Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace

Written by Phil Kiracofe, January 2010

Chances are that you have heard the phrase emotional intelligence.  Maybe it was from that office know-it-all who likes to use the latest buzzwords as often as possible?  Or maybe it was in one of those workplace segments on the local news?  In my conversations, I find that more and more people have some familiarity with the phrase but most have a difficult time defining it and some have absolutely no idea what it means.  In this article I will offer a definition for emotional intelligence, a history of the concept, and some research relating to emotional intelligence in the workplace.

Emotional intelligence is what allows you to influence the people around you.  It is the basis for your ability to control your emotions and to maintain optimism in the face of adversity.  Emotional intelligence is the foundation of conflict management, adaptability, and effective teamwork.  It is what allows an employee to handle the situation smoothly when her boss criticizes her presentation in front of upper management even though the presentation was his idea in the first place.  Emotional intelligence is a person’s ability to be aware of one’s own feelings and emotions as well as the feelings and emotions of others and to effectively use that awareness to inform decisions. 

A Very Brief History

Emotional intelligence has been a catch phrase in the business world since 1995 when Daniel Goleman published his first book on the subject.  The concept of emotional intelligence is not new; even the early developers of IQ tests understood that there was a “non-intellective” component of intelligence that was not being measured with their assessment.  In 1943 David Wechsler wrote, “we cannot expect to measure total intelligence until our tests also include some measure of the non-intellective factors [Wechsler, 1958].”  The concept of “non-intellective” intelligence was largely forgotten until the 1980s when Howard Gardner wrote about “multiple intelligences” suggesting that there are a number of different components to intelligence including inter- and intra-personal intelligences.

In 1990, Salovey and Mayer coined the term emotional intelligence and offered the following definition: “a type of social intelligence, which involves the ability to monitor one's own and others' emotions, to discriminate among these emotions and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions.”  Salovey and Mayer suggested that this newly defined emotional intelligence served as the foundation for Gardner’s inter- and intra-personal intelligences [Salovey and Mayer, 1990].

More recently, Goleman has made an effort to distinguish between underlying emotional intelligence and the competencies supported by that intelligence.  As many as twenty-five such competencies have been identified.  For example, effective resolution of conflict is an emotional competency that relies heavily on one’s ability to accurately recognize one’s own emotions as well as the emotions of others.  According to Goleman, these emotional competencies such as conflict management, empathy, optimism, and influence are what define our emotional intelligence in the outer world.  And it is these competencies which make emotional intelligence so relevant to the workplace.

Hiring Practices

Traditional methods of hiring often focus on technical skills, cognitive ability and academic accomplishments.  After all, how many resumes have you seen with a section highlighting emotional intelligence?  Yet, research has shown that emotional competence is not only directly related to productivity and performance, but may be the most significant factor in predicting those outcomes.  Studies show that a top performer is 85-127% more productive than an average performer and that two thirds of this difference can be attributed to emotional intelligence [Hunter, Schmidt, & Judiesch, 1990;Goleman, 1998].

Hiring practices at L’Oreal have illustrated the significance of emotional competence in its sales team.  Those hired based on emotional competencies averaged annual sales of $91,370 more than salespeople hired using traditional methods.  Furthermore, this newly selected sales force had 63% fewer turnovers in the first year [Spencer & Spencer, 1993; Spencer, McClelland, & Kelner, 1997].  A large beverage company saw comparable results when using emotional competencies to select division presidents.  The executives hired based on emotional competences outperformed goals by 15-20% compared to their traditionally hired peers who underperformed by an average of 20%.  In similar fashion, the group hired using standard methods saw a 50% turnover rate in two years while their counterparts had only 6% leave after two years [McClelland, 1999].

Developing Emotional Intelligence

Adjusting hiring practices is one way to cultivate an emotionally intelligent workforce, but what about those employees already in place?  While research around developing general emotional intelligence is somewhat limited, there are numerous studies that illustrate the ability to develop specific emotional competencies.

In one study conducted at a manufacturing plant, supervisors were given training in emotional competencies such as how to listen better and help employees resolve problems on their own.  Following the training, accidents resulting in lost time were reduced by fifty percent, formal grievances were reduced from an average of 15 to 3 per year, and productivity goals were exceeded by $250,000 [Pesuric & Byham, 1996].  In another manufacturing plant where supervisors received similar training, production increased 17 percent.  There was no such increase with a control group of supervisors who were not trained [Porras & Anderson, 1981].

Dollars and Cents

Organizations around the world are beginning to recognize the importance of emotional intelligence and through innovative hiring practices and training programs are taking the first steps toward creating a more emotionally intelligent workforce.  Not to say that cultivating an emotionally intelligent organization is easy; to the contrary, it requires a concentrated and sustained effort.  But, based on the research, the results are well worth it.  It comes down to simple dollars and cents: emotionally intelligent employees are more productive, more likely to meet goals, and have greater rates of retention.

References

The Author:

Philip Kiracofe, Gooseworks Consulting, www.gooseworksconsulting.com

Phil Kiracofe is the founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Gooseworks Consulting, an experiential learning company that specializes in team dynamics.  He brings a unique academic background of Psychology, Sociology, and Kinesiology to his passion for experiential learning and organizational development.  Mr. Kiracofe has worked with more than 200 companies, schools, and organizations to strengthen teams, improve effectiveness, and develop more productive work environments.  His clients include FEMA, World Bank, China Telecom, CIPE, and YPO.