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Social and interpersonal skills are important
elements for a leader's success. All leaders
and managers should understand EI and work on increasing their emotional and
social intelligence quotients (EQ/IQ). Mary Parker
Follett (1868-1933), who was an early researcher
of Organizational Behavior (OB), believed that the main task of a leader was to maintain
positive relationships with workers, which is in tune
with the concept of EI.
The recent explosion of EI research in a little over a decade has invoked much interest on
the topic; perhaps this has been fueled by the
success of Daniel Goleman's writings and discussions
on EI. In 1995, Goleman was instrumental in
bringing popularity to the concept of EI. Goleman, who is
a psychologist by profession, argues that factors other than IQ contribute greatly to a person's
level of success, happiness, and professional leadership. The success factors for
effective management and leadership can include
patience, persistence, situational assessment of
relevant variables, and the ability to empathize with
and respond well to the emotions demonstrated by others.
EI evolved from studies and research conducted by various researchers who
proposed broader approaches to understanding
intelligence. Like other theorists, Goleman believed that
IQ testing misses the mark in determining who will be successful in life. Many believe that success
in effective leadership and management is a result
of an awareness of one's own emotional state, an awareness of other people's emotional state in
a given situation, and making logical decisions based on these relevant factors. Effective
leaders and managers tend to use their emotional ability
to reason and solve problems based on the factors and people involved in any given
situation. Effective leaders and managers have the ability
to recognize their own emotions, remain in control
of their emotions, stay motivated, recognize the emotions of others, and create
strong relationships. These leaders and managers produce results through their high levels of EI.
Overall, EI is the capacity to know oneself and to quickly know others based on
their expressions, feelings, behaviors, and verbal statements. EI can be described as being able
to effectively work and get along with others. It
has been said that IQ contributes about 10% to a person's success in life, wisdom and knowledge,
about 25%, and EI,about 65% to one's personal and professional accomplishments.
Through internal reflections and values clarification,
a person can better understand how to develop social skills that can serve one well in
difficult moments. Also, by learning various social
and interpersonal skills, one can become skilled
at being decisive as well as at winning and influencing more allies. EI is an assortment
of noncognitive skills, capabilities, and
competencies that influence a person's ability to succeed
in coping with environmental demands and pressures. It is composed of five dimensions: |
