performance at work: Current research evidence with individuals and groups. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
The book comprises the multiple investigations of the emotional intelligence issues conducted by many scholars. They attempt to establish the links between the emotional intelligence and the working performance from the different perspectives to find the ways to advance the professional competence and skills. The methods include data analysis and the evaluation of the prior literature. Through the analysis, the authors prove that the high level of the emotional intelligence is significant for the efficient performance in education, business, and politics.
Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2013). Primal Leadership: Unleashing the power of emotional intelligence. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press.
Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee investigate the notions and issues of leadership and emotional intelligence to establish the links between them. The authors assert that emotional intelligence is the crucial ability of any leader as it includes rationalization and assists in coping challenges and helps to build sound relations with others. Goleman et al. analyze the data collected by many researchers in psychology and management studies. They come to the conclusion that emotional intelligence consists of such aspects as awareness, confidence, adaptability, etc., and that these skills effectively support the leaders performance.
Stein, S., & Book, H. (2006). The EQ edge: Emotional Intelligence and your success. Toronto, Canada: Jossey-Bass.
Through the evaluation of the previous research, Stein and Book investigate the psychological aspects of the emotional intelligence to prove its significance in achieving success and to give some advice on how this knowledge could be implemented in the performance. The authors implement the method of comparison; they contrast the intellectual and emotional quotients (IQ and EQ) to establish their influence on the peoples capacity to be successful. The findings of the research prove that EQ level is more important in this regard and that it can help to advance the communicational and professional skills.
In todays realities, emotional intelligence plays a pivotal role in personal communication. Since information is the least influential factor in interaction, emotions have the most significant impact on peoples impressions. David Goleman is one of the most powerful scientists in the emotional intelligence sphere (Goleman, 2012). His scientific works, books, and lections reframed the new concepts of emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-management, empathy, and skilled relationship. Goleman significantly affected societys rethinking of the importance of effectively using emotional intelligence regularly.
Firstly, Goleman describes emotional intelligence term as a four-component set of qualities that enable a person to interact with other people effectively. The two primary factors, self-awareness, and self-management might be represented as the individuals ability to interconnect with proper personality (Santrock, 2017). The way people understand the source of their emotions and their demonstration to society are the main sub-components of self-awareness. On the other hand, self-management involves the practical capability to control the emotional flow. The second part of the meaning contains skilled relationships and empathy (Santrock, 2017).
Empathetic characteristic describes the level of an individuals ability to understand other peoples emotions. To use skilled relationships effectively, the person should combine the two internal interaction aspects and integrate empathy as an indispensable factor of interhuman communication. Goleman sets the general abilities used in communication when it comes to comparison, while Stenberg underlines the intelligence types: practical, creative, and analytical (Santrock, 2017). At the same time, Howard Gardner depicted nine types of intelligence, depending on the personal characteristics used in the communication process. All three approaches could be used to help children develop emotional intelligence in the future.
Finally, Goleman defines emotional intelligence as the set of four main characteristics that holistically demonstrate the essential elements of interpersonal communication: self-awareness, self-management, empathy, and social skills. On the other hand, Gardner and Stenberg provide a specific description of intelligence types and try to adjust them to the specific individual. To help the children in their future success in communication, educational entities should pay sufficient attention to the four defining factors of personal interaction. By regularly training and experiencing real conversation, children become more adapted to real-life interaction, which makes them more efficient in terms of emotional intelligence.
In general, empathy may be regarded as a persons ability to feel and understand another individuals experience, reality, and perspective from within his frame of reference. At the same time, according to Teófilo et al. (2018), there are multiple perspectives on the concept of empathy that exist in modern scientific literature. Thus, initially regarded as an individual capacity to feel another persons private world, empathy was divided into four major components, including emotive, moral, cognitive, and behavioral empathy (Teófilo et al., 2018). Emotive empathy is ones subjective ability to perceive others intrinsic feelings and psychological states. Moral empathy refers to the altruism-related strong inner force that motivates people to practice empathy. In turn, cognitive empathy presupposes the intellectual ability to identify and understand the feelings and perspectives of another person from an objective standpoint (Teófilo et al., 2018, p. 2). Finally, behavioral empathy is an individuals communicative response used for the transmission of anothers perspective.
