The Case for Emotional Intelligence

Transcription

1 The Case for Emotional Intelligence A leader s intelligence has to have a strong emotional component. He has to have high levels of self-awareness, maturity and self-control. She must be able to withstand heat, handle setbacks and when those lucky moments arise, enjoy success with equal parts joy and humility. No doubt emotional intelligence is more rare than book smarts, but my experience says it is actually more important in the making of a leader. You just can t ignore it. Jack Welch, chairman of GE, speaking to the Wall Street Journal When emotional intelligence first appeared in 1995 (Goleman), it served as the missing link in a peculiar finding: people with the highest levels of intelligence (IQ) outperform those with average IQ just 20% of the time, while people with average IQs outperform those with high IQ 70% of the time. This anomaly threw a massive wrench into what many people had always assumed was the sole source of success IQ. Subsequent years of research show that other variables explain success above and beyond one s IQ, and the findings now point to emotional intelligence (EQ) as a critical factor. The reason IQ by itself is not a very good predictor of job performance is because education and hiring practices weed out those who can t master "what they need to know on the job." Most physicians who pass their boards and go on to practice medicine are similarly qualified. The same is true of lawyers, sales professionals, administrative assistants, and most professions you can name. What makes one person shine over another, and what does predict job performance, is the combination of what a person knows (IQ), who that person is (personality), and how that person handles himself or herself and others on the job (EQ). Emotional intelligence is this third major contributor to a person s success. EQ is made up of personal and social competence skills: self- awareness, self- management, social awareness, and relationship management. What is it about EQ skills that impact a person s job performance? Whether we are aware of our emotions or not, they surface in everything we think, do, and say each day. Awareness of our own emotions and tendencies (Self- Awareness) opens doors for us to manage ourselves more effectively (Self- Management) by making better decisions, and responding to challenges productively and proactively. Awareness of the emotions in other people (Social Awareness), including unspoken cues,

2 enables us to influence others and build and deepen relationships more effectively (Relationship Management). Employees who increase their EQ skills increase their ability to communicate effectively, make good decisions, handle conflict, be a team player, respond to change well, handle stress better, and provide top- notch customer service. Perhaps the best thing about emotional intelligence is that it s a highly flexible skill. With practice, people who measure low in EQ can work to improve a specific EQ skill within 6 months to a year. During the last two decades, research shows that people who develop their emotional intelligence tend to be successful on the job because the two go hand in hand. These findings hold true for people in a variety of professions across industries, at all levels, all over the world. Emotional intelligence skills are integral to performing well on the job. The Case for Emotional Intelligence at Your Organization Organizations that were early adopters, working to increase the EQ of their workforce, reaped tremendous benefits that garnered significant media attention in the 1990s, including The Harvard Business Review s most popular piece of all time ( What Makes a Leader? ). EQ skills can be improved, yet they are not typically taught in college or post- graduate degree programs. Companies that teach these skills to their workforce achieve tremendous gains. Studies at Johnson & Johnson and the US Air Force paved the way; and now major corporations, universities, and government agencies are making emotional intelligence an integral part of their employee training, talent development, and leadership development initiatives. People who score low in emotional intelligence and job performance can match their colleagues who excel in both solely by working to improve their EQ. Drs. Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves, Emotional Intelligence 2.0

3 A Summary of EQ Research The Importance of IQ: Sternberg (1996) found that across studies, the importance of IQ varies from 4% to 25% in predicting performance, and that 10% may be the realistic estimate. The Importance of EQ: Emotional intelligence is not a new concept. Thorndike mentioned social intelligence in 1937, and EQ skills have their roots in social psychology. Daniel Goleman pointed out that psychologists have studied the skills associated with emotional intelligence for years, and the body of research suggests that these skills are linked to success in life. EQ at Work: EQ alone isn t the most direct predictor of job performance (Goleman, 1998; Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 1998), but EQ skills provide the foundation for the soft skills that are. For example, the ability to identify and understand what another person is feeling boosts a person s ability to influence. Similarly, people who are aware of their emotional and physical reactions to pressure will find it easier to structure and manage their time to their advantage. EQ Development: Since the 1990s, neuroscience research discovered the plasticity of the brain. Practicing high- EQ behaviors helps form new neural connections in the brain, cementing learning and behavior change. This explains how people increase their EQ. Research Studies 1. In the 1950s, 80 Ph.D. students in science completed personality tests, IQ tests, and interviews. The students were contacted again 40 years later and rated on success by reviewing their resumes, evaluations by colleagues in their professions, and other sources. Social and emotional competence was four times more important than IQ in their professional success. Feist & Barron (1996) 2. Bachman (1988) found that the most effective leaders in the US Navy were found to be warmer, more outgoing, emotionally expressive, dramatic, and sociable. 3. Lusch and Serpkenci (1990) found in a retail chain that the ability of store managers to handle stress predicted net profits, sales per square foot, sales per employee, and per dollar of inventory investment. 4. Three- hundred and fifty- eight managers across the Johnson & Johnson Consumer and Personal Care Group who were rated on a leadership 360 showed that the high- performing managers had significantly more emotional competence than other managers. (Cavallo & Brienza, 2002) 5. After supervisors at a manufacturing plant received training in emotional competencies such as how to listen better and help employees resolve problems, lost- time accidents were reduced by 50%, formal grievances were reduced from an average of 15 per year to 3 per year, and the plant exceeded productivity goals by $250,000 (Pesuric & Byham, 1996). In another manufacturing plant where supervisors received similar training, production increased 17%. There was no such increase in production for supervisors who were not trained. (Porras & Anderson, 1981)

