Role of Emotional Intelligence in Educational Management

Transcription

1 98 Journa of Indian Education May 2004 Roe of Emotiona Inteigence in Educationa Management SWATI PATRA* Abstract The success of any organisation in the ong run depends very much on the quaityof its human resources. The significanceof human resource ies in its dynamic nature. The key objective in the management of any organisation shoud be to provide various kinds of earning experiences to its peope with the objective of deveoping human beings for their advantage and harnessing their physica, menta, emotiona and inteectua endowments and abiities for the growth of the organisation. For this, emphasis shoud aso be paced on the emotiona aspect of the human resource besides the cognitive aspect. In this regard, emotiona inteigence has emerged as the crucia factorin the successfu management of organisations. Emotiona inteigence can hep in creating an enthusiastic work environment, empoyee satisfaction, efficient administration, usefu vision for the future and achieving organisationa deveopment. Hence, educationa management wi aso do we to incorporate practices of emotiona inteigence, thus eading to emotiona quaity management in the organisation. Key words: Emotiona inteigence, Educationa Management The success of any organisation in the ong run depends very much on the quaity of its human resources. Of a the prime resources of an organisation namey, man, materia, money, the human resource is recognised as the most vita andthe most vauabe because it s utimatey thehumanbeing who uses and contros a other resources and determines theefficient utiisation of these resources.further,theimportance of thehuman factor aso stems from the fact that whereas a other resources depreciate in vaue with the passage of time and use, the human resource appreciates in vaue through the acquisitionofknowedge and experience. Thus, human resource refects an * Lecturer, Regiona Institute of Education (NCERT), Bhopa, Madhya Pradesh.

2 Roe of Emotiona Inteigence in Educationa Management 99 inherent dynamism and deveopment potentia. Earier, the emphasis was on product. The approach was taskoriented andfocus was on theoutput or the achievement. But the product approach has given way to the process approach,i.e.thefactorsinvovedinthe process of the achievement of an organisation. And among these factors, the human factor is the most important one. Peope orientationis the key thing in the successofan organisationtoday. The significance of human resource ies in its dynamic nature. Human resource is the aggregateof empoyee attributes incuding knowedge,ski, experience and heath which are presenty and potentiayavaiabeto anorganisation for theachievementof its goa.the key objective in the management of any organisationshoudbetoprovide various kinds of earning experiences to its peope with theobjective of deveoping human beings for their advantage and harnessing their physica, menta, emotiona and inteectua endowments and abiities for the growth of the organisation. Unfortunatey our management poicies,beitintheeducationaset-up or any other organisationa set-up emphasises ony onthe cognitive aspect of the human resource, whereas the emotiona or affective aspect of human resource is negected. Emotiona competence is as important, sometimes more important than academic competence in managing the organisation.asachidwinotearnif he does not want to earn or fee the need toearndespitehavinggoodabiity orinteigence;simiaryanempoyeewi not put in his maximum effort uness his emotiona needs are taken care of. Human being is not merey a cognitive man, possessing various abiities and skis. He is aso an emotiona being which determines the effective and efficient utiisation of his cognitive abiities. Peopeconstitutetheactiveresource of any organisation, who reay determinetheefficiency and utiisation of a other resources. The most unique feature of humanresources isthat their contribution can enhance consideraby through adoption of an effective management poicy based on emotiona inteigence parameters.the measure of the growth of an organisation depends upon the thrust-dragratio the ratio of the force of the thrust that the organisation makes in moving forward and theforce of the dragthat pus the organisation backwards. Hence, the human resources with a their skis, capabiities and potentias have a key roe in improvingthe thrust-drag ratio ofan organisation. In view of the importance of the emotiona aspect of the human beings intheirproductivity,theeducationaor the emotiona aspect of the human beings in their productivity, the educationa administration and management poiciesshoud aso refect this orientation. A sound management practice shoudtake into consideration thefactorofemotionainteigence.such an approach wi hep in creating an organisationa cuture which wi not onycontributetotheprofessionawebeing and motivation of empoyees and enabe them tosef-actuaise, but aso hep increase the capabiity of an

