What is emotional intelligence (EI)?
Emotional intelligence (EI) is the area of cognitive ability that facilitates interpersonal behavior. Psychologist and behavioral science journalist Dr. Daniel Goleman popularized the term emotional intelligence in his book Emotional Intelligence in 1995.
Dr. Goleman described emotional intelligence as a person's ability to manage their feelings so that those feelings are expressed appropriately and effectively. According to Goleman, emotional intelligence is the largest single predictor of success in the workplace.
Five components of emotional intelligence
In his book, Goleman states that the five categories of EI are the following:
- Self-awareness. A person has a healthy sense of emotional intelligence self-awareness if they understand their strengths and weaknesses and how their actions affect others. A person with emotional self-awareness is usually receptive to and able to learn from constructive criticism better than one who doesn't have emotional self-awareness.
- Self-regulation. A person with a high EI can exercise restraint and control when expressing emotions.
- Motivation. People with high emotional intelligence are self-motivated, resilient and driven by an inner ambition rather than being influenced by outside forces, such as money or prestige.
- Empathy. An empathetic person has compassion and can connect with other people on an emotional level, helping them respond genuinely to other people's concerns.
- Social skills. Emotionally intelligent people can build trust with other people and are able to quickly gain respect from the people they meet.
How to use emotional intelligence at work
Employers consider employees' and job candidates' emotional intelligence when making HR-related decisions.
For example, HR staff and hiring managers often ask specific questions to determine EI during the hiring process to decide which candidates will best fit in with the company culture.
They also consider emotional intelligence when determining leadership potential and when reviewing pay raises for employees. A person in a leadership position with high EI could also be skilled at motivating their teams and maintaining their overall job satisfaction.
Job candidates' listening skills and strong communication abilities have become highly sought after across industries, particularly for those seeking leadership positions. For example, soft skills for potential IT executives -- such as CIOs -- have become important assets in recent years. Those in technology-centric leadership positions present to boards and communicate with other departments, as IT has become inherent to the overall success of modern, digitized companies.
In addition to listening and communicating well, several other traits consistent with high EI are sought after by employers in the modern, globalized economy. Being able to adapt to rapidly changing work environments, work well in teams and self-manage are characteristics organizations are looking for in an emotionally intelligent employee that will thrive in a business environment.
How to measure emotional intelligence
Dr. Goleman and other social scientists have promoted an emotional intelligence quotient (EQ) test to serve as a counterpart to more traditional intelligence quotient (IQ) tests. While a conventional IQ test evaluates an individual's ability to learn new information, an emotional intelligence test seeks to evaluate an individual's capacity to deal successfully with others. To that end, EQ test questions focus on assessing soft skills, such as social awareness, relationship management and empathy.
Although Goleman's theories have been influential, they have not gone without criticism. Several of his peers have claimed that, among other things, Dr. Goleman's research has not been sufficiently rigorous.
Research has also found that emotionally intelligent people can use their skills for personal gain. For example, a research team led by University College London professor Martin Kilduff found that EI helps people disguise their real emotions to benefit their agenda. Another study led by the University of Toronto psychologist Stéphane Côté found that people with high emotional intelligence used their skills to manipulate others in the workplace.
Most critics agree that the concept of emotional intelligence is valid because human intellect is complex, and it's simply not possible for one type of EQ test to assess a person's ability to be successful accurately.
