role of emotional intelligence in business...

Role of Emotional Intelligence in Business Organizations

J.C. Ajawani and Anita Ajwani Agrawal

A. Paul Valery has rightly asserted that “The problem withthe future is, it isn’t what it used to be”.If change is a constant, then the rate of change is not. As theimpact of change continues to increase, the multi-dimensionalpressures on the organization increase commensurately. Change isaxiomatic, and this acceleration of change imposes unique challengesto business in general and high performance teams in particular. Inthe 2000s, some of these pressures are significantly different thanthose that faced organizations in the 1980s and 1990s whenworkplace alternatives were first attempted on a large scale. Thesefactors are helpful to consider when creating high performanceteams in business sectors.

With the dramatic expansion of communications and datasystems technologies, the “global village” is an increasing reality,particularly in areas of commerce. The impact of this globalizationhas both hindered and helped the formation of high performanceteams in the Unites States and European Union. For manyorganizations despite major foreign investments and mergersthroughout the 1990s, global competition has continued to increase

EditorsNovRattan Sharma

Amrita YadavaPublished by Global Vision Publishing House

Business Psychology

J.C. Ajawani, Head, Department. Psychology, Arts & Commerce Girls’ College,Devendra Nagar, Raipur (C.G.).Anita Ajwani Agrawal, Assistant Professor, IIMT-Oxford Brookes University336, Udyog Vihar, Phase IV, Gurgaon.

144 Business Psychology

the change pressures for more productivity, lesser cost, and improvedcustomer value. This further increases the incentives for executivesto discover and create new workplace alternatives, increasingacceptance of high performance teams.

Along with the globalization, the growing importance ofcommunication and transportation have dramatically increased theinter connectedness of business organizations. Unlike the 1980s,where vertical integration was common for both manufacturing andservice industries, most companies now produce only a portion oftheir total product. Many computer peripheral firms produce onlythe original design and final test “in house”, component acquisition,subassembly, and initial product tests are done by suppliers – oftenby several different ones. In the 2000s, however, the sameinfrastructure that accelerated globalization and globally interconnectedmanufacturing also offers the countering mechanism. Use of virtualcommunication technologies, internet connectivity, and wirelesstechnologies allow teams to form virtual teams and real timeintegration. This level of virtual integration becomes a critical toolfor teams continuing a look for order-of-magnitude breakthroughs.

In the 1980s, Jack Welch of General Electric (GE) talked about“speed, simplicity, and self-confidence” (Slater, 1993). Though GE’sfocus has shifted to other areas, the need for speed has only seenan upward graph. This has included speed in all areas: speed ofmarket, speed of production, speed of employee satisfaction, andspeed of financial return to shareholders.

As business cycles change, the expectations for increasedperformance also changes. These days cycle time have decreasedand so is the time allowed for performance improvement. This needfor rapidly improved results has encouraged organizations to lookto alternative work cultures. The ability to obtain real-word resultsin a short period of time is a hallmark of ‘high performance teams’.This has increased the visibility and consideration of ‘highperformance teams’ in the 2000s. The impact of emotionalmanagement may be evaluated by differentiating traditionalperformers from high performers. The low performers believe thatemotions distract them, increase their vulnerability, cloud judgment

145Role of Emotional Intelligence in Business Organizations

and inhibit the free flow of data and these lead an urge to controlthem. In contrast, the high performers believe that emotions motivatethem, increase their confidence, speed up analysis, provide vitalfeedback and help to build trust.

Even with decreasing business cycle times, there is often asubsequent pressure on key stake holders to adapt more quickly.For new markets, customers and employees are asked to adapt,understand, and be proficient in new areas of products and services.For companies undergoing frequent changes in executivemanagement, employees are typically asked to embrace newcorporate values with each shift in management. For eachcompression of business cycle, individuals are expected to compresstheir own cycles of acceptance and commitment. Emotional cyclesare not able to follow the speed and compression of businesscycles. This creates a significant disparity for many stakeholdersand can significantly hinder the organization’s overall ability to adaptto its change pressures. Appropriately applied, behavioural changemanagement can be effective in aligning personal emotional cycleswith the business cycles but the strategy also has the potential forlong-term negative impact. This brings in the challenges to themodern world which is characterized by global business andcorporate houses. Today, organizations are reshuffling, diverting,merging, acquiring, and flattening hierarchies, going global. Theacceleration of change through the 1990s has made the ability tolead it a newly ascendant competence. Any large or even smallscale enterprise requires a systematic understanding of employeeand consumer demands, both material and non-material. Theperformance of any business organizations depends on theperformance of employees and the needs and expectations of theconsumers, and so the ‘human’ factor is central to the success ofany business. Twentieth century more precisely the last part of ithas brought the flood of knowledge and witnessed several changesin the understanding of human nature as it relates to work andperformance in business sectors and the primary focus is now oncommunication, leadership skills and employee satisfaction and havebeen considered important in enhancing the overall performance ofany business organization.


