Competenceemotional

While we agree that IQ is clearly an

important measure, we argue that by

Leading with Emotion expanding our definition of intelligence

we obtain a more realistic and valid
assessment of the factors that lead to
Is E I a bette r p redictor of lead e rshi p success ?
personal and leadership effectiveness.
To the degree that EI has challenged
by Robert J. Emmerling and Daniel Goleman long-held assumptions of what it takes
to lead successfully, the EI paradigm
a given job pool must have to get and has helped to bring a more balanced
keep their job. For example, physicians, view of the role of cognition and emo-
CPAs and CEOs may all need an IQ at tion in determining outcomes.
least one standard deviation above the
Developing Emotional Intelligence
W E START BY ASKING: IS IT POSSIBLE TO mean in order to hold their job. How-
develop and measure emotional ever, simply having a superior IQ does
intelligence (EI)? Is EI a better predic- not guarantee that they will be superior
We often assume that, unlike IQ,
emotional intelligence can be devel-
tor of performance and leadership than doctors, accountants, or leaders. oped. While we acknowledge the role
traditional measures of intelligence? IQ, then, suffers from range restric- that genetics play in the development of
Traditional measures of intelligence tion in many applied settings, and thus EI, we also believe that nurture impacts
do not count for most variance in work is even more limited in its ability to pre- nature: gene expression itself appears to
performance. When IQ test scores are dict performance and career success. be shaped by the social and emotional
correlated with how well people per- Even in entry-level positions, IQ can’t experiences of the individual.
form in their jobs, the highest estimate reliably distinguish average and star per- To some extent, EI may be learned
of the IQ differences is about 25 per- formers. Even in educational settings, through life experience; however, we
cent. IQ will remain a predictor of the use of traditional testing procedures argue that without sustained effort and
which job, profession, or career path a attention, people are unlikely to improve
person can follow. However, when it their emotional intelligence. Significant
comes to whether a person will become improvement of social and emotional
a star performer or leader, IQ may be a competencies is not easily accom-
less powerful predictor than EI. plished. The development of social and
People who make hiring and pro- emotional competencies takes commit-
motion decisions are more interested in ment and sustained effort over time.
assessing capabilities related to out- We believe that emotional intel-
standing performance and leadership. ligence competencies can be im-
IQ measures fail to account for most of proved and sustained over time. How-
the variance related to performance and ever, traditional forms of executive
career success among top managers education, traditional MBA programs,
and senior leaders. IQ alone does not and typical corporate leadership develop-
predict success in this domain as well ment initiatives result in just a 2 percent
as competencies that integrate cogni- can’t explain much of the variance in edu- increase in social and emotional compe-
tive, emotional, and social abilities. cational outcomes. This combined with tencies as a result of program completion.
Cognition and emotions are inter- the adverse impact that traditional test- Research on “mindfulness” train-
woven in mental life, especially in com- ing procedures have on minority groups, ing—an emotional self-regulation strat-
plex decision-making, self-awareness, has motivated interest in developing egy—shows that participants do stay
affective self-regulation, motivation, alternative methods of assessment. better focused on the present, thus
empathy, and interpersonal function- While IQ should remain an important keeping distressful worries and dis-
ing—all aspects of EI. predictor of the types of vocations that tracting thoughts at bay. By pausing
A position of leadership requires that individuals can assume, once within before acting on emotional impulse,
an individual demonstrate above-aver- that vocation the predictive validity of they have less stress and feel more cre-
age emotional intelligence, along with IQ diminishes significantly. The notion ative and enthusiastic about their work
high cognitive ability in order to of IQ as a threshold competence is an If you view emotions as unpredictable,
process the complexity of information. important distinction and one that has irrational, and something to be suppressed
Completing rigorous graduate pro- often been overlooked or down-played. in favor of logic and reason, you would
grams, passing testing, and gaining cre- The notion that high EI might com- believe that emotions and EI are hardly
dentials ensure that those who pass pensate for a low IQ—and allow those worth measuring. However, EI offers the
such hurdles are of above-average with below average IQ, but high EI, to promise of a more balanced view of what
intelligence. This renders given levels thrive in spite of below average intelli- it means to be intelligent about emotions,
of IQ a “threshold” competence, a min- gence—gives the false impression that expanding our understanding of the
imal capability that all who are within IQ matters little. role that emotions play in leadership.
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 The central tenets of EI make it clear Competencycommunication
that people are a complex combination competency, follow five guidelines:
of emotion and reason. Assessing EI • Create realistic expectations by defin-
competencies helps to identify individ-
uals likely to succeed in a given role.
Without assessing emotional compe-
Strategy 101 ing and measuring only those issues
