“Emotional Intelligence? What kind of nutty professor taught you that?” Words from a manager from a previous life. I think he’s still looking for work.
Now I didn’t hear it from a professor but I had been aware
of EI since about 1999. My GOPHER
coaching system, which was created not long after then, utilizes all of the
principals that make up the core of the EI theory. But it’s a newer science and has its share of
detractors.
Emotional Intelligence doesn’t stand up to certain “old
school” managers. They will argue that
people who successfully prescribe EI principals are people who are already
highly effective managers.
“They
made up EI so they could sell more business and management books!”
“Hewlett-Packard
management training called it “this” and IBM called it “that” back in the day!”
“EI is
just a re-packaging of sound management practices!”
They may leery because they’ve seen some of these management
principals die on the vine after a while.
Some of them also feel like EI principals just coddle today’s
workforce. That’s a complete failure in
understanding what’s going on here. EI
is not contributing to the “Wussification of the Workforce”. I’ll show that when I explain the role of EI
in my GOPHER coaching later.
There’s no coddling here.
Within our business context we are just trying to understand what makes
people tick. What motivates them. What upsets them. It doesn’t mean we are not holding employees
and managers accountable.
To those managers resistant to EI – just look at the core
principals. Yes there’s an inherent trait
to those people who have successfully deployed EI tactics. They already have a high EQ and are motivated
to implement a process that really has no downside. How is self-awareness/regulation, social
skill, empathy, and motivation detrimental to your workforce?
Every single book on highly successful management practices
acknowledges in some form the effectiveness of these processes. The wheel is not being reinvented. It’s just being improved. But is EI truly correlated to success in the
work place?
As this theory catches more wind the sentiment is growing
among psychologists and other social scientists with more studies that there is
a correlation.
Even as I was in the process of studying and implementing EI
in my workplace the theory was gaining more credibility as addition research is
compiled and published. The one area of
EI that is of interest to us as managers is the relation between EI and success
in our world – the business world.
There’s a great article called “Emotional Intelligence: What
Does the Research Really Indicate?”[i]
. The 8 page publication can be found
at:
I want to summarize the components of Emotional Intelligence
in relation to my GOPHER Coaching and Feedback System since there’s been a lot
of interest in how exactly this works. Look
for that in my next blog entry. For
those not familiar with my management process I referenced it in a past blog
which is archived here:
And my own management philosophies archived here:
[i]
Cherniss, Cary; Extein, Melissa; & Goleman, Daniel; & Weissberg, Roger
P.; (2006) “Emotional Intelligence: What Does the Research Really Indicate?” EDUCATIONAL
PSYCHOLOGIST, 41(4), 239-245
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