3 100 Journa of Indian Education May 2004 organisation to attract, retain and motivate taented empoyees. It was Danie Goeman (1996) who has pioneered the concept of emotiona inteigence.itisincreasingyrecognised that inteigence (IQ)accounts forony about 20%of a person s successin ife. The baance 80% can be attributed to emotiona inteigence (EQ). Research and experienceceary demonstrate that whiesomeaspectsofourpersonaity are fixed, we may choose the way we want to actthese out. In other words, we do not choose our characteristics or many of the events in our ife, but we can choose how to react to them. In simpe terms, emotiona inteigence can be defined as knowingwhat feesgood, what fees bad, and how to get from bad to good. A moreforma academic definition refers to emotiona awareness and emotiona management ski which provide the abiity to baance emotion and reason so as to maximise productivity and happiness. Emotionainteigenceincudestraits ikesef-awareness,sociadeftness,the abiity to deay gratification, to be optimistic in theface of adversity, to channe strong emotions and to show empathy towards others. Goeman identifies the five eements as the components of emotiona inteigence: Sef-awarencess, Sef-reguation, Motivation, Empathy,and Socia Skis. Sef-awarenness The key to success is knowing onesef. Sef-awareness isknowingone sinterna states, preferences, resources, intuitions,etc.itindicatestheabiityto recognise, understand and accept one s own moods, emotions, drives, strengths and shortcomings as we as to see how these affect otherpeope. According to Goeman, sef-awareness incudes the foowingthreeimportant steps: Emotiona awareness: It means recognising one s emotions and becoming aware of how their feeings and emotions affect their as weas other s performance. Accuratesef assessment:itrefers to a candidsense of one s persona strengths and weaknesses. One becomes aware ofone s bind spots and abe to find the roads to improvement. Persons with this abiityarecear,refective,eagerto earn from experience, show interestforsef-deveopment. Sef confidence: Knowing about onesef givesone confidence. These peope aredecisive, assertive and have a strong sense of one s sef worth. Thus, an awareness of one s emotions, assessmentof one s strengths and weaknessesandsef-confidence hep persons to emotionay managing not ony themseves butaso others in their reationships and deaings. Sef-reguation Sef-reguation refersto managing and handing impuses, distressing feeings and upsets rather than denying or repressing these feeings. It impies making a choice as to how we express our feeings. Sef-reguation heps in staying compose, focussed, cam and heps think cearyeven underpressure. Sef-reguationhasfivesteps. Sef-contro:InBuddha sviewsefcontroisthesecret of happiness.

4 Roe of Emotiona Inteigence in Educationa Management 101 Sef-controed personscan manage their emotionseffectiveyandface defeat and success with equanimity. Trust-worthiness:Trust-worthiness means dispaying honesty and integrity.thesearecredibe,take responsibiityfortheiractionsand areprinciped. Conscientiousness: It invoves commitment. They fufi their obigations, makeattempts to keep their promises. Adaptabiity: Adaptabiity deas with fexibiity in handing chaenges and changes. They can choose and smoothy hande situations and their responses to the circumstancesare soeffective. Innovation: Innovation impies to nove ideas, approaches and new information. Theirperspective is very wide which heps them in coming up withoriginasoutionto probems. Motivation Motivation heps in the achievement of goas.itisanabiitytopursuegoaswith energy and persistence.it provides the drive andzea to shape ourthoughts and actions. Three important motivationa competencies areas foows: Achievement drive: It refers to striving to improve or meet a standard of exceence. They are resut-oriented. They take cacuated risks and readiy face any typeof chaenges. Commitment: it refers to aigning onesef,identifyingonesefwiththe goas of a group or organisation. They don tyiedto anypressure or threat. Initiative and Optimism: Peope with emotiona baance take a ot ofinitiativesandtheyaregeneray optimistic.theyhavetheabiityto seizeopportunities,mobiiseothers to get thingsdone, pursue goas in thefaceofobstaces,befexibeto getthe jobsdone, see the positive side of things.the mere physica presence of persons with high motivationmakesaotofdifference intheatmosphere.theiroptimistic view encourages others. Empathy Itreferstotheabiitytoputonesefinto another s shoes and ook at things or think from his point of view. It can be caed the foundationski for a the socia competencies. Emotionay baanced peopeare generayempathetic and not sympathetic. Empathy incudes thefoowing. Understanding others: The person tries tounderstandothersby trying to know his feeings and showing interestinhiswefare.theyarevery sensitive. Service orientation: Serviceorientation means reorienting the service aspects by anticipating, recognising and meeting the consumers needs. An emotiona bond is createdbetween the buyer and seer. Products are matched with customers needs, trying to increasecustomersatisfaction and oyaty. Leveragingdiversity:Itmeansbeing sensitive to group differences and

5 102 Journa of Indian Education May 2004 reate to peopeaccordingtotheir background. They see diversity as opportunity and create an environment in which diverse peope can survive. Deveoping others: They recognise other s strengths and accompishments and hep them in deveoping their personaity. They provide usefu feedback, give timey coaching, offer chaenging assignments. Poitica awareness: It means reading a group s emotiona currents and power reationships. It isbeing aware of thesocia and poiticacurrentsofthesituation, to accuratey read key power reationships, to detect crucia socia networks, to understand forces that shapeviewsand actions ofcientsand competitors. SociaSkis Sociaskiisanabiitytobuidrapport with various sections of society and create networkofpeope.it incudes the foowing competencies: Infuence:Infuenceistheeffective tacticforpersuasion.thesepeope are skied at winning peope over and buid consensus and support. Confict management: It refers to negotiatingandresovingdisagreements. Confict management heps tohandedifficutpeopeandtense situations withtact and encourage debate and open discussion. Leadership:Leadershipis inspiring and guidingindividuas and group. Emotionay baanced eader is person-oriented, inspires members for ashared vision mission. Change catayst: Change catayst is initiatingand managing change. Theyrecognise theneedfor change, chaenge the status quo and champion the change. Communication: Communication hasa significantpaceinemotiona inteigence. It means istening openy, sharing of information, receptivetoother sviews. Emotiona inteigence is what determines our potentia for earning practicaskiswhicharebasedonthese five eementsofknowing one semotions, managing one s emotions, taking initiative, empathy and adeptness in reationships. Our emotiona competence shows how much ofthis potentia istransated into on-the-job capabiities, e.g. providing good customer service is an emotiona competence based on empathy. Simiary, trustworthiness is a competence based on sef-reguation. Emotiona competence is a earned capacity basedon emotionainteigence that eads to outstanding performance at work. It refers to the harmonious combination of head and heart. The five essentia components of emotiona inteigence andthe competencies based ontheseabiitiesarecruciaforsuccess inpersona,sociaandworkife,e.g.if someoneisdeficientinsociaskis,he wi be ineptat persuading or inspiring others or eading teams or cataysing change.ifhissef-awarencessis ow,he wi be obiviousof his own weaknesses and may ack the sef-confidence which comes from knowing their strengths. Emotiona inteigenceandemotiona competencehaveseverabenefits. At the work pace it is not enough to have the

