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Running head: HOW DOES EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IMPACT SUCCESS?

Emotional Intelligence Melissa Todd Kent State University

HOW DOES EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IMPACT SUCCESS

Introduction The ability to recognize, interpret and react to emotions as they occur require a set of skills that have become increasingly important an individuals success in their profession. This skill can be referred to as Emotional Intelligence. Emotional Intelligence (EI) integrates communicating emotion through the ability to express and control your own emotions while having the ability to interpret and empathize with the feelings of others. Researchers Peter Salovey, John D Mayer, and Daniel Goleman, seem to struggle to agree whether emotional intelligence can be learned or if it is an innate characteristic that does not change. However, they both agree with the idea that level of emotional intelligence can positively or negatively impact the success of a persons profession and company. President and CEO of Ingersoll-Rand Company, James E. Perrella stated in 1999, America is moving from a manufacturing economy to a value-added, service oriented economy. And at the heart of service, is a relationship. By analyzing Emotional Intelligence researchers are able to gain an understanding of Emotional Intelligence skill sets that are important to a company when downsizing, finding, hiring, training, promoting and retaining successful leaders (Perrella, 1999). The three video clips analyzed in this paper will help obtain further knowledge to understand emotional intelligence and the positive or negative impacts that it can create and will also challenge some of the findings by comparing on-going research. Segment 1- What is Emotional Intelligence? Psychologist and journalist, Daniel Goleman appears for an interview with Allen Gregg in 1999 to explain and define Emotional Intelligence. Goleman emphasizes on the concept that a

HOW DOES EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IMPACT SUCCESS

persons IQ is not the only factor that can determine intelligence and that Emotional Intelligence is just as important. The five skill sets involved in Emotional Intelligence are self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. The two major elements of self-awareness are emotional awareness which is recognizing your own emotions and their effects, and selfconfidence which is security about your capabilities. Self-awareness is an important component in emotional intelligence because once emotions are evaluated they can be managed. Selfregulation is the next essential component in emotional intelligence through many regulation techniques. Being able to self regulate will help rewrite situations into a positive light so they become more manageable (Akers & Porter, 2007). As an individual self-regulates they become more motivated to achieve by showing commitment and optimism. Empathy is a very important emotion and a key component in understanding what emotional intelligence means. Empathy allows one person to imagine themselves in the other persons position and feel those emotions (Planalp, 1999). These are the skills that Goleman says are most important in distinguishing a star performance and success in the workplace. Intelligence and success is often thought to be determined only by a persons IQ and technical skills, but it should be measured by the IQ plus the ability to apply the five component of emotional intelligence. Goleman relates the importance of emotional intelligence in a successful workplace with the example, People dont leave bad jobs, people leave bad bosses. Those who do not obtain these special skill sets are not as effective as bosses or leaders. An example from Daniel Golemans interview clip of a global study in PEBSCO shows if a division head was strong in six or more emotional intelligence ability areas that the company outperformed 15%-20% of their yearly revenue goals. If a weak division head was in charge lacking emotional intelligence skills the company performed 15%-

HOW DOES EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IMPACT SUCCESS

20% less than their yearly expected revenue. These findings are similar to those published by the Journal of Organizational Behavior where the resulting analysis indicates that high emotional intelligence has a direct relationship to strong job performance (OBoyle, 2010). Simply put, those with a higher emotional intelligence are better workers. Individuals put through training programs that are less emotionally intelligent may be impacted negatively. Goleman uses the term Spray and Pray for these individuals who are thrown into training programs and sprayed with information hoping something sticks. The spray and pray technique sometimes used in high tech companies is for individuals who are highly developed on the IQ side, but lack social abilities to form relationships or lead projects. Programs developed by companies only help if the person wants to be a more empathetic individual and wants to practice emotional intelligence skills. An individuals success is negatively impacted by a lack of emotional intelligence when they struggle to build good relationships with co-workers, superiors and clients. If an individual struggles to manage their emotions and is not effective in building relationships their job security decreases. When a company makes the decision to down size individuals with the most job security are those able to do the work on a technical level and in an effective manner. Individuals with both of the previous qualities have a larger amount of emotional intelligence and are less likely to be impacted when downsizing occurs. The next example of emotional intelligence uses empathy. Empathy plays a huge role in the success of an individual in their profession because it involves being aware of the feelings, concerns, and needs of others. For example, Goleman sits at a restaurant with his wife and starts to feel a cold coming on. As he looks at his wifes chicken noodles soup, knowing it would