The psychology of business is, thus, primarily the psychologyof employees and the psychology of consumers. Hence it is theorganization that is responsible for maintaining the balance betweenconsumer demands and employee demands.

The Psychology of EmployeesLet us first talk about the psychology of employees. Any business

house is operated by a number of employees playing their roles atvertical hierarchies as well as at horizontal levels and imparting theirresponsibilities to the organizational benefits and self-welfare. Infactthese employees, in a true sense, are partners of business. Themajor elements that should be part of understanding the psychologyof employees are described here below.

1. Communication: Employee communication andunderstanding of business goals is an integral part of successand it is the responsibility of management to maintain directand clear communication procedures through videoconferences or seminars and presentations that would clearlystate the mission and vision of the business organization. Atsmall scale level this art of communication can even beestablished at face to face level between the managementand the employees. The communication betweenmanagement and the other employees is, thus, a key aspectof employee or personnel psychology.

2. Leadership: Developing leadership skills and leadership isan integral part of business. The inner leadership skills helpus to break the mould and do something different andpioneering. Leadership skills in employees are vital, as teamleaders in an organization are required to motivate otheremployees to attain certain organizational objectives.Leadership is, thus, closely related to motivation. A highlymotivated individual will also be more likely to showleadership skills and any human resource manager mustfocus on developing leadership skills as well as leadership.

3. Satisfaction: Employee satisfaction is another key aspectof business. This is the reason why one often witness


several companies declaring large pay packages andincentives to retain the best talent. Job satisfaction, includingremuneration, working conditions, job content etc. areessential aspects of business. All business organization shouldconsider paying specific attention to employee financial,social, and emotional satisfaction as their primary focus. Itis this emotional aspect which will be the focus of thisChapter and will be dealt after this preliminary introductionto the psychology of business. Maslow’s need hierarchymodel suggests that financial security, personal safety wouldbe of basic importance to humans followed by emotionalneed for social contact and connection and then only onemay have esteem needs for social status and reputationbefore only one may he develops the urge for knowledge,aesthetics leading to self actualization and transdence. Theorganizations can adopt Maslow’s this model while fulfillingthe needs of employees.Employee psychology is, thus, based on these three majorfactors or elements of business and all businesses shouldpay considerable attention to employee communication,leadership, and motivation and employee satisfaction asessentials of psychology of business that can, in turn,enhance performance and productivity.

The Psychology of ConsumerApart from employees, the consumers or customers are an

integral aspect of business. The business management or corporateheads will have to understand the needs of consumers in order toexpand their business potential. Consumer psychology is based onseveral elements and this has a direct relation to whether businesseswill thrive in a competitive local or global environment. Consumerpsychology is shaped by the following related factors.

1. Innovation: Consumers are ever cautious and eager to buynew products and services and their own expectations andsatisfaction tend to drive business innovation. Innovation isthe direct result of consumer necessities and any innovative


or novel product gets attention of consumers immediately.The novelty in telephone sector including mobiles areattracting consumer attention for example. Hence, innovationhas a direct impact on consumer psychology and as such avital key consideration for business managers.

2. Branding: Brands indicate social status and many individualsprefer to buy branded products as these products promisequality and enhances social prestige. People spend thousandson branded products just simply because they want to beseen with designer clothes, shoes, and accessories. Apartof designer brands, regular brands for food products let’ssay Amul or Nestle are company names which are perceivedas brands signifying quality. Consumers are not only justinterested in innovation and innovative products but theyare also interested in familiarity and thus, innovative productsof renowned/familiar brands or companies are the mostsuccessful in the market. One can easily observe this whenone buys a novel product introduced by the salesman orcompany. People easily are tempted to by a new biscuit if itis introduced by Parle or Britannia but hesitate if it belongsto any local company with which public is not familiar.Any new range of mobiles introduced by Nokia will easilyattract the consumers rather than of any new company.Psychologically human are novelty seekers and one alsotends to seek familiarity and a certain amount of routine.Thus, these both needs have to be balanced in case ofconsumer expectations and increase consumer confidence.It is worth to quote here the case of shampoo market(Jhonson C.B., Central Washington University) valued at1.2 billion in 1983 in USA, is one of the most competitivemarkets in all of the countries of the world at present.Procter & Gamble is the leader with an 11.8 percent sharefor Head and Shoulders. The market is so fragmented thatnine brands have 3 percent or more of the market.The promotion strategies of the major producers have beensimilar for many years. New product introductions have