At the same time, empathy differs from related concepts, including sympathy, altruism, and compassion. Sympathy presupposes a feeling of concern and care accompanied by a desire to observe improvements, however, it is based neither on emotions nor on knowledge. Compassion refers to a persons intention to share others suffering to lessen them. Finally, altruism is a simple desire to help others while understanding may be absent. In turn. empathy may serve as a virtue that catalyzes sympathy, altruism, and compassion. For instance, when a person understands another individuals sadness, he may have an intention to care, share this emotion, and selflessly help at the same time.
Although empathy cannot be accurately measured and its actual source remains unknown, it is traditionally associated with the activation of the brains mirror neuron systems also responsible for emotion-sharing abilities and intuition related to others feelings, thoughts, and intentions. From early childhood, people interact with others learning to perceive their emotional state and come to spontaneously mirror or mimic the emotional response that they would expect to see from others in a given condition or context (Council of Europe, n.d., para. 7). All in all, empathetic people possess several distinguishing characteristics they are effective observers curious about strangers and active listeners who aim to identify common traits they have with others to understand them and challenge prejudices. They constantly develop their creativity and imagination in order to try on other peoples lives to justify their decisions and actions. Moreover, empathetic people are frequently responsible for the creation and conduct of group activities as they have the capacity to attract others, get them involved, and initiate social change.
Empathys Contribution to Ethics
In order to evaluate empathys contribution to ethics, it is essential to define the latter. Being a moral philosophy, ethics refers to the concepts of morally right and wrong behavior. In other words, it refers to prescriptions in terms of obligations, rights, specific virtues, fairness, and benefits to society on the basis of well-founded standards. For instance, ethics presupposes the reasonable obligations that refrain people from murder, stealing, fraud, assault, or rape standards related to the virtues of loyalty, compassion, or honesty. As moral principles, ethics traditionally guides peoples behavior, decisions, and life activities. On the one hand, these principles may be determined by individual attitudes or the norms of particular social groups. On the other hand, ethical standards, especially related to human rights, are based on well-founded and consistent reasons.
Considering that ethics relate to the standards based on morality, it is possible to state that they are substantially impacted by empathy. Empathy is related to the understanding of others needs, interests, opinions, and perspectives being a determinant of moral behavior necessary for the creation of moral communities (Council of Europe, n.d.). At the same time, empathy relates not only to the understanding of others feelings but to a deep concern for individual and others well-being (Simmons, 2014). In this case, even if another person is not aware of his feelings, an empathetic person emphasizes how he should feel, being aware of them and thinking rationally on the basis of individual perceptions of well-being (Simmons, 2014). In this case, it is possible to assume that empathy and empathetic concern may be regarded as moral virtue that contributes to ethics along with others, such as honesty, loyalty, and compassion. When a person feels empathy in relation to others well-being, it motivates him to either help or not harm them (Simmons, 2014). In other words, empathy motivates people to be morally good, or ethical individuals.
As previously mentioned, empathy has several essential components considering that it is both affective and cognitive, empathy with the basic concerns of other people is necessary for caring about them. Empathy allows people to interact with others, developing an understanding of what is or is not acceptable in the social frameworks (Council of Europe, n.d., para. 13). However, it is necessary to remember that empathetic concern may be controlled in other words, people may choose to whom they feel empathy. In addition, the understanding of others feelings, emotions, and demands does not necessarily presuppose the expression of ethical behavior. In this case, empathy contributes to ethics, however, it is one of its components rather than base as there are multiple other moral virtues and factors that form fully ethical guidance.