HOW DOES EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IMPACT SUCCESS

make him feel better, he stops a waiter to ask for another bowl and spoon so they can share his wifes soup. The waiter looks at Goleman with confusion and his non verbal communication expresses that he is irritated by the request. He shortly returns with a bowl and slides it across the table without a word. The success of the waiter has just diminished in the eyes of the customer and his tip will certainly be affected due to the lack of interaction and empathy for Golemans needs. Unfortunately the waiter has just miss-represented the restaurant as a whole based off of one person and their interactions or lack of. Emotional intelligence accounts for over 90% of the difference between ineffective and effective performance (Rose, 2006). This is taken into consideration when companies are focused on meeting revenue goals. The example continues: Goleman then stopped another waiter to ask about some herbal tea hoping that it may help him feel better. This waiter looked at him and asked Sir, are you feeling alright? and then continued to share the knowledge he had of the teas they carried and his personal favorite teas. This small gesture was the customer service he was looking for with the first waiter. This small act of empathy changed his mind about the tip and increased his overall satisfaction with the restaurant. Research proves that effective performers improve business performance and companies will have a competitive advantage over competition. This is a great example how emotional intelligence can positively and negatively impact individual or company success by having or lacking emotional intelligence. Segment 2-What traits impact successful Emotional Intelligence The next segment is going to further analyze the skill sets of an individual with strong emotional intelligence. The relationships we form are managed by behavior and are triggered by our

HOW DOES EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IMPACT SUCCESS

emotions. If an individual is able to understand emotional information and then accurately apply emotional intelligence they are more likely to cope and effectively manage change. The most successful leaders are able to build real social fabric within an organization. Daniel Goleman speaks in this second segment about the best leaders and how they are able to engage with people through an emotional connection. Goleman says the best leaders help other people get and stay in the best emotional state to work at their best. Some people are just natural born leaders and have the perfect combination of self awareness and self regulation. Researchers continue to debate what makes a person a strong leader but Goleman believes that the most successful leaders know how to lead themselves first. Despite discrepancies there are some common traits seen in all leaders (Bennis,1994). First, vision and purpose are important for all leaders to have. Regardless of setback or obstacles a successful leader has a clear idea of what they want to do. Passion and enthusiasm are the next important followed very closely by self-knowing. Selfknowing allows you to be mature and assess strengths and weaknesses. Looking at these traits overall, we have described an individual who is in a good mood or emotional state all the time. There is plenty of evidence proving that there is a direct relation between leader mood, team mood and overall performance. It is impossible to be in a good mood all the time however, Goleman has helpful tips to engage in successful Emotional Intelligence. First you need to notice what type of mood you are in through mindfulness. Second reflect and remember that moods are temporary. Finally leaders sense what needs to happen and act on it. These traits are the links between emotional intelligence and success. A study at Pennsylvania State University looked deep into self-awareness, a main component of emotional intelligence and leadership. The result of this study found pragmatic evidence that emotional intelligence was the foundation of leadership ( Sosik & Megerian,1999). Consistent evidence by Patricia Pitcher in 1999 supports

