The work of Salovey and Mayer would almost certainly
never have become known outside of academic psychology except for
one key event. The year 1995 saw the publication of the best
selling book “Emotional Intelligence” by Dr Daniel Goleman's
followed three years later by “Working with Emotional
Intelligence” by the same author. Both of these books were
enormously influential and marked the beginning of emotional
intelligence as something that was recognized by mainstream
business theorists and writers.
Dr Goleman asserted that “The criteria for success at work are
changing. We are being judged by a new yardstick: not just by how
smart we are, or by our training and expertise, but also by how
well handle ourselves and each other. This yardstick is
increasingly applied in choosing who will be hired and who will
not, who will be let go and who retained, who past over and who
promoted…”
Goleman’s definition of emotional intelligence proposes four broad
domains of EQ which consist of 19 competencies:
Self-Awareness
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Emotional self-awareness: Reading
one's own emotions and recognizing their impact
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Accurate self-assessment; knowing
one's strengths and limits
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Self-confidence; a sound sense of
one's self-worth and capabilities
Self-Management
-
Emotional self-control: Keeping
disruptive emotions and impulses under control
-
Transparency: Displaying honesty and
integrity; trustworthiness
-
Adaptability: Flexibility in adapting
to changing situations or overcoming obstacles
-
Achievement: The drive to improve
performance to meet inner standards of excellence
-
Initiative: Readiness to act and
seize opportunities
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Optimism: Seeing the upside in events
Social Awareness
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Empathy: Sensing others' emotions,
understanding their perspective, and taking active interest in
their concerns
-
Organizational awareness: Reading the
currents, decision networks, and politics at the organizational
level
-
Service: Recognizing and meeting
follower, client, or customer needs
Relationship Management
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Inspirational leadership: Guiding and
motivating with a compelling vision
-
Influence: Wielding a range of
tactics for persuasion
-
Developing others: Bolstering others'
abilities through feedback and guidance
-
Change catalyst: Initiating,
managing, and leading in a new direction
-
Conflict management: Resolving
disagreements
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Building bonds: Cultivating and
maintaining a web of relationships
-
Teamwork and collaboration:
Cooperation and team building
There is general agreement that the factors that Goleman and
his colleagues have identified are indeed emerging as a key
element of workplace success. This is because the way that most
organizations work has changed in the last 20 years. There are now
fewer levels of management than there were and management styles
tend to be less autocratic. In addition, the move towards more
knowledge based, team working and customer focused jobs means that
individuals generally have more autonomy, even at fairly low
levels within organizations.
If we accept that IQ plays a limited role in accounting for why
some people are more successful than others, what is the evidence
that emotional and social factors are important? In other words,
is there a
business case emotional intelligence ?
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