been typified by promotion expenditure of $30 million to$50 million, which have captured up to 10 percent of themarket. Unfortunately when the marketing budget is reducedto the $15-20 million range, market share falls ofsignificantly, even for successful firms such as Procter &Gamble Company.It is apparent that shampoo buyers are fickle and tend toswitch to the latest product introduction. As each newproduct is accepted in the market place, the competitorsenter with me-too products to share in the growth. Onesuccessful technique being used is developing products forspecific market segments.Looking at the increasing population of people over-40(baby-boomers), the companies have now startedconcentrating this target population which justifies hugeexpenditures necessary for the introduction and promotionof new products. Manufacturers are hoping to establishbrand loyalty by attempting to meet the special needs ofthese consumers; for example, older hair may be coarseand brittle.

3. Performance: Company performance in terms of stockmarket indications, annual reports, projection of company’sprofit increase consumer confidence. Thus, if a company’sprospects are bright and company growth is projected, thebusiness halo effect works immediately and further improvesbusiness. When employee psychological factors areconsidered to enhance company performance, performance,in turn, is a factor to meet consumer psychological demands.Hence, business performance is a two-way process; it isdriven by consumer expectations and drives employeescontribution.It is clear that consumer psychology which is based ondemands and expectations for products and services areguided by the factors of the extent of innovativeness of acompany, its brand or reputation and the performance of


the business organization. Employee psychology which, inturn, is also based on demands and expectations ofemployees highlights the extent to which they havecommunication facilities and the extent to which employeesare motivated or satisfied in their jobs.In nutshell, psychology of business has two distinctbranches – that which deals with employee interests andthat which deals with consumer interests and these can attimes even overlap. Thus, any composite organizational/business psychology consist both of these aspects ofemployee personal development through human resourcemanagement consisting of elements of motivation/leadership,communication and satisfaction; and expansion of consumerbase through organizational goal achievements throughperformance, innovation, and branding. Business psychologyis the application of psychology’s knowledge and skill baseto people working in varieties of business settings. Businesspsychology is about people who do the work forcorporations of all sizes and kinds as well.

Emotional Intelligence and Business SuccessWhen Daniel Goleman published his book “Emotional Intelligence

in 1995, many readers were particularly intrigued with the chapterson emotional intelligence at work. There was a wave of recognitionof emotional and social competencies for effectiveness of workers,workgroup and whole organizations. However, a lot concernedpeople really wondered whether such competencies could beimproved once a person became an adult and entered the world ofwork. However, now organizations are recognizing the importantrole of emotional intelligence in business. The most successfulpeople in business are not much different than any body else theydon’t have better I.Q.’s or more talents, they just have a very sharpemotional intelligence that help them deal with people everyday andtake very good decisions. Emotional intelligence is defined as a setof competencies demonstrating the ability one has to recognizeone’s behaviours, moods, and impulses, and to manage them best


according to the situation. It is the ability to understand ones emotionsand inspire, influence, and understand other people emotions.Typically, emotional intelligence is considered to involve emotionalempathy; attention to, and discrimination of one’s emotions; accuraterecognition of one’s own and others moods; mood management orcontrol over emotions; response with appropriate (adaptive) emotionsand behaviour in various life situations; and balancing of honestexpression of emotions against courtesy, consideration, and respect,i.e., possession of good social skills and communication skills.

The importance of both emotion and intelligence in makingdecisions and achieving success in any sphere of life was well-accepted in ancient India. A concept of “Sthitha-prajna” (emotionalstability), similar to the concept of emotional intelligence, can betraced in the second chapter of “Srimad Bhagwad Gita”, which is aspecific situation of “Kurushetra” battlefield. Pandavas were fightingagainst Kauravas, the cousin brothers to restore their kingdomfrom Kauravas in Kurushetra. Before the battle started, Arjuna,with the deep sorrow and pity, found his close relatives, friends andrespected ‘gurus’ in enemy’s side. To win the battle he was supposedto kill those beloved ones. He got confused about his rightful duty.Due to this ‘hriday-durbalata’ (heart-non-strength), he refused tojoin the battle. In this context, Lord Krishna who played the role asthe ‘sarathi’ (driver) of Arjuna’s chariot, enlightened him about theeternal truth of life. According to ‘Lord Krishna’ as mentioned inBhagvad Gita, Arjuna suffered from indecisiveness resulting fromconfusion and a false sense of insecurity. Lord Krishna advisedArjuna to become Sthitha-prajna (the steady mind person). He alsotold that an individual achiever his/her goal only when the mindbecomes steady, poised, and balanced. Evidently, the concept of‘Sthitha-prajna’ talked about a unique interdependence betweenemotion and intelligence for effective decision-making which is themost essential in excelling in every sphere of life. Bhagwad Gita, asa whole, advises all to balance between intelligence and emotion.

