The Key Ingredient To Personal, Corporate Success

"Emotional intelligence is a master aptitude, a capacity that profoundly affects all other abilities, either facilitating or interfering with them."--Daniel Goleman

For decades, a lot of emphasis has been put on certain aspects of intelligence such as logical reasoning, math skills, spatial skills, understanding analogies, verbal skills etc. Researchers were puzzled by the fact that while IQ could predict to a significant degree academic performance and, to some degree, professional and personal success, there was something missing in the equation. Some of those with fabulous IQ scores were doing poorly in life; one could say that they were wasting their potential by thinking, behaving and communicating in a way that hindered their chances to succeed.

One of the major missing parts in the success equation is emotional intelligence.

Everyone is primarily emotional. Everything that people do or refrain from doing is triggered by their deeper emotions.

"Emotional Intelligence" refers to your capacity to recognise your own feelings and those of others, for motivating yourself, and for managing emotions well in yourself and in your relationships. It describes abilities distinct from, but complementary to, academic intelligence, the purely cognitive capabilities measured by IQ. Many people who are book smart but lack emotional intelligence end up working for people who have lower IQs than they but who excel in emotional intelligence skills.

The origin of EI can be traced back to Darwin's (1872/ 1965) early work on the importance of emotional expression for survival and adaptation. In the 1900's, even though traditional definitions of intelligence emphasized cognitive aspects such as memory and problem-solving, several influential researchers in the intelligence field of study had begun to recognize the importance of the non-cognitive aspects. For instance, as early as 1920, E. L. Thorndike at Columbia University used the term social intelligence to describe the skill of understanding and managing other people.

Similarly, in 1940 David Wechsler described the influence of non-intellective factors on intelligent behaviour, and further argued that our models of intelligence would not be complete until we can adequately describe these factors. In 1975, Howard Gardner's Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences introduced the idea of Multiple Intelligences which included both Interpersonal intelligence (the capacity to understand the intentions, motivations and desires of other people) and Intrapersonal intelligence (the capacity to understand oneself, to appreciate one's feelings, fears and motivations). In Gardner's view, traditional types of intelligence, such as IQ, fail to fully explain cognitive ability. Thus, even though the names given to the concept varied, there was a common belief that traditional definitions of intelligence are lacking in ability to fully explain performance outcomes.

The first explicit application of the term "Emotional Intelligence" is mostly attributed to Wayne Payne's doctoral thesis, A study of emotion: Developing emotional intelligence from 1985. Payne, however, did not publish his theory, so the article published in 1990 by Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer (1990) is generally regarded as the first systematic theoretical account of the construct.

As a result of the growing acknowledgement of professionals for the importance and relevance of emotions to work outcomes, the research on the topic continued to gain momentum, but it wasn't until the publication of Daniel Goleman's best seller Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ that the term became widely popularized.

The term Emotional Intelligence (EI) encompasses two major domains:

1. Personal Competence: This is the ability to manage yourself and your emotions. Under this domain we have self-awareness and self-management. Self-Awareness is the ability to read one's emotions and recognise their impact. Self-Management on the other hand, involves controlling one's emotions and impulses and adapting to changing circumstances.

2. Social Competence: This is the ability to manage relationship and other people's emotions. Under this domain of EI, we have social awareness and relationship management. Social Awareness is the ability to sense, understand, and react to other's emotions while comprehending social networks while Relationship Management is the ability to inspire, influence, handle interpersonal interactions, and develop others.

Most people experience a range of both positive and negative emotions at work, for example

v Satisfaction-you have done an excellent piece of work

v Exhilaration-you have won a major contract or secure huge cash deposit from a client

v Pride-you have helped someone out a difficult situation or your place of work

v Anger-your work hasn't been appreciated or dislike of what you are doing

v Frustration-your recommendations or proposals have been shelved indefinitely

v Anxiety-you are having trouble meeting deadlines

v Insecurity-the feeling of uncertainty with your j.

How Does Emotional Intelligence Work? When an emotion like anger, anxiety, or frustration is experienced, the human brain is programmed to respond to the threat and an emotional response is triggered. However, acting on that first impulse can lead you to say or do the things you later regret. As someone once said, "Speak while you are angry; you will make the best speech you will ever live to regret". When you are angry, do you say the first thing that comes to mind?

Therefore, emotional intelligence means that while you acknowledge your instinctive emotional response, you don't act on it, but you step back from the situation and let rational thought influence and guide your actions.

Advantages Of Emotional Intelligence

v Improve your relationships with colleagues

v Help you keep yourself under control

v Help lower stress levels

v Help keep you motivated

v Enable you to communicate well and influence others without conflict

v Enhance your understanding in the eyes of your colleagues

Next week, we shall be looking at how to build your emotional intelligence. Have a great week. Elvis!