Influence of Out-Group Status on Empathys Impact
At the same time, the empathetic approach may be substantially challenged if interaction occurs between in-group and out-group members. The in-group is formed when its members share the same identity, while all others are regarded by them as out-group individuals (Shukla, 2022). In general, as empathy may be controlled, it makes life more valuable, promoting ethical behavior, efficient interactions, and social advantages only in the case of its reasonable balance. Too much empathy may lead to negative consequences, such as emotional burnout due to fixation on other peoples problems (Shukla, 2022). However, empathy may lack when in-group and out-group members interact with each other.
Generally, sharing different identities may cause serious misunderstanding and related destructive social behavior, such as discrimination and violence on the basis of social differences. On the one hand, communication may be regarded as a potential solution as it allows the members of different in-groups to understand each others backgrounds. However, communication has a negative impact on empathy and does not contribute to its promotion. In general, this phenomenon is directly connected with a strong group identity that forces members to think that their group is distinct and dominant (Shukla, 2022). In this case, people not only have negative attitudes towards out-group individuals but possess a meta-stereotype that refers to their perception of others seeming attitude towards them. In other words, when the representatives of various in-groups interact with each other, they act in accordance with their opinion related to how their opponents see them. In this case, a meta-stereotype does not lead to empathy that presupposes the understanding of others.
All in all, an individuals out-group status influences the impact of empathy. When an in-group has a distinct identity, its members will see out-group individuals as inferior. In this case, their ability to understand others feelings and concern others well-being essential for empathy is limited. This notion is supported by multiple research that demonstrate that ingroup members feel a sense of reward and gratification when members of the outgroup receive pain (Shukla, 2022, para. 20). When people treat out-group members as they and different, they promote the increase of social distance. Thus, when multiple prejudices exist between in-groups, their interaction does not contribute to the development of empathy.
A public safety discipline in which the existence and application of empathy attract particular attention is law enforcement and the police and public safety patrolling in particular. As police work is based on interpersonal contacts, the improvement of their efficiency should be considered (Romosiou et al., 2018). According to Ta and Lande (2021), empathy is often mentioned as a key ingredient for enhancing community-police relations, especially following the publication of the Final Report of the 2015 Presidential Task Force on 21st Century Policing (para. 1). Indeed, the understanding of others community needs is essential for efficient servicing. Moreover, the improvement of the polices performance is possible if officers have relationships with community members that are based on mutual trust, respect, shared responsibility, common interests, and confidence.
However, due to the essence of the polices responsibilities, public safety officers are frequently regarded by community members as individuals with out-group status who do not understand and do not consider citizens needs. In this case, it is possible to observe the existence of different ethical standards on the basis of social groups perceptions. For instance, cooperation with police officers in order to prevent a crime should be regarded as morally and ethically right, however, in particular communities, this interaction is regarded as wrong by its members. The existence of this tendency is partially determined by the existence of prejudice between different in-groups. As for the police, Black people are regarded as more threatening in relation to public safety, continuous frisking, arrests, and shooting at unarmed Black citizens on the basis of racial stereotypes that result in officers killing as well lead to the severe confrontation of the police and Black communities that impact understanding and their interaction.
It is obvious that this situation requires an immediate response, and one of the strategies for its improvement is the transformation of officers from out-group to in-group members. For this, police officers are sometimes hired from the representatives of a community in which they will serve after training. In this case, they will be regarded as familiar individuals with the same identity who care about in-group members needs. In general, the focus of police on the improvement of relationships with community members through communication, education, and meetings is necessary, along with the provision of specific training related to public safety officers empathy. All in all, they should learn to consider peoples needs, feelings, emotions, and actions in order to concern their well-being, treat them ethically with respect and dignity, give them the right to express themselves, convey trustworthy motives, and be neutral in decision-making.
Teófilo, T. J. S., Veras, R. F. S., Silva, V. A., Cunha, N. M., Oliveira, J. D. S., & Vasconcelos, S. C. (2019). Empathy in the nursepatient relationship in geriatric care: An integrative review. Nursing Ethics, 26(6), 1585-1600.