Similar views on the role of emotional intelligence as a learningprocess for achieving a balanced personality in different stages oflife on an intergenerational basis has be depicted in the ‘Vedas’. In


particular, Dr. Radhakrishnan (1927), in his book, “The Hindu Viewof Life” opined that the attitude of the Vedas is one of trust temperedby criticism. ‘Trust, because, whatever, plausible the testimonies ofthe old views may be, it cannot deny the present of its right toenquire and sift the evidence’. This view aptly points out the needfor emotional intelligence in everyday life to become more emotionallybalanced and functional individuals in society.

Emotional intelligence is an aggregate of individuals cognitionof own and others emotions, feelings, interpretation and action asper environmental demand to manipulate the consequence which, inturn, result in superior performance and better human relationship.Emotional intelligence is a measure of the degree to which a personmakes use of his/her reasoning in the process of emotional responses(both positive and negative) in a given situation. So having highemotional intelligence doesn’t mean that the person never panics orloses his/her temper, rather it means that he/she brings own feelingsunder control and channels them into productive behaviours.

People having emotional and social competence are very effectivein persuasiveness and team management. ‘Social competence’ isthe culmination of all other components of emotional intelligenceassuming that people can effectively manage social and workrelationships only when they can understand and control their ownemotions and can emphasize with the feelings of others. The morea businessman is self-aware, the more he can control his actionsthat are; in business one has to deal with social teams, friends, highprofile people, leaders, a boss, and more. The best way to beeffective in taking quick and effective decisions is to use emotionalintelligence, one has. Additional, though less often mentioned qualitiesinclude selection of work that is emotionally recording to avoidprocrastination. Self-doubt, and low achievement (i.e., good self-motivation and goal management) and balance between work, home,and recreational life.

An employee or a businessman with high emotional intelligencecan manage his or her own impulses, communicate with otherseffectively, manage change well, solve problems, and use humor tobuild rapport in tense situations. These businessmen also have


empathy, remain optimistic even in the face of adversity, are giftedat educating and persuading in a sales/business situation andresolving customer complaints/business problems in a customer/business service role. This “clarity” in thinking and “composure” instressful and chaotic situations is what separates top performersfrom weak performers in the workplace.

Managers and business executives have often asked themselvesthe following questions:

Why do certain employees get into accidents more often thanothers? Why do they violate company ethics and policies? Why dothey ignore the rules of the organization? Why do they use illegaldrugs while on the job? Why do some people cause conflict whileothers are so gifted at resolving it? Why do they put self-interestahead of the organizational values? Why do some rules people buildlarge books of new business with ease while others struggle to doso even though they seem to be putting forth the required effort?

In many cases the answer to the above questions lies in“emotional intelligence” rather than in the individuals “personalitytype”. The following outlines a set of five emotional competenciesthat have proven to contribute more workplace achievement thantechnical skills, cognitive ability, and standard personality traitscombined.

1. Social Competencies: These are competencies that determinehow people handle relationships, intuition, and empathy, theirawareness of other’s feelings, needs, and concerns. Thesecompetencies are important in the workplace as they helpbusinessmen in understanding others, develop customer serviceorientation, leveraging diversity.

2. Political Acumen and Social Skills: These are related topeople’s adeptness at inducing desirable responses in others as theyhelp them using effective tactics and techniques for persuasion anddesired goals, sending clear and convincing messages that areunderstood by others, inspiring, and guiding groups of people,initiating and/or managing change in the workplace, negotiating andresolving disagreements with people nurturing instrumental


relationships of business success, working with coworkers andbusiness partners towards shared goals and creating synergy inpursuing collective goals.

3. Personal Competencies: These determine how people managethemselves. It is the skill of knowing one’s internal states,preferences, resources, and intentions. These competencies areimportant in the workplace as they help us in recognizing ownemotions and their effects and impact on those around us, knowingone’s strengths and limits accurately and developing sureness aboutone’s self-worth and capabilities.

4. Self-Regulation: This relates to management of one’s internalstates, impulses, and resources. This skill in important in theworkplace as it helps persons in managing disruptive emotions andimpulses, maintaining standards of honesty and integrity, takingresponsibility and being accountable for personal performance,maintaining flexibility in handling change, being comfortable with anopener to novel ideas, approaches and new informations.

5. Self-expectations and Motivation: The competency is relatedto emotional tendencies that guide or facilitate reaching goals. Thisskill is important in workplace as it helps in striving to improve ormeet a standard of excellence people impose on themselves, aligningwith the goals of the group or organization maintaining readiness toact on opportunities without having to be told and persistence inpursuing goals despite obstacles and set backs.

Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Bottom LineTo date many business sectors have focused their selection

criteria and training programs on hard skills, for example, technicalexpertise, industry knowledge, education; and the assessment ofpersonality traits. Topics including competencies like stressmanagement, assertiveness skills, empathy, self-actualization,independence, optimism, emotional self-awareness, and political/social acumen were never measured in the selection process orfocused on in training and development programs. In reality, theseare critical success factors that should not be dismissed, and have adistinct and direct impact on the bottom line. For example, the Hay


Group states one study of 44 Fortune-500 companies in which itwas observed that sales people with high E.Q. produced twice therevenue of those with average scores. In another study, also it wasobserved that technical programmers demonstrating the top 10 percentof emotional intelligence competencies were developing softwarethree times faster than those with lower competency (wwwpenumbra.com/emotional intelligence). Additional research unearthedthe following success stories depicting the vital role of emotionalintelligence in business. A fortune 500 company (www.net-temps.com/careerdev/crossroads) in financial services proved thattheir salespeople who were high on emotional intelligence produced18 percent more than those with low emotional intelligence. In astudy, conducted by Dallas corporation observed that high scoringemotional intelligent employees produced 20 times more than lowscoring emotional intelligent employees. A Texas-based Fortune 500company had utilized personality assessments for candidate selectionfor years with little results in reducing turnover in their high turnoversales force. After turning to an emotional intelligence-based selectionassessment and E.Q. training and development program, theydecreased employee turnover by 67 percent in the first year, whichadded $32 million to their bottom line in reduced turnover costs andincreased sales revenues. Similarly, a large metropolitan hospitalreduced their critical care nursing turnover from 65 percent to 15percent within 18 months of implementing an emotional intelligencescreening assessment. A community bank that reduced staff by 30percent due to the sluggish economy assessed the remainingworkforce for their emotional intelligence skills placed them in theright role for those skills, and the bank is now producing more withless people. A correlation was found among low emotionalintelligence and theft and shrinkage through a series of studiesconducted by ZERO RISK HR Inc. (www.zeroriskhr.com/articles/emotional intelligence). Similarly, another study in the constructionindustry yielded results showing workers with low emotionalintelligence had a higher likelihood of getting injured while on thejob. All of these cases are starting to prove the value of havinghighly emotionally intelligent employees make up the workforce of


any business if it wants a competitive advantage in this highlycompetitive business world.

Finally, as Singh (2003), states emotional intelligence forcefullyimpacts people’s working in business life in many ways:

• Emotional intelligence in sales, administration, customerservice, and management stimulates motivation, ease change,reduces stress, improves communication, and enhancesdecision-making.

• Emotional intelligence positively impacts one’s ability tosustain both his/her mental and physical health.

• Emotional intelligence enables a person to identify and expresshis/her feelings.

• Emotional intelligence enables a person to assumeresponsibility for his/her feelings by saying ‘I feel …..’instead of ‘I shouldn’t have….’

• Emotional intelligence ensures that a person is not easilythreatened by criticism, he/she does not feel the need todefend himself/herself or attack the other person. He/she isalways willing to listen and learn from others.

• Emotional intelligence allows a person to address his/herfear using reason, rather than avoiding them or allowingthem to paralyse him/her.

• Because of high emotional intelligence a person canempathise with other’s feelings, acknowledgment them,and seek to help soothe them.

It has been well documented that through high emotionalintelligence a person can identify the ways in which his/her bodysends him/her messages and what it needs to be happy which ifunheard, may not only lead to the state of unhappiness, but alsorisk ill-health and lower productivity at workplace. Moreover, onecannot make good decisions without being aware of own feelingsand emotions. Emotions are the common bond which can potentiallyunite all human beings, and thus, reduce conflicts at the workplace.Assertiveness ability of a business person also helps him to remain


comparatively at the comfort state by avoiding unnecessary burdensand presenting oneself in a clear glassily-transparent way. It notonly soothe himself but also conveys the un-ambiguity at behaviourallevel leading to better interpersonal relationship, which is a basiccondition of success in business. Whatever the type of business is,a high self-regard encourages a businessman to feel genuine proudof his/her earnings leading to high self-esteem and more dedicatedand determined efforts in solving the business problems. A self-actualized businessman is able to foresee and acknowledge theways of self-satisfaction and to seek transcendence through hisbusiness work. Apart of it, ability of being independent in emotionalintelligence sense allows a businessman to seek advantages ofpotential resources without any biases.

Social responsibility, empathy, and interpersonal relationshipabilities of a businessman with high emotional intelligence prepare asolid plinth to construct the big empire of business. Since no businessprospers in solo existence rather it requires multiple interactionswith all sorts of people at different levels in various spheres ofbusiness and these interpersonal abilities further strengthen theintrapersonal potentials of a businessman.

