Running head: TEAM SKILLS AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Chavon Watts
Team Skills and Emotional Intelligence
Siena Heights University

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Teams
Teams are made up of people or members at a period that are willing to give all their
energy, time, and focus on shared task will all members associated with or without necessarily
competing (Channon, Davis, Goode, & May, 2016). Relating teams to other topics, it is safe to
say that people are often a part of multiple teams at once. With peoples careers and personalities
always changing, as a leader they have to understand the constant changes their team and
organization must go through to be successful. Although implementation has been a helpful tool,
the behavior of individuals still might have stayed the same still causing one of the most
challenging issues. The true importance being successful as a team is recognizing the motivating
internal and external factors. A members experience and effort put toward is significantly
effected by the amount of support provided by those around them or even the leader. A teams
effectiveness is not only measured by the teams quality in comparison to others nor outcomes,
but by the quality of groups need and satisfaction of the need by its members (Channon, Davis,
Goode, May, 2016).
Developing Skills
Developing skills can be acquired in all different forms of learning, although learning
within a group involves a special kind of learning called cooperative learning (Singhanayok &
Hooper, 1998). Cooperative learning involves when members of a group or team shared a
common goal or task, them work collectively using each others in specified skills/talents to
accomplish that goal. Cooperative learning encourages others how to collectively teach each
other on skills not yet developed or amongst the individuals. Each skill or improvement shows
that an individuals cognitive processing is now on a higher level of learning. Those individuals
found using cooperative learning according to researchers use more metacognition solving

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strategies more often than those working isolated or also known as learner controlled lessons.
Learner control lessons gives individuals the choice to determine their own progress through
activities that gain their interest. As in cooperative learning, they can present ideas to others in
the group, creating an environment that helps in a different way of learning by elaborating and
contextual knowledge. Research has also shown that cooperative learning is another way to
motivate each other by supporting each other's feelings and generating more ideas supporting the
ideas that their teammates encourage each other to get.
Emotional Intelligence
According to Ali, Garner, and Magadley, (2012), over the last fifteen years, leadership
has put a large amount of focus of leadership dealing with emotional intelligence (Ali, Garner, &
Magadley, 2012). Todays definition of empirical intelligence is defined as the ability to monitor
ones emotions and then discriminate among them to use the information observed to guide
ones thinking or actions. A number of studies have found that emotional intelligence has had a
positive impact on job related skills and performance. Researchers found that the significant
correlation between emotional intelligence and positive job performance is related to ones Big
Five personality factors. A major characteristic within the Big Five personality test related to
team success is empathy and the expression of emotion. Being emotionally intelligent in a team
environment requires talking and being active in other peoples concerns and feelings, even in
those that are unspoken. This ability to communicate towards empathy could help others feel
supported and make them feel that their worries are everyone else as well.
Emotional intelligence has a significant place in any environment that contributes to
personal praise; this then can transfer into the development of trust and collaboration in a team.
Another benefit of having emotional intelligent members of a team is this characteristic provides

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a high ability of one monitoring their own emotions which can enhance a more favorable
outcome in any situation. In teaming emotional intelligence has been found to change team
performance in a positive way as working as a team requires working as one with those with
different traits, abilities, skills, attitudes, ideas, and opinions. Researchers has also found that
teams that consist of members with higher levels of emotional intelligence are more likely to
achieve more tasks involving than those with lower emotional intelligence levels in situations
involving problem-solving (Ali, Garner, & Magadley, 2012).
Successful Teams
When it comes to being successful and working as a team, teamwork is based off of
communication and ever more affected by the number of individuals that are together required to
perform a certain tasks (DiPalma, 2004). Being successful as a team requires the shared
understanding of what is needed and tools acquired to move forward toward the teams goal.
Even more so teams have been found to be more fit for an organizational when individuals
follow the structure of an organizations hierarchical structure. When viewing and organizational
chart you may notice that some pictures or boxes however the setup can be accommodate as a
form of a team. With that teams representation within that chart based on the team chemistry,
these teams may be a perfect example of ideal organizational functioning of the companies
hierarchy (DiPalma, 2004).
Group Identity
Along with success, there comes accountability and group identity. Group identity or
collective identity is the link between a teams social identity and group belongingness used to
describe ourselves to others based on other characteristics but mainly the commonalities shared
(Heaven, 1999). In collective identity, members of the team may constantly identify with their

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social representation as motivation or support of those around them. More importantly collective
identitys concept analyzes the connection and individual praise of how important the individuals
are and bringing things into a more cultural perspective (Heaven, 1999).
Group Efficacy