Emotional intelligence is the ability of an individual to recognize their own feelings, those of other people, in order to motivate one self and as well be able to manage our emotions, in our own self and in the relationships that we are having with other people. Times back, emotional intelligence was never recognised but as times goes it has been realised that emotional intelligence is a very important thing in the workplace today. It has been realised also that the IQ that an individual has, or having a high IQ does not matter and it does not guarantee a successful business (Goleman and Cary, 2001). From Daniel Golemans book on working with emotional intelligence, we are able to see that most of the outstanding performers in the areas of business and great business leaders are mainly defined in the areas of their jobs by their emotional intelligence and not exactly by their job skills or even the way they perform their jobs in the workplace (Goleman, 2005).
From all the analyses that have been done by experts from all over the world, such as government agencies, non-profit making organizations and even the corporations, have proved that emotional intelligence is a good barometer from which one can measure excellence on almost every kind of job (Goleman and Cary, 2001). Goleman explains that the success of a business is based entirely on the key aspects such as adaptability, empathy, persuasiveness which should be a workforce of all this. He even portrays that the IQ of an individual will only contribute to around 25% or even 4% of an individuals success in the work place or at his job. This shows that its the emotional intelligence of an individual that actually counts when it comes the success in the work place or in business as the IQ or the skills that one has counts for very little in their progress or even in achieving the set goals and of that particular business (Goleman, D, 2005).
The Five Dimensions to Emotional Intelligence
Emotional competence which is in terms of self-regulation, motivation and self-awareness are considered to be much more important when compared to the cognitive skills that a person holds. The author has suggested five competences or dimensions through which we can be able to manage ourselves, this include;
Empathy it consist of developing others, being politically aware, being service oriented, and even understanding others
Social skills- consist of co-operation and team work, managing of conflicts, building of bonds among people and also influencing others.
Motivation- consist of being optimistic, being driven to achievement and also being committed.
Self awareness- it consists of having self confidence, being emotionally aware and being able to assess your self.
Self regulation- this mainly comprises innovation, self control that one has, the adaptability that a person possess and also the trust worthiness of that individual (Joseph, 2001).
Goleman (2005) asserts that, the main thing that differentiates stars from people of average performance is the emotional competences. Emotional intelligence is divided into two kinds of competences which are; social competence and personal competence. Personal competence entails aspects such as management of self and also the self discovery (awareness), whereas social competence on the other hand involves aspects such as the methods for managing relationships and the ways of dealing with awareness . Self- awareness is the art of knowing a persons feeling at that particular moment, and being able to use that knowledge in making decisions. It follows that when one is aware of their feelings at any time then such kind of people are able to recognize their strengths and weaknesses. This people are as such open to any kind of feedback given to them in regard to their performance and are thus willing to learn from any past mistake that they may have made or other past experiences. They are able to recognize the areas that they are either strong or weak in. In self awareness there are also other competencies that go with it, this comprises self-confidence which is a strong feeling of ones worthiness and the capabilities that a person holds. Also we have emotional awareness which is the act of recognizing someones emotions and the effects of such emotions (Web home, Web pp).
Ingredients of Self-Awareness
Emotional Awareness
This is the art of recognizing ones emotions and been able to act according to their effects. Emotional awareness mainly helps in managing one self and even in the relationships with other people. The quality of performance of either an individual or group lies entirely on the emotional awareness of an individual. This is because one member in a group who has strong emotions can influence the emotions of the whole group that that person is working in. Thus Goleman in his book is suggesting the use of group emotion intelligence where he states that its first step towards achieving its goals should be through attending to the emotions of individual members and their needs, by influencing and regulating them in order to ensure that the members achieve the desirable behaviours and also attitudes. When a person has the competence of emotional awareness this person exhibits characters such as knowing the emotions they are feeling and why they are feeling so. This person is able to know the bridge between their feelings in terms of what they think and what they say. They are also able to recognize how the feelings that they are having can affect the performance of their work. It therefore means that when a person is emotionally aware it means that this person has a guiding awareness of their goals and values in life (Web home, Web pp).