you are willing and able to change.
• Build up-front buy-in and commit-
Eve r y body ca n get it.
tence, people may be limited to vague ment to improvement by measuring
feedback related to their “people only those issues that leaders see as
skills” or “leadership style.” To by Joseph S. Kaplan connected to their day-to-day work.
improve emotional competence, peo- • Ensure actionable data by striking a
ple need realistic feedback of their balance between item specificity and
baseline abilities and progress.
Providing reliable and valid feedback
on specific social and emotional compe-
D ESPITE MANAGEMENT
efforts to communi-
cate business strategy,
questionnaire length.
• Produce meaningful comparisons
with internal focus and benchmarking,
tencies, provides people with insight one-third of workers do not know since the perception of effective com-
into their strengths and areas for devel- where their organization is headed. munication is a function of a unique
opment. However, the intense focus on Many employees are skeptical, if not culture and values.
“performance gaps” in traditional devel- distrustful, of top management, whom • Simplify prioritization and action-plan-
opment often undermines the effective they see as remote and distant. People ning by asking and analyzing the right
use of feedback in coaching initiatives are more satisfied, engaged, and pro- questions in the right way: What-how-
focused on developing EI. Providing a ductive when senior leaders are visible when-why do we communicate? How effective
more balanced view—including a focus and communicate effectively. Senior are we? How critical is it that we are effective?
on strengths, an articulation of a per- leaders must help Step 3: Commit to
sonal vision and how developing EI employees to remain regular follow-up. Man-
competencies helps one achieve that clear about company agement’s progress in
vision—can often overcome feelings of direction as well as fos- gaining employee
defensiveness that undermine social and ter a flexible and agile understanding and buy-
emotional competencies. If done cor- environment. in of strategy, change, or
rectly, such feedback becomes a central an initiative is usually
component of motivation and goal set- Take Three Steps incremental. It’s a con-
ting. Senior managers can tinuous responsibility.
Certain aspects of EI promote pro- make a real difference with their com- Survey employees to track the effective-
social behavior: Self-awareness must be munications by following three steps: ness of communications and make the
deployed to act in accord with one’s Step 1: Prioritize communication as a survey part of the balanced scorecard of
own sense of purpose, meaning, and core leadership competency. Communi- performance. The effectiveness of a
ethics; empathy is essential in fostering cation is the expression of most acts of tracking survey depends on five factors:
altruism and compassion. So, to what leadership, whether it is in the form of • It is short, 15 items or less, and
extent does cultivating abilities like speaking, facilitating, presenting, coach- focused only on the critical few commu-
empathy and self-awareness foster a ing, listening, or writing. Outstanding nication issues that have the greatest
positive ethical outlook? Surely, there leaders are outstanding communicators. impact on business results.
are Machiavellian types who use EI So, define “outstanding” communica- • It is conducted quarterly or twice per
abilities—especially empathy and social tion and measure it in specific behav- year because too much can change over
skills like persuasion—to lead people ioral terms. What gets measured gets longer periods of time.
astray or manipulate them, or who priority and gets done. Effective com- • It is done on-line to a representative
deploy social awareness skills to climb munication is not “one-size fits all.” random sample to keep things simple
over others to the top of the ladder. Leaders at different levels need to com- and cost-effective yet valid and timely.
However, those with the Machiavel- municate in different ways. Lower-level • It is hosted by an outside, third party
lian personality tend to have dimin- leaders need to communicate locally to to ensure anonymity, high-response
ished empathy abilities, focusing most a few employees. Senior managers must rates, and candid feedback.
clearly in areas related to their self- communicate company-wide. The same • It leads to visible action because
interest. For those who believe that the skills that produced successful results as when people are asked for feedback and
ends justify the means, a manipulative a middle manager will not work as a give it about something they don’t like,
application of EI skills (or any other senior manager. they expect something will be done.
ability) would be acceptable, no matter Step 2: Assess capability and needs. When senior managers follow these
the moral repugnance of the goal. LE Since 80 percent of performance is de- three steps, people will be more satis-
Robert J. Emmerling, Psy.D and Daniel Goleman, Ph.D., arere-
termined by 20 percent of all possible fac- fied, engaged, and productive. LE
searchers with tht Consortium for research on emotional intelligence tors, you need to focus limited resources Joseph S. Kaplan, M.A. leads Novations Group’s Measurement
in organizations. This article is adapted from their article, Emotional
Intelligence: Issues and Common Misunderstandings. on maintaining, changing, or improving Practice to identify performance needs and assess the impact of
www.EIConsortium.org development initiatives. 847-518-8506, jkaplan@novations.com.
the right things (high-impact issues).
ACTION: Develop your emotional intelligence. When assessing communication ACTION: Measure what matters.

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