When talking about group performance and building that moral with individuals one
methods that has stayed true to success and increase in performance is groups is the creation of
having group efficacy (Pescoslido, 2003). Group efficacy is defined as when members of a group
collectively use the groups talents and abilities collectively to perform a specific task. Group
efficacy has a different meaning behind it than general confidence within a team or players. As
for general confidence is more seen as an effective state of perception, group efficacy focuses
more on specific task. After studying the effects of group efficacy, researchers have noticed there
is a strong connection with short-term performance. Although within these short-term goals there
are a lot of expectations among each other setting high performance task which later transfers
into even higher and better expectations on the groups performances (Pescoslido, 2003).
So when thinking about group efficacy and how it is initiated, there are four sources that
help the development of group efficacy through self-efficacy (Pescoslido, 2003). The first one is
ones own accomplishments and success of previous performance. When an individual attempts
something and is successful or not this will then have an direct effect on ones self-efficacy or
even so that task even for future reference. If an individual is successful at a task or has
experienced ways of being successful to the task which they are currently working on then that
person would feel a high level of self-efficacy while performing. On the other side of things, if
an individual has experienced failing at a task similar to the one they are working on they would
then experience low levels of self-efficacy. The second source of group efficacy is visualization.

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Visualization works as if one was to visualize being successful performing a task or even
someone similar to the individual successfully performing that task. When someone sees another
person like him or her or relatable being successful at a task self-efficacy also for that task
becomes higher. The third source is verbal persuasion or motivation, this step usually happens
when other people around you or on a team express that they believe one is capable of
performing a task. Although verbal persuasion is not always, the number one way of creating
self-efficacy it plays a part in mentally keeping an individual focused on a task. Then the last
source of group efficacy is the physiological and emotional arousal self-efficacy can create. This
step is very dependent on whether the individual finds an high enough arousal out of the task
being performed. Research states that arousal can have a different type of effect on the individual
upon performance. The task that requires learning in order to be successful have been found to
create the most arousal than those with the potential to have a negative arousal that may possibly
disrupt required learning (Pescoslido, 2003).
Leadership

The idea of leadership has been changed into multiple categories and meanings to
consider the ideas of success and leading within a number of situations (Kickul & Neuman,
2000). Emergent leadership is a common type of leadership in literature that is defined as
successful or unsuccessful attempts by leadership when group work and efforts have been
criticized. This type of leadership has focused on the behavior of each member of a group and
their social interactions with others. These social interactions are measured by contributions to
their teams goals. These type of leaders have also been known as the individuals to take control
and enforce conditions that will promote any type of movement of accomplishing goals.

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Although emergent leaders and their great efforts towards success are great, the behaviors
among the team does not reflect overall effectiveness. An example of this would be an person
who is an extrovert see that teamwork and success happens because of the team not so much due
to leadership. One of the most important personality traits emergent leaders must have in order to
be successful is the right and appropriate knowledge and cognitive ability for that specified team
in order to operate effectively. Researcher have found out how important this is when leading,
having that ability to contribute to success creates a standard as well as more motivation to move
from one step to the next in a teams journey (Kickul & Neuman, 2000).
Conclusion
When thinking about emotional intelligence there are so many factors to consider and
even so many benefits of being an individual who is educated on this topic to bring leadership to
your team. The steps that one must understand first to open minded in the learning phase and
developing new skills. In this phase people learn from each other and as a group through
challenging thoughts and experiences that others may have not been through. From there ever
point of group efficacy plays a part in working as a team but also holding your part as an
individual and believing in yourself. This could be fatal to your team especially if your position
is significant. Then from there is understanding the leadership process and what is actually
expected of you as well as what to expect from your leader. Overall, I believe that emotional
intelligence and learning new skills has been a new what you carry teams and teach new lessons
that will continue to grow and be a big topic for the future.

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References
Ali, O., Garner, I., and Magadley, W. ( 2012). An Exploration of the relationship between
Emotional intelligence and job performance in police organizations. Journal of Police
And Criminal Psychology. 27(1). 1-8. DOI: 10.1007/s11896-011-9088-9
Channon, S., Davis, R., Goode, N., May, S. (2016). What makes a good group? Exploring the
Characteristics and performance of undergraduate student groups. Advances in Health
Sciences Education. 125. DOI: 10.1007/s10459-016-9680-y
DiPalma, C. (2004). Power at work: Navigating hierarchies, teamwork and webs. Journal of
Medical Humanities. 25(4). 291-308. Doi: 10.1007/s10912-004-4834-y
Heaven, P. (1999). Attitudes toward women's rights: Relationships with social dominance
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Kickul, J., & Neuman, G. (2000). Emergent leadership behaviors: The function of personality
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Business and Psychology. 15(1). 27-51. DOI: 10.1023/A:1007714801558
Pescoslido, A. (2003). Group efficacy and group effectiveness: The effects of
Group efficacy over time on a group performance and development. Small Group
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Singhanayok, C., and Hooper, S. (1998). The effects of cooperative learning and learner control
On students' achievement, option selections, and attitudes. Educational Technology
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