An organization's fitness to compete successfully depends on its social capital-the collective value of people who know each other and what they'll do for each other.

Re-Sources Organizational Support Newsletter

Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace: A Review

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Author's Note: Warren Buffet, Investment Guru, has said, "Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you."

This Update is the first in a series of 4 that reviews the recent work of Daniel Goleman, Ph.D. about Emotional Intelligence: What it is? and Why it is a critical ingredient in every part of every business. Goleman believes: "From entry-level jobs to top executive positions, the single most important factor is not IQ, advanced degrees, or technical expertise. It is emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-confidence, and self-control; commitment and integrity, the ability to communicate and influence, to initiate and accept change."

We appreciate any thoughts and comments readers have for us about this series. Please contact us at our e-mail address reachus@sourceline.ca.

"In the new, stripped down, every-jobcounts business climate... the rules for work are changing. We're being judged by a new yardstick: not just by how smart we are, or by our training and expertise, but by how well we handle ourselves and each other."

We all know the keywords and phrases of today's successful and aspiring businesses: Global Strategies – Emerging Markets – Improvement – Achievement – Commitment – "To meet the everyday needs of people everywhere" – Improved Total Shareholder Return – Continual Innovation – Value Added – Building Capabilities – Pursuing Excellence.

And whatever our place in these businesses, whether in a big or small company, post-industrial high-tech, manufacturing, or service industry, the story is the same: today we are doing more, faster, with less, in an everchanging workplace. One of the most important changes involves the "rules" for the workplace.

"The rules for work are changing. We're being judged by a new yardstick: not just by how smart we are, or by our training and expertise, but also by how well we 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 passed over and who promoted.

The new rules predict who is most likely to become a star performer and who is most prone to derailing. And, no matter what field we work in currently, they measure the traits that are crucial to our marketability for future jobs.

These rules have little to do with what we were told was important in school; academic abilities are largely irrelevant to this standard. The new measure takes for granted having enough intellectual ability and technical know-how to do our jobs; it focuses instead on personal qualities, such as initiative and empathy, adaptability and persuasiveness... In the new, stripped-down, every-jobcounts business climate... competencies such as managing one's emotions, handling encounters well, teamwork, and leadership, show – and count – more than ever."

With these thoughts Daniel Goleman, Ph.D. begins his most recent book, Working With Emotional Intelligence. Goleman defines Emotional Intelligence (EQ) as "the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships." And if this all sounds a bit too sugary, Dr. Goleman relates example after example of "many people who are book smart but lack emotional intelligence and end up working for people who have lower IQ's than they but who excel in emotional intelligence skills." He calls this "too much college, too little kindergarten."

Indeed, one central idea of Goleman's book is the "soft-skills" (people skills) are really the "hard-skills" in today's workplace. People need connection, to be understood, and listened to. When you look carefully at the successful managers, salespeople, engineers, computer technicians, senior executives and production workers, IQ is a weak predictor of success. EQ was the more powerful predictor of star performance. For example, in a work environment where things change radically, sometimes almost everyday, experience is not as crucial as adaptability. And to be adaptable requires the ability to have close contact with everybody you work with, (customers, suppliers, superiors, fellow workers), to keep track of what's going on and adjust to changing demands.

"Outstanding collaboration is not haphazardly achieved, but is carefully constructed."

An important companion idea is that Emotional Intelligence can be "raised". That is, we all have the capacity to increase our emotional literacy. Unlike IQ (Intellectual Intelligence) which is "fixed" in childhood, EQ is largely learned throughout life. The "emotional part of the brain...learns differently from the thinking brain." The good news is that 'old dogs' can learn new tricks. The old fashion word for this is maturity. The other "news" is that the lessons are not learned well in week-long seminars which can actually have a negative effect on work performance. In Part 4 of this series we will look at initiatives to encourage people in the skills of listening, leadership, team building and managing change. Emotional Intelligence is not just a fancy way of meaning merely being nice. "At strategic moments it may demand not 'being nice,' but rather, for example, bluntly confronting someone with an uncomfortable but consequential truth they've been avoiding.

Goleman has summarized the personal and social competencies of emotional intelligence.

The personal competencies "determine how we manage ourselves". These include:

The social competencies "determine how we handle relationships." These include:

Thomas Petzinger Jr., author of The New Pioneers: The Men and Women Who are Transforming the Workplace and Marketplace was recently in Toronto where he spoke about how "in the future cooperation – rather than competition – will be the order of the day. 'People collaborate naturally. That's what it took to bring down a wooly mammoth and the people that brought down the wooly mammoth are the ones that survived.'" In many ways Global Competition is our modern day "wooly mammoth" that we are all trying to hunt down. What kind of a person will best lead the hunt?

Goleman relates a study from the University of California begun in the 1950's. Eighty students in doctoral level science programs were given an extensive series of tests to evaluate their intellectual and emotional intelligence. Then in 1994 researchers located these "students" and made an estimate of the career success they had achieved. "The result: Emotional Intelligence abilities were about four times more important than IQ in determining professional success..." Similar results have been reported throughout the world of business.

Part II, "Emotional Intelligence: The Personal Competencies." The next Wellness Letter looks in detail at the personal competencies that matter most for on-the-job effectiveness.

Wellness at a Glance

Nutrition Idea

Coat a pound of trimmed asparagus with 1 Tbs. olive oil and 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh garlic. Roast at 450 F (230 C) for 8 – 10 Minutes. Drizzle 2 Tbs. orange juice, 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar, and 1/8 tsp. chopped garlic over the asparagus and serve.

Second-Hand Smoke

"Bartenders in California are breathing easier since 1998, when a smoking ban went into effect in restaurants and bars. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that before the ban, 74% of bartenders reported symptoms such as coughing and wheezing. After just two months of clean air, nearly two-thirds of those with respiratory complaints said they were symptom-free." – UC Berkeley Wellness Letter, June 1999