“At its most basic, emotional intelligence is, literally, the intelligent use of emotions,” says Richard Boyatzis, author of one of the best leadership books on the shelf: Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence.
There was a time when it was frowned on to bring your emotional self to work. High intelligence was the key to success and showing your emotional side was not considered smart. Now, we know that emotional information is fundamental. It is one of the principal forms of information that human beings process. We also know that having high emotional intelligence (EI) is a recipe for a happy and fulfilling life. And, peak performance — in all areas of life — is related to emotional intelligence.
At work, individuals with high EI are more likeable, confident and optimistic. They are more likely to get hired and promoted. At home and in the community, these same folks are particularly good in relationships, they understand healthy living and are less apt to engage in problem behaviors, and avoid self-destructive, negative behaviors (Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2004).
Because a high EI individual tends to be more open and agreeable than others, they are apt to be the person on the community council or in the church choir who brings humor to the room, is quick to empathize, and knows intuitively how to avert conflict. You know these people. You may be one of them. They help raise the emotional intelligence of those around them while simultaneously fostering an environment where individuals can perform at their peak.
Compare this profile to a low EI individual. He or she is the narcissist sitting across from you at the Thanksgiving meal pontificating about whatever — the family member who raises your blood pressure and causes your EI to plummet as you imagine flinging a drumstick at him or her.
Or, perhaps you have a boss who is a bully — one who regularly terrorizes the team causing constant angst. That person’s poor impulse control, a sign of low EI, causes negative contagion polluting the workplace and eliminating any hope for peak performance.
There are several assessment tools to help you uncover your EI strengths and weaknesses, including: Bar-On’s EQ-I; the Multifactor Emotional Intelligence Scale; the Emotional Competence Inventory; and the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence. These assessments measure your self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management skills.
The study of EI began in the 1990s when Salovey and Mayer defined emotional intelligence as the: “Ability to monitor one’s own and other’s feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions.” A complete copy of this historically important article on emotional intelligence provides you with the research results and presents the first framework for emotional intelligence and its various components. It is available at: http://www.unh.edu/emotional_intelligence/EIAssets/EmotionalIntelligenceProper/EI1990%20Emotional%20Intelligence.pdf.
Several years later, Salovey and Mayer developed the four-branch model of EI. This model defines EI as the ability to: 1) perceive emotions, 2) access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, 3) understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and 4) reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth (1997).
More recently, they describe the high EI individual as one who can better perceive emotions, use them in thought, understand their meanings, and manage emotions, than others.
Other approaches or theoretical models of EI of are regularly cited in the scientific literature such as The Specific Ability Model and Integrative Ability Model. If you are interested in a full-blown review of these and other models as well as the history, research and scope of EI, read a Preprint of Emerging Research in Emotional Intelligence in the 2008 Annual Review of Psychology, 59, which is available at: http://www.unh.edu/emotional_intelligence/ .
Until 1995, knowledge of EI remained inside the halls of academia. Then, Daniel Goleman turned the lights up on EI with his New York Times bestseller Emotional Intelligence. His book, published in October, quickly became a blockbuster thanks in part to Time Magazine. The cover story of the October 1995 issue, The EQ Factor: New Brain Research Suggests That Emotions, Not IQ, May be the True Measure of Human Intelligence http://www.time.com/time/magazine/0,9263,7601951002,00.html, suggests that Goleman’s book would turn EI into a national conversation, which it did. Goleman continues to present easy access to current information on EI. If you want a quick study with examples and lively discussion of EI go to his blog: http://www.danielgoleman.info/blog.
Numerous tools facilitate the development of EI. Two good ones are The Emotional Intelligence Activity Book by Adele B. Lynn and The Emotionally Intelligent Workplace by Cherniss and Goleman. Other resources to consider: (www.eiconsortium.org), (www.casel.org).
Each of these tools can help you assess and improve your emotional intelligence, paving the way for you to reach your personal level of peak performance at the workplace and in your everyday life.