Similarly, problem-solving ability with flexibility and reality testingtruly enables a businessman to sort out the various kinds of problemsbeing faced in day-to-day business life without being perturbed andstressed and with confidence of success.

Stress is inevitable and is a permanent parallel partner of businesslife. To prove it a motivating factor rather than a debilitating one abusinessman needs to be very well tolerant to these stresses andremain composed without being impulsive and panicked due tothreatening conditions of business activities. And an emotionallyhigh intelligent businessman with high stress tolerance and impulsecontrol finds himself well equipped to deal with these challengingsituations constructively and productively, at the same timemaintaining self-composure.

Lastly, but not leastly, happy mood and optimistic attitude of anemotionally high intelligent businessman permit him to enjoy hisbusiness world in the present state as well as in future also.


What does it take to be successful in business? Stein and Book(2001) assert that E.Q. can account for between 15 percent and 45percent of success at work. They tested 4888 working people invarious occupations and asked them to report on how successfulthey believed they were at their jobs. The data were collected byMulti-Health Systems from people throughout North America. Allwere asked to complete the E.Q.-I and rate how successful theyfelt at their jobs. Within each occupational group they had presentedthe top five factors, in order of importance, for differentiatingbetween the high performers and the low performers. Using logisticregression process they had identified ideal combination of E.Q.factors for many occupational groups which have paid big dividendsfor employers and employees who want to find the best and themost satisfying fit between people and jobs. People who are mostsatisfied in their work tend to be those whose emotional skills fitthe formula for that work.

Here below are listed the five most important factors for eachoccupation as has been observed by Stein & Book (2001).Overall Work Success1. Self-Actualization 2. Happiness3. Optimism 4. Self-Regard5. AssertivenessGeneral Sales1. Self-Actualization 2. Assertiveness3. Happiness 4. Optimism5. Self-RegardInsurance Salespeople1. Assertiveness 2. Self-Regard3. Happiness 4. Stress Tolerance5. Self-ActualizationBusiness Services Salespeople1. Self-Regard 2. Reality Testing3. Assertiveness 4. Stress Tolerance5. Optimism


Marketing Professionals1. Optimism 2. Reality Testing3. Independence 4. Impulse Control5. Social ResponsibilityRetail/Sales Clerks1. Self-Actualization 2. Assertiveness3. Happiness 4. Emotional Self-Awareness5. Interpersonal RelationshipsOther Sales1. Self-Regard 2. Self-Actualization3. Happiness 4. Optimism5. AssertivenessCashier/Bank Tellers1. Stress Tolerance 2. Optimism3. Self-Regard 4. Self-Actualization5. Reality TestingFinancial Services Professionals1. Assertiveness 2. Interpersonal Relationships3. Problem-Solving 4. Happiness5. EmpathyCustomer Service Representatives1. Stress tolerance 2. Assertiveness3. Happiness 4. Interpersonal Relationships5. Self-ActualizationEmployment Counselors1. Self-Actualization 2. Reality Testing3. Stress Tolerance 4. Optimism5. Interpersonal RelationshipsPersonnel and Human Resources Administrators1. Happiness 2. Self-Actualization3. Optimism 4. Assertiveness5. Stress Tolerance


Management Consultants1. Assertiveness 2. Emotional Self-Awareness3. Reality Testing 4. Self-Actualization5. HappinessSenior Managers1. Self-Regard 2. Happiness3. Interpersonal Relationships 4. Reality Testing5. Self-ActualizationProduction Planning Managers1. Flexibility 2. Problem-Solving3. Independence 4. Impulse Control5. Self-ActualizationBusiness Managers (General)1. Interpersonal Relationships 2. Assertiveness3. Happiness 4. Self-Regard5. Emotional Self-AwarenessAccountants1. Problem-Solving 2. Interpersonal Relationships3. Happiness 4. Self-Regard5. Emotional Self-AwarenessNurses1. Self-Actualization 2. IndependenceMedical Staff (Technical)1. Self Regard 2. Optimism3. Reality Testing 4. Self-Actualization5. IndependenceCommercial Artists/Graphic Designers1. Flexibility 2. Self-ActualizationEducation Workers (Administrative)1. Interpersonal Relationships 2. Reality Testing3. Optimism 4. Happiness5. Self-Regard