HOW DOES EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IMPACT SUCCESS

the finding of Sisik & Megerian. Pitcher studied 2 different CEOs within the same company. One CEO had a high amount of emotional intelligence while the second CEO had a low amount of emotional intelligence. The first CEO had vision and was described as warm, generous and overall a funny individual. His attributes kept colleagues and investors inspired as he had contagious enthusiasm. This CEO was very open-minded which stimulated new talent and invited ideas. The company was then handed down to the second CEO a brilliant yet uncompromising technocrat. Gradually the new CEO replaced the staff and centralized decision making processes and after three years the company was dead. The differences between the two CEOs were the levels of emotional intelligence. The first CEO was daring and had an accurate assessment (self awareness) of his strengths and weaknesses. He was innovative and confident and his openness demonstrated empathy (Goleman, 1998). By blaming co-workers for every little problem, the second CEO killed creativity and lacked awareness. The Second CEOs actions were affecting the rest of the company and his lack of emotional intelligence diminished the positive influence. Warren Bennis author of Becoming a leader does an amazing job at comparing descriptive words of a manager and a leader. A manager is a copy, focuses on a structure and maintains while a leader is an original who focuses on people and develops. Segment 3- How Emotional Intelligence has evolved? The last segment of the analysis will explore the theorists that development the term emotional intelligence and their individual views of its concepts. In this analysis Daniel Goleman has been the major focus of how emotional intelligence impacts success, However there are many other theorists that have made contributions to understanding EI. The study of emotional intelligence branches from the work of Howard Gardner publisher of The Shattered Mind in 1975 which

HOW DOES EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IMPACT SUCCESS

introduced the concept that multiple intelligences exist. Ten years later Wayne Payne introduced the term Emotional Intelligence in dissertation that studied evolving intelligence. This term was the product of significant research from Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer. The two realized that the traditional models of intelligence were not enough to capture all the different skills that humans have. A clip of Mayer explains the first data gathered on a scale of intelligence directly related to the ability to accurately pin point the amount of expression on faces. Participants that correctly determined a given expression were place higher on the scale of intelligence. Mayer makes a point to address the work of Daniel Goleman and adds, it dramatically broadened emotional intelligence definition to include persistence, character, optimism, trustworthiness, communication, team capabilities, and also added in some claims for the concept that we never have made. Mayer does an amazing job analyzing the claims of other psychologists against Golemans research, for example a summary of American Psychologists states emotional intelligence is either a set of trait or a coherent ability and cannot be both. Argument between European and American psychologists against Golemans research is settled by the annual review. From the 2008 annual review of psychology higher EI correlates with better social relations among adults and children, positive perceptions and academic achievement, overall well-being, and better relations at work. This review exemplifies emotional intelligence and the multiple ways it can impact success. Even thought current on-going research is fighting emotional intelligence as being personality traits the basic ideas are the same. Emotionally intelligent people are aware of their emotions and the emotions of others and with this information we are able to guide our thoughts and actions.

HOW DOES EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IMPACT SUCCESS

Conclusion Being able to recognize, interpret, and react to emotion effectively is an admired skill set that impacts success in individuals. Individuals who have emotional intelligence can gain knowledge of feelings and will have certain advantages over individuals who cannot. By impacting emotions individuals can embrace the emotional side of interactions and become leaders who can embrace life (Barach & Eckhardt, 1996). Through an analysis of Daniel Golemans clips and additional theorist research EI can be misunderstood. Whats important to remember is that success is impacted by an individual intelligence of emotion in personal and professional relationships. The ability to empathize creates strong relationships with individuals and companies as a whole which is important in competitive market. In conclusion the video clips of Daniel Goleman and John Mayer were effective in analyzing what emotional intelligence is and how it impacts success for an individual.

HOW DOES EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IMPACT SUCCESS

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References Segment 1- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7m9eNoB3NUSegment 2- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ScJX404pnY Segment 3- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF-Ca0OAYLs&list=PL-BBJ13ZKNY8LoDGdgqrkShBra1zYJua Barach, J.A., & Eckhardt D.R., (1996). Leadership and The Job of the Executive.Quorum Books,Westport, Conn. Perrella, J.E., ( 1999). The Importance of Working Together: Individuals add; team players multiply. Vital Speeches of the Day; New York, City News Publishing Company Rose. J., (2006). Self-awareness at Work and Hoe Reacting to Emotional Triggers Affects Professional Performance and your level of Emotional Intelligence Bennis, W., (1994). On Becoming A Leader. New York; Addison Wesley OBoyle, J. H., & Humphrey, H. R. (2010). The relation between emotional intelligence and job performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, DOI: 10.1002/job.714 Sosik, J. J., Megerian, L. E. (1991). Understanding Leader Emotional Intelligence and Performance: Group & Orgajnizational Management, 24 No.3, pp. 367-390 Akers, M. & Porter, G. (2007). What is Emotional-intelligence? Psychcentral.com

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