Emotional intelligence (EI) has had a huge impact in the workplace since management researcher Daniel Goleman first introduced the concept in the 1990s.
Since then, numerous publications have appeared, alongside a mushrooming consultancy and training industry eager to support companies that believe EI offers a new edge for improving organisational performance. Unfortunately, substantive evidence demonstrating its effectiveness is elusive.
Dr Nicholas Clarke is a Senior Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour at the University of Southampton’s School of Management. He argues that emotional intelligence, when seen as a set of specific emotional abilities, may be developed within the workplace with practical value to practitioners.
NB: What is Emotional Intelligence exactly?
NC: ‘The term was originally set out in Daniel Goleman’s 1995 book Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. Goleman claimed that individuals possess a group of cognitive abilities relating to how they process emotional information, which he called Emotional Intelligence (EI). The biggest question raised by academics and psychologists is whether EI can be accurately termed as “intelligence”. The traditional things that we think of as intelligence include verbal reasoning and numeracy – abilities which can be tested.
However, the thinking on intelligence is changing and many researchers such as Gardner have explored towards more interpersonal intelligences that stem from social interactions. The idea of EI is that individuals have a set of abilities which relate to how they perceive emotion, how they are aware of others’ emotion, how they use emotion to facilitate their thinking and how they manage emotions.’
NB: Why has EI suddenly become prevalent in organisations and business thinking?
NC: ‘Working in organisations is incredibly emotional and increasingly we are realising the role that emotions play in everyday business interactions. For many years emotions were neglected in the study of organisations and work, because emotions were seen as irrational: they got in the way of decision making and problem solving. However, findings from recent neuroscience research show that all thinking accompanies emotion and vice-versa. So, organisational research has changed to accommodate emotion as part and parcel of the process.’
NB: Does this mean we will start seeing changes to the way organisations operate?
NC: ‘Certain organisations are looking at EI as a way to make their employees better leaders, team players and negotiators, but there is controversy surrounding the whole concept of EI, because unfortunately the term has begun to be used by various authors to relate to all sorts of different aspects of the individual. There are competing models of EI and many have been viewed as unscientific as they are not based on empirical research.
NB: What do you feel are the current implications of EI in the workplace?
NC: ‘The development of EI has wide implications in “emotion-led” sectors such as law, education and the health services. In many organisations today, staff have to respond in a way that the organisation prescribes. For example, customer services and retail staff have to be constantly friendly throughout their working day even though they may not feel in a particularly friendly mood. This can cause stress – referred to as “emotional labour”. EI recognises emotional labour and values the emotional skills the individuals bring. If EI represents a new set of cognitive abilities and if, as some research is now showing, it is related to good leadership and teamwork, then organisations may soon want to select new staff on the basis that they have high levels of EI. In addition, organisations are starting to recognise the importance of developing individuals in the area of EI.
NB: What research have you conducted to date?
NC: ‘I have been working with the “ability model” of EI assessment, which is able to isolate EI over other abilities in the workplace. I have been investigating how EI can be developed within the individual. Recently I researched a group of hospice workers and assessed their levels of EI. These workers have a caring role to play, where certain levels of EI are used in their everyday work with the terminally ill. I interviewed nurse practitioners about how they used and managed their emotions and how these emotions affected their decision-making process.
From this work it became clear that there were specific emotional abilities being employed during everyday tasks. I found that these abilities developed in the workplace over time as a result of dealing with emotional situations. Rather than developing EI by attending a training programme, the individuals in the study had increased their EI under certain conditions in the workplace itself.’
NB: And you have also looked at management?
NC: ‘Yes. I have also conducted a study of MBA students here at Southampton, who scored quite low on EI according to the Mayer and Salovey test which assesses four measurable emotional abilities: perceiving emotion, integrating emotion to facilitate thought, understanding emotions and managing emotions. These results agree with other, similar studies that have found those individuals in management positions often score low in EI. We don’t know why this is, but if this was a generalisable finding it could explain how breakdowns in the manager/employee relationship can occur. I am particularly interested in how we can use these results to form practical strategies to improve a manager’s functioning and understanding of emotion.’
NB: How do you think EI will be harnessed in the future?
NC: ‘The usefulness of EI is definitely starting to be appreciated. Even the Government has realised the relevance of EI and wants to see it taught in schools as it leads to children fostering their ability to interact with and understand each other. But it will require a levelheaded approach and I believe academia should lead the way in its development to ensure that best practice is adhered to.’