Self Confidence
This is a situation where a person develops a strong sense in his/her worthiness in terms of the capabilities that this person has. The people who posses the competence of self confidence, are able to present themselves with a lot of self-assurance as they are very sure of what they have in terms of their abilities which they can positively stand for. Goleman in his book presents this situation of self-confidence through a situation where one can air out their voice views even though they may not be popular. They are able to stand straight for what is right, irrespective of the situation. They are in a position of sacrificing even their life for what is right according to them. They are also able to make out very important and sound decisions irrespective of the uncertainties that may come through making such stand points (Business balls, Web pp).
Accurate Self-Assessment
This is a situation where an individual is able to recognize their own strengths and weaknesses. Goleman therefore presents these individuals as being reflective, they are ready and open to any kind of feedback, that may come their way given that, they are aware of the areas that they are weak in and the areas that they are strong in. They do develop new perspectives and are always ready for continuous learning given that they are ready to sharpen on their strong areas as well as improve on their weak areas. Irrespective of this kind of people being focussed and ready for any kind of feedback, they still have areas that they are weak in; this is due to the fact that they tend to set very unrealistic goals which may be unattainable as they are over ambitious. They are the kind of people that push others too hard as they want to drive others instead of delegating out duties to others for them to do. They also tend to be hungry for power and they only want to satisfy their ego through attaining power and not for the sake of the Company (Carry, 2001).
Ingredients in Self Regulation
Self-Control
Self-control is a situation in which individuals are in a position to put their impulses in a manageable situation. Self-control is expressed as a situation where an individual stays composed, and is always positive and unmovable even in moments that are very trying. Its a situation where a person is able to think in a clear and focussed manner even when put under pressure.
Trustworthiness
This is a situation where an individual is able to practice honesty at all costs. A person with this kind of competency is able to work and act in an ethical way, as they are able too build trust. Since this a very reliable person who is able to admit their own mistakes and is in a position to confront others, in case they see unethical actions in other people. These people also have very strict and strong stand points as they are very principled people even though in some cases they may find themselves being unpopular in a group.
Conscientiousness
People who possess this kind of competency are able to keep promises that they make to others and also able to meet the commitments that they have made with other people. They are people who are organized and are careful with themselves in their work, as they consider themselves accountable for making sure that they meet the objectives that have been met.
Adaptability
The people who hold this competency are able to handle in a smooth manner the multiple demands that they may be having. This people are in a position to adapt to responses and kind of change that may come along as they are flexible enough. They are also in a position to go by the tactics that may come along to change the status quo.
Innovation
People with this competency do look for fresh ideas from many sources and are in a position to entertain very original ideas as solutions to the problems that they may be going through. They are able to generate very new and original ideas which help them in tackling their daily problems in their working area. These are the kind of people who are in a position to take new perspectives and risks in the way they think if only to find solutions to their problems.
Ingredients in Motivation
Commitment
People with this kind of competency are people who are ready to make sacrifices in order to achieve the goals of an organization. They are able to seek out opportunities in an active way in order to achieve the mission of the organization.
Initiative
The people who have this competency are those that are ready to move on with the goals of the organization beyond what is set of them or what the organization expects of them. They at times do cut through and bend the rules if only they want to have the job done, and are in a position to mobilise other people through very unusual but achieving ways.
Optimism
This people are very persistent in pursuing the goals irrespective of the obstacles that may come by. They always look at life from the positive end and will always see the success of something and not the failure. They view setbacks as coming from the managerial point of view or been caused by managerial circumstances and not from a personal point of failure (Web home, Web pp).