Secondary-School Teachers1. Empathy 2. Self-Actualization3. Stress ToleranceElementary-School Teachers1. Optimism 2. Self-Regard3. Independence 4. Stress Tolerance5. HappinessPublic Servants1. Optimism 2. Self-Actualization3. Self-Regard 4. Independence5. AssertivenessReligious Workers (Clerics, Ministers)1. Self-Actualization 2. Interpersonal Relationships3. Assertiveness 4. Stress Tolerance5. Self-RegardSocial Workers1. Independence 2. Stress Tolerance3. Assertiveness 4. Impulse Control5. OptimismGovernment Social Services Workers1. Self-Awareness 2. Interpersonal Relationships3. Empathy 4. Stress Tolerance5. HappinessPhysicians/Surgeons1. Independence 2. Stress Tolerance3. Empathy 4. Impulse Control5. FlexibilityLawyers1. Self-Actualization 2. Happiness3. Stress Tolerance 4. Assertiveness5. Social Responsibility


Engineers1. Self-Actualization 2. Happiness3. Optimism 4. Empathy5. Interpersonal RelationshipsPsychologists/Clinical Psychiatrists1. Reality Testing 2. Independence3. Happiness 4. Stress Tolerance5. Flexibility

Improving Business Profile Through Enhancing EmotionalIntelligence

A Preview of HistoryAlthough interest in the concept of emotional intelligence is

rather new, efforts to improve the social and emotional competenceof employees have a long history. Ever since the famous Hawthornestudies of the late 1920s, scholars and managers have been keenlyinterested in the social aspects of work (Rothlisberger & Dickson,1939). Those studies showed that social and emotional needs ofworkers were as important for work motivation as monetaryincentives or threats. More specifically, they suggested that whenmanagers pay more attention to employees and show more concernfor their well-being, both satisfaction and performance increase.These findings ultimately led to the development of training programsthat taught managers how to better manage human relations in theirwork groups.

Interest in human relations training for managers increasedfollowing World War II. Kurt Lewin’s work on the effects ofparticipation and autocratic versus democratic leadership stylesformed the basis for much management training during the followingfive decades (Lewin, 1947, 1948). The National Training Labfounded in 1947 by some of Lewin’s students and colleagues alsocontributed to interest in social and emotional learning, particularlyfor supervisors, managers, and executives.

Recently studies of human relations-oriented training effortshave begun to appear in the literature. A doctoral dissertation on


human relation training is recorded in Dissertation Abstract in 1950,and there were 200 more such studies during the next twentyyears. The earliest programs relied heavily on lecture and groupdiscussion, with some role playing exercises to teach skills. In the1960s, the T-group emerged as a method for helping managers andother employees develop greater self-awareness and interpersonalsensitivity. As research and theory on leadership changed, the focusof training programs also shifted. However, a large percentagecontinued to emphasize social and emotional competence. A recentexample was an effort to train managers in “transformationalleadership” (Barling et al., 1996).

Many other types of workplace training and development effortshave focused on enhancing social and emotional competence. Forexample, stress-management programs became particularly popularin 1980s which taught employees self-management competencies.Conflict management programs have also incorporated a skill trainingcomponent that emphasizes social and emotional competencies.Diversity programs and training in “cultural competence” representanother area in which social and emotional learning has played animportant role. Here multicultural competence refers to the “abilityto demonstrate respect and understanding, communicate effectively,and work collaboratively with people from diverse backgrounds”(Garcia, 1995).

The Need to Improve Emotional IntelligenceIt is estimated that American business looses between US $ 5.6

and 16.8 billion annually by not properly emphasizing the vital roleof emotional intelligence at workplace or in organization. The Indianscenario is still worse where the proportion of jobseekers is toohigh in comparison to demands and the business people are stillquite ignorant about the importance of emotional intelligence inenhancing their productivity and employees’ welfare. A growingbody of research on emotional learning and behaviour modificationindicates that it is possible to help employees of any age to becomemore emotionally intelligent at work. This is substantiated by researchon training and development, organizational behaviour, personnel


management, human resources management etc.. However, theexisting approach used in corporate training programmes need to bechanged. It is important to remember that emotional learning isdifferent from cognitive and technical learning, and that it requires adifferent approach to training and development emphasizing emotionallearning.

There are four primary reasons that the business workplace isa logical setting for efforts to improve the competencies associatedwith emotional intelligence.

(i) These competencies are critical for effective performanceat workplace. As one can see, scores of studies in variousorganizations suggest that quite a larger number ofcompetencies linked to superior performance are emotionalor social qualities such as self-confidence, flexibility,persistence, empathy, the ability to get alongwith others,and optimism (Boyatizis, 1982; Lurch & Serpkeuci, 1990;Spencer & Spencer, 1993; Rosier, 1994-1996; andMcClleland, 1999). Goleman (1998) also asserts that almost90 percent of the competencies necessary for success inleadership positions are social and emotional in nature.Employers have long recognized that the competenciesassociated with emotional intelligence are crucial. In themid-1980s, the U.S. Department of Labour conducted anational survey of what employers were looking for inentry level workers. The list was dominated by social andemotional qualities such as adaptability in the face ofsetbacks and obstacle, personal self-management,confidence, motivation to work towards goals, group andinterpersonal effectiveness, teamwork, skill in negotiatingdisagreements, and leadership potential (Carnevae et al.,1988). Business people need these qualities even more todayas the workplace increasingly is characterized by competitivepressures, constant change, and downsizing.