4 A Summary of EQ Research Research Studies continued 6. At L Oreal, sales agents selected based on certain emotional competencies significantly outsold salespeople selected using the company s old selection procedure. On an annual basis, salespeople selected based on emotional competence sold $91,370 more than other salespeople did, for a net revenue increase of $2,558,360. Salespeople selected based on emotional competence also had 63% less turnover during the first year. (Spencer & Spencer, 1993; Spencer, McClelland, & Kelner, 1997) 7. A study of 87 nursing students looked at the relationship between emotional intelligence and nursing performance. Four of the six nursing performance areas were significantly correlated with the total emotional intelligence scores. (Beauvais, Brady, O'Shea, & Quinn Griffin, 2010) 8. Research in the field of neuroscience now maps how the brain learns. New neural connections are formed with conscious repeated practice until those connections are solidified to make a new behavior an automatic, unconscious habit in the brain. David Rock (2006) based on his interview with Jeffrey M. Schwartz, M.D. 9. Business school students who scored low in EQ and job performance caught up to their colleagues who scored high in both after participating in an EQ skill development initiative. (Ashkanasy, 2001) 10. Sixty- six percent of the difference between top performers and average performers in more than 200 organizations worldwide was due to emotional competence, with 33% due to technical skill and cognitive ability. In top leadership positions, more than 80% of the difference was due to emotional competence. (Goleman, 1998) For a list of references for the research studies listed above, please contact us at ext 115. TalentSmart is a research- based training products and services company dedicated to improving job performance with emotional intelligence and leadership skills. We offer innovative assessments, books, training programs, train- the- trainer certification, and coaching. Our approach to applying research findings to workplace learning combines easy- to- use methods with cutting- edge technology for a dynamic learning experience that supports making lasting improvements. TalentSmart clients worldwide range from the Fortune 500, universities, and government agencies to nonprofit organizations. The following leaders in the field partner with us to provide TalentSmart assessments: The American Management Association, Marshall Goldsmith Partners, The Society for Human Resources Management, and The Ken Blanchard Companies. To access EQ whitepapers, view products, or sign up for our newsletter, please visit:

5 Emotional Intelligence Research References Ashkanasy, N. (2001, April). The case for emotional intelligence in work groups. Symposium presentation at the annual conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, San Diego, CA. Bachman, W. (1988). Nice guys finish first: A SYMLOG analysis of U.S. Naval commands. In e. a. R. B. Polley (Ed.), The SYMLOG practitioner: Applications of small group research. New York: Praeger. Barsade, S. (1998). The ripple effect: Emotional contagion in groups (Working paper). New Haven, CT: Yale University School of Management. Beauvais, A., Brady, N., O'Shea, E., and Quinn- Griffin, M., (2010, August). Emotional intelligence and nursing performance among nursing students. Nursing Education Today. Bradberry, T., & Greaves, J. (2009). Emotional Intelligence 2.0. San Diego: TalentSmart, Inc. Cavallo, K. & Brienza, D. (2002). Emotional competence and leadership excellence at Johnson and Johnson: the emotional intelligence leadership study. Website: Feist, G. J., & Barron, F. (1996, June). Emotional intelligence and academic intelligence in career and life success. Paper presented at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Society, San Francisco, CA. Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence. New York: Simon & Schuster. Goleman, D. (1998, Nov- Dec). What makes a leader? Harvard Business Review, Hunter, J. E., & Hunter, R. F. (1984). Validity and utility of alternative predictors of job performance. Psychological Bulletin, 76(1), Lusch, R. F., & Serpkenci, R. R. (1990). Personal differences, job tension, job outcomes, and store performance: A study of retail managers. Journal of Marketing, 54(1), Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. (1998b). Competing models of emotional intelligence. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of human intelligence (2nd ed.,). New York: Cambridge University Press. Pesuric, A., & Byham, W. (1996, July). The new look in behavior modeling. Training and Development, Porras, J. I., & Anderson, B. (1981). Improving managerial effectiveness through modeling- based training. Organizational Dynamics, 9, Rock, D. (2006). A Brain- Based Approach to Coaching. International Journal of Coaching in Organizations, 4(2), pp Snarey, J. R., & Vaillant, G. E. (1985). How lower- and working- class youth become middleclass adults: The association between ego defense mechanisms and upward social mobility. Child Development, 56(4), Feist & Barron, 1996). Spencer, L. M. J., McClelland, D. C., & Kelner, S. (1997). Competency assessment methods: History and state of the art. Boston: Hay/McBer. Spencer, L. M., Jr. & Spencer, S. (1993). Competence at work: Models for superior performance. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Sternberg, R. (1996). Successful intelligence. New York: Simon & Schuster. Thorndike, R. L., & Stein, S. (1937). An evaluation of the attempts to measure social intelligence. Psychological Bulletin, 34, Walter V. Clarke Associates. (1996). Activity vector analysis: Some applications to the concept of emotional intelligence. Pittsburgh, PA: Walter V. Clarke Associates.