6 Roe of Emotiona Inteigence in Educationa Management 103 knowedge of work or subject/content mastery. The person has to work aong with others. So he shoud be adept in handing reationships with others. Often we come across such statements ike,sheisjeaousofhercoeagues,the boss shows favouritism, the boss/head istoosensitive,thecearkisawaysina hostie mood; the authorities are insensitive to theempoyee s needs and demands, etc.emotionainteigencecan hep indeaing with these bycreating a cuture which is more caring, giving, supportive and enriching where each is regarded as an individua and feeings are respected. Thus, in educationa management, emotionainteigencecanhepa ot.as anadministrator,one sabiitytoimpact and infuence othersis cosey reated to connect and use one s emotions. Peope are rarey infuenced by ogic aone.feeingsandemotionsareequay important. In the changing competitive environment one needs more than just brains to achieve organisationa deveopment. Emotionainteigencecan hep in creating an enthusiastic work environment and efficient administration. It aso heps the management tocreateusefu vision forthefuture of the organisation. Theycan proceed from the current circumstance to the vision of preferred future with ease. Compared to persons who simpy go on describing their dissatisfaction over the current state ofaffairs, emotiona inteigent eaders/managers focus on taking actions which increases the ikeihood ofsuccess. Emotiona inteigent eaders understand the range of choices they have inestabishing reationship with others. And theychoose the appropriate one depending on the situation. One of the cearest ways to represent the possibe choices in a reationship is through thereationship task grid. High Accommodate Coaboration Concern for reationship Compromise Avoidance Contro Low High Fig. 1: Reationship Task Grid

7 104 Journa of Indian Education May 2004 The high-high or coaborative position is the most productive in the ong run. It is characterized by coaborative probem-soving, shared vision of goas and mission andby winwin situations thatfocuson meeting the underying interest ofa. This grace under pressure isa good indicator of emotiona competence of he person. However,eachofthe possibiitiesin the reationship-task gridcan be justified depending on the times and circumstances.andemotionainteigent mangers and administrators understand this. Data (Goeman, 1998)indicate a very strong positive correation between emotionainteigenceofeaders andthe performance oforganisations. The more the eader exhibits emotiona competencies ikeinitiative,nurturing others,teameadership,sef-confidence, drive to achieve and empathy, the more effective is the performance. They are abe to integrate and utiize the principes of appied emotiona inteigencein thework paceto achieve various objectives ike removing obstaces,resovingconficts,etc.hein (1996) points out that management of emotionainteigenceinanorganisation wi hep the organisation achieve its goas, at the same time enhancing its empoyees satisfaction. The Consortium for Research on Emotiona Inteigencein Organisations (1999) provides guideines for deveopment of emotiona inteigence in organisations.effective emotiona inteigence training programme can occur in five phases: preparation for change, training, transfer and maintenance, and evauation.here it can be noted that emotiona earning is different fromcognitive and technica earning, andthatemotionaearningis different fromcognitive and technica earning,andthatitrequiresadifferent approach to training and deveopment. For exampe, it is not enough to know that oneneeds to reate toand consut other peope; butone shoud aso earn how to do it. The abiity to do these things cas for emotiona competence, which incudesboth emotiona earning as we as cognitive earning. To concude, it canbe said that emotiona inteigencecanpayacruciaroeinthe successfu management of educationa organisation. Adoption of emotionay inteigent practicesby the management wiimprovetheemotionaquaityof the organisation eading to Emotiona Quaity Management. REFERENCES Consortium for Research on Emotiona Inteigence in Organisations (1990). Emotiona Inteigence Services. 142 North, Sudsbury, MA 01776, USA. Goeman, Danie (1996), Emotiona Inteigence: Why it can Matter more than IQ. New York: Bantam Books. Goeman, Danie (1998). Working with Emotiona Inteigence. New York: Bantam Books. Hein (1996). EQ for Everybody: A Practica Guide to Emotiona Inteigence. New York: Basic Books.