The use of psychological measurement has always been
rather controversial, and the measurement of emotional
intelligence is no different. This may be due to the view that
emotions are unpredictable, irrational, and something to be
suppressed in favor of logic and reason. Theories of emotional
intelligence have helped to counter this view and offered the
promise of a more balanced analysis of what it means to be
intelligent about emotions. This has, in turn, expanded our
understanding of the role that emotions play.
The use of emotional intelligence assessment in organizations has
also been controversial. The definition of emotional competencies
and the subsequent focus on work performance and assessment has
led some critics to label the whole process as a return to an
outmoded mechanistic way to increase performance and efficacy at
the expense of the well-being of individual employees.
However, the core principles of emotional intelligence make clear
that individuals are a complex combination of emotion and reason.
Without a specific theory of emotional intelligence and the
methods to assess it, employees may be limited vague criticism
related to their "people skills". In order to improve on any
emotional competence, people need to see quantifiable measurement
of their baseline abilities and any improvement from it. In
conclusion, reliable and valid measurement of specific emotional
competencies, so long as it is provided in a positive way helps to
provide employees with insight into their strengths and areas for
development.
Assessment Tools
The following is a summary of the most widely used assessment
tools.
|
Assessment Tool |
Description |
|
EIQ (Dulewicz & Higgs) |
Developed in 1999 at Henley Management College in the UK.
The Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire offers both
self-report and 360 questionnaires, with the latter enabling
an all-round assessment of an individual's performance from
peers, colleagues and managers. |
|
Multifactor Emotional Intelligence Scale |
The MEIS is a test of ability rather than a self-report
measure. The test-taker performs a series of tasks that are
designed to assess the person’s ability to perceive,
identify, understand, and work with emotion. There is very
little for predictive validity in work situations. |
|
MSCEIT® "Mayer, Salovey, Caruso Emotional
Intelligence Test" |
The only ability measure of EQ, the MSCEIT requires you to
actually use your abilities in taking the test with
questions where you look at faces, for example, and identify
what emotions are present. It helps you understand the
actual intelligence behind emotions: Perceiving, using,
understanding, and managing feelings. |
|
SEI™, Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Test |
Focused on self-development, the SEI is the only test based
on Six Seconds' EQ-in-action model: Know Yourself, Choose
Yourself, Give Yourself. The test measures 8 fundamental
skills in these three areas. Report comes with over 20 pages
of interpretation and development suggestions. |
|
OVS, Organizational Vital Signs™ by Six Seconds |
Organizational Vital Signs is an organizational climate
assessment that gives a clear picture of how people are
relating to each other and the workplace. Unlike the other
tests, OVS is designed to assess a group or an organization
to show the context in which individuals perform. The test
measures six factors: Trust, Collaboration, Accountability,
Leadership, Alignment, Adaptability. These factors
statistically predict over 50% of productivity + customer
service + retention. |
|
EQ Map® by Essi Systems |
With a much broader perspective, the EQ Map helps people put
emotional intelligence into a workplace context. The Map is
self-scored, so you can do it completely on your own; it has
questions along the lines of, "How well do you recognize
emotions in people?" The 14 main scales include emotional
awareness, emotional expression, resilience, outlook, trust,
and personal power. It also has four outcome scales to show
the benefit of increasing the first 14. The EQ Map includes
an interpretation guide booklet. |
|
EQ-i® by Reuven BarOn |
This self-report instrument was designed to assess those
personal qualities that enabled some people to possess
better "emotional well-being" than others. The EQ-I has been
used to assess thousands of individuals, and its reliability
and validity is well documented. Less is known about its
predictive validity in work situations |
|
Emotional Intelligence Appraisal® by Talent Smart |
There are 3 versions of this test. All use the Daniel
Goleman 4-quadrant model: Self-awareness, Other-awareness,
Self-management, Relationship-management. All take about 7
minutes to complete, and all come with 6 months of
e-learning and a valuable goal-tracking reminder system.
|
|
ECI® (Emotional Competence Inventory) by Hay
McBer |
The ECI is a 360 degree appraisal tool where people who know
the individual rate him or her on 20 competencies that are
believed to be linked to emotional intelligence. |
If we accept that emotional intelligence can be measured, then
the next question is
can emotional intelligence
be developed ?
Everything you need to pass
psychometric tests
|