(ii) Workplace interventions to improve emotional intelligenceare necessary because many adults now enter the world of


work without the necessary competencies. Another nationalsurvey of employers found that more than half the peoplewho work for them lack the motivation to keep learningand improving in their jobs. Four in ten are not able towork cooperatively with fellow employees. And only 19percent of those applying for entry-level jobs have enoughself-discipline in their work habits (Harris Education ResearchCouncil, 1991).

(iii)Workplace interventions make sense because more than 80percent employers already have the means and the motivationfor providing the necessary training experiences. More thanabout 150 billion are spent each year by American industryon training, and much of this training focuses on social andemotional abilities.

(iv)Most adults spend more of their waking hours at workthan any other place and thus it is the best setting forreaching adults who are motivated either to promote greaterbusiness/organizational productivity and competitiveness, orindividual success and career advancement, or physicalhealth and personal well-being.

Thus, there are many areas of human resource developmentpractice today that involve training in the competencies associatedwith emotional intelligence, and such training has a long history inboth private and public business sectors. But how effective theseefforts have been? One can find effective programs for improvingemotional intelligence in a number of different areas associated withtraining and development which also include management trainingprograms and self-management training useful in business sector.

Management TrainingAs noted above, though started in the early 1950s, by the mid-

1980s there had been scores of well-controlled studies evaluatingdifferent types of management training programs which also includedinterventions focusing on social and emotional competence. In 1986,a meta-analysis of management training programs singled out varioustypes of programs for evaluation, including those with either a


human relations or a self-awareness focus. They found that humanrelations training was highly effective both at objective results criteria(e.g., performance measures, absenteeism), and subjective ratingsof on-the-job behaviour (e.g., ratings by coworkers or supervisors)to human relations training. Self-awareness training also had amoderately strong impact on on-the-job behaviour as measured bysubjective ratings.

One of the earliest examples of successful human relationstraining for managers was a program offered to hundreds ofsupervisory and middle-level managers throughout the state ofPennsylvania during 1960s (Hand & Stocum, 1972). The trainingconsisted of twenty-eight weekly, ninety-minute sessions. The firstphase of the training focused on discussions of leaders, leadership,followership, and leadership styles. The next phase was the largestcomponent of the training and it involved experiential learningexercises such as self-ratings on the managerial grid, a measure ofleadership style, judgment and decision-making activities, in basketexercises, and listening and interview exercises. The last phase ofthe training focused on theories of motivation. An evaluation of theprogram revealed that as compared to control group, managerswho completed the training became more self-aware, more sensitiveto the needs of others and more trustworthy, as measured bybehaviour ratings completed by subordinates and superiors as wellas self-ratings. Subordinates of the trained managers also reportedthat rapport and communication with the managers improved. Mostof these changes persisted and were still apparent eighteen monthsfollowing the completion of training.

Goldstein & Sorcher (1974) published a book in which theysuggested about the way of application of Bandura’s (1977) sociallearning theory as the basis for training supervisors to be moreeffective in handling the interpersonal aspects of their jobs. Sincethen, a training approach that combines modeling, role playingpractice, feedback, and reinforcement has been used by a numberof different consulting firms. Such training has involved more thana million supervisors in a wide range of industries and businesssectors. In the typical version, the program designers begin by


identifying several interpersonal situations that prove problematicfor a group of supervisors. Then they make training videos inwhich actors model the most effective way of handling theinteraction in each situation. When the trainers show the video ofthe trainees, they highlight a set of “learning points” – aspects ofthe model’s behaviour that are most important to study and learn.After watching the model and discussing the learning points, thetrainees begin to work on emulating the model in role plays. Aftereach attempt, they receive positive feedback and suggestions forimprovement from other participants and the trainers. The traineescontinue to practice until they reach a certain level of mastery.

Several evaluation studies of behaviour modeling training havebeen published since the late 1970s, and they suggest that thisapproach can be effective when implemented properly (Buskaska,1976; Byham, Adams and Kiggins, 1976; Smith, 1976; Latham &Saari, 1979, and Reess-Eft & Zenger, 1997). For instance, in onecase the program was implemented with a group of supervisors ina forest products company (Parras & Anderson, 1981). The resultsshowed that within two months following completion of thebehaviour modeling program, the trained supervisors had significantlyincreased their use of all five target behaviours. No comparablechange occurred in the