COMM511 - Discussion 2
DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS
Emotional Intelligence Has 12 Elements. Which Do You Need to Work On? by Daniel Goleman and Richard E. Boyatzis
February 06, 2017
Esther is a well-liked manager of a small team. Kind and respectful, she is sensitive
to the needs of others. She is a problem solver; she tends to see setbacks as
opportunities. She’s always engaged and is a source of calm to her colleagues. Her
manager feels lucky to have such an easy direct report to work with and often
compliments Esther on her high levels of emotional intelligence, or EI. And Esther
indeed counts EI as one of her strengths; she’s grateful for at least one thing she
doesn’t have to work on as part of her leadership development. It’s strange, though
— even with her positive outlook, Esther is starting to feel stuck in her career. She
just hasn’t been able to demonstrate the kind of performance her company is
looking for. So much for emotional intelligence, she’s starting to think.
The trap that has ensnared Esther and her manager is a common one: They are
defining emotional intelligence much too narrowly. Because they’re focusing only
on Esther’s sociability, sensitivity, and likability, they’re missing critical elements
of emotional intelligence that could make her a stronger, more effective leader.
A recent HBR article highlights the skills that a kind, positive manager like Esther
might lack: the ability to deliver difficult feedback to employees, the courage to
ruffle feathers and drive change, the creativity to think outside the box. But these
gaps aren’t a result of Esther’s emotional intelligence; they’re simply evidence that
her EI skills are uneven. In the model of EI and leadership excellence that we have
developed over 30 years of studying the strengths of outstanding leaders, we’ve
found that having a well-balanced array of specific EI capabilities actually prepares
a leader for exactly these kinds of tough challenges.
There are many models of emotional intelligence, each with its own set of abilities;
they are often lumped together as “EQ” in the popular vernacular. We prefer “EI,”
which we define as comprising four domains: self-awareness, self-management,
social awareness, and relationship management. Nested within each domain are
twelve EI competencies, learned and learnable capabilities that allow outstanding
performance at work or as a leader (see the image below). These include areas in
which Esther is clearly strong: empathy, positive outlook, and self-control. But
they also include crucial abilities such as achievement, influence, conflict
management, teamwork and inspirational leadership. These skills require just as
much engagement with emotions as the first set, and should be just as much a part
of any aspiring leader’s development priorities.
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For example, if Esther had strength in conflict management, she would be skilled in
giving people unpleasant feedback. And if she were more inclined to influence, she
would want to provide that difficult feedback as a way to lead her direct reports
and help them grow. Say, for example, that Esther has a peer who is overbearing
and abrasive. Rather than smoothing over every interaction, with a broader
balance of EI skills she could bring up the issue to her colleague directly, drawing
on emotional self-control to keep her own reactivity at bay while telling him what,
specifically, does not work in his style. Bringing simmering issues to the surface
goes to the core of conflict management. Esther could also draw on influence
strategy to explain to her colleague that she wants to see him succeed, and that if
he monitored how his style impacted those around him he would understand
how a change would help everyone.
Similarly, if Esther had developed her inspirational leadership competence, she
would be more successful at driving change. A leader with this strength can
articulate a vision or mission that resonates emotionally with both themselves and
those they lead, which is a key ingredient in marshaling the motivation essential
for going in a new direction. Indeed, several studies have found a strong
association between EI, driving change, and visionary leadership.
In order to excel, leaders need to develop a balance of strengths across the suite of
EI competencies. When they do that, excellent business results follow.
How can you tell where your EI needs improvement — especially if you feel that
it’s strong in some areas?
Simply reviewing the 12 competencies in your mind can give you a sense of where
you might need some development. There are a number of formal models of EI,
and many of them come with their own assessment tools. When choosing a tool to
use, consider how well it predicts leadership outcomes. Some assess how you see
yourself; these correlate highly with personality tests, which also tap into a
person’s “self-schema.” Others, like that of Yale University president Peter Salovey
and his colleagues, define EI as an ability; their test, the MSCEIT (a commercially
available product), correlates more highly with IQ than any other EI test.
We recommend comprehensive 360-degree assessments, which collect both self-
ratings and the views of others who know you well. This external feedback is
particularly helpful for evaluating all areas of EI, including self-awareness (how
would you know that you are not self-aware?). You can get a rough gauge of where
your strengths and weaknesses lie by asking those who work with you to give you
feedback. The more people you ask, the better a picture you get.
Formal 360-degree assessments, which incorporate systematic, anonymous
observations of your behavior by people who work with you, have been found to
not correlate well with IQ or personality, but they are the best predictors of a
leader’s effectiveness, actual business performance, engagement, and job (and life)
satisfaction. Into this category fall our own model and the Emotional and Social
Competency Inventory, or ESCI 360, a commercially available assessment we
developed with Korn Ferry Hay Group to gauge the 12 EI competencies, which rely
on how others rate observable behaviors in evaluating a leader. The larger the gap
between a leader’s self-ratings and how others see them, research finds, the fewer
EI strengths the leader actually shows, and the poorer the business results.
These assessments are critical to a full evaluation of your EI, but
even understanding that these 12 competencies are all a part of your emotional
intelligence is an important first step in addressing areas where your EI is at its
weakest. Coaching is the most effective method for improving in areas of EI deficit.
Having expert support during your ups and downs as you practice operating in a
new way is invaluable.
Even people with many apparent leadership strengths can stand to better
understand those areas of EI where we have room to grow. Don’t shortchange your
development as a leader by assuming that EI is all about being sweet and chipper,
or that your EI is perfect if you are — or, even worse, assume that EI can’t help you
excel in your career.
Daniel Goleman, best known for his writing on emotional intelligence, is Co-Director of the
Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations at Rutgers University. His latest book
is Building Blocks of Emotional Intelligence, a 12-primer set on each of the emotional intelligence
competencies, and he offers training on the competencies through an online learning platform, Emotional
Intelligence Training Programs. His other books include Primal Leadership: Unleashing the Power of
Emotional Intelligence and Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and
Body.
Richard E. Boyatzis is a Professor in the Departments of Organizational Behavior, Psychology, and
Cognitive Science at the Weatherhead School of Management and Distinguished University Professor at
Case Western Reserve University. He is a cofounder of the Coaching Research Lab and coauthor of
Helping People Change (Harvard Business Review Press, 2019).
Related Topics: Emotional Intelligence | Influence | Psychology
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39 COMMENTS
Atul Mishra a month ago
Good and important course to build skill. And for to do better in day to day work
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