Ingredients in Empathy
Understanding Others
People with this kind of competency show attentiveness to emotional things and as well are good listeners. They tend to portray a character of feelings of sensitivity and do understand other peoples perspectives. They help others on the basis of the understanding that they have or hold towards their needs and feelings.
Leveraging Diversity
These kinds of people in an organisation have respect and also relate well with other people who are from other backgrounds. This people do understand the diversity that is there in the world and are also very sensitive to group differences, since they see diversity as an opportunity and as such are able to create an environment in which people from various regions can stay without biasness occurring.
Political Awareness
Organizations which comprises of individuals who have attained enough competency always have an upper hand to understanding their external environment, because through its competent team off workers and management, the company is able to understand and nourish good relationship with the stakeholders and its customers. It also makes the reputation of the organization to be excellent. They know very well and can clearly read out the external realities as well as those of the organization. They too can be able to tell about the main power relations in the organization (Goleman, 2005).
Ingredients in Social Skills
Influence
These kinds of people are very skilled in winning over the ideas people to follow their way. They talk in fine tunes in a manner to appease the listener in their representations thus enabling them to build togetherness and support. They are in a position to turn dramatic events into very meaningful situations.
Conflict Management
The people with this competency in an organization are in a position to handle even difficult people and situations with a lot of diplomacy and intelligence. They are in a position to detect any kind of conflict that is about to happen and as such bringing these conflicts into the light and thus helping in solving. They always do encourage discussion of problems in the open air.
Leadership
These are the kind of people that have a vision and mission in whatever things that they are doing in the organization. They do guide and lead in the performance of activities in the organization, as they act as an example to others.
Building Bonds
Those that have this competency, tend to maintain very extensive informal networks by looking for relationships that will only benefit both parties, and not only one particular individual. They help in building closeness with those they are with in the working area as well as maintaining close friendships in their vicinity.
Collaboration and cooperation
The people, who have got this competency are good in sharing of plans or the things that one wants to do, they also share information as well as the available resources. They thus help in promoting friendly and co-operating environment which help in nurturing the opportunities available for collaboration.
Team capabilities
Those that have this competency do possess good qualities that are essential in team building in a company or organization. This may consist of helpfulness, cooperation, commitment, protecting the name of a group, active participation and sharing of credit (Goleman, 2004).
Thus we can see that the emotional intelligence is different from one individual to another given the social background of people, the level of academic intelligence and the status that the individual holds in the society (Goleman and Cary, 2001). Although the IQ of a person doesnt matter in the success of a business it influences the individuals adoption of emotional intelligence. The adoption of the five competences as described by Goleman, D. is much different and ranges from one individual to another (Goleman, 1998).
Improving Emotional Intelligence in the Work Place
When you want to induce emotional intelligence in the workplace, its important to implement some of the following ideas; setting the goals of the organization so that the workers are able to know what they are working towards achieving as this will enhance motivation in achieving of the set goals of the organization (Cary and Daniel, 2001). Providing more opportunities for practice as this will enhance innovation and perfections in the jobs that the workers are performing. Giving of feedback also helps in strengthening the workers as they are in a position to learn the areas that they are weak in and the areas that they are strong in (Stein, 2007). the working place should encourage transfer and maintenance of change as well as accepting new learning methods in the jobs (Web home, Web pp).
Conclusion
Emotional intelligence as we have seen is very vital in every work place, that its not how the workers have excelled academically, or the skills that they hold, but what matters most in the success of a business is the emotional competence of the person (Ciarrochi, J. et al., 2001). Understanding other peoples emotional intelligence is important given this can be understood in terms of their social and personal competence (Stein, 2007). These are things that can be seen when they are interacting with other people, as emotional intelligence is different from one individual to another. For example, self awareness, where this is seen in the way people are behaving with others, Empathy, understanding others, Social skills, cooperation and team work, Motivation consist of being optimistic, being driven to achievement and also being committed. These qualities are very different from one person to another given that, they dont require academic qualification. (Joseph, 2001)(Business balls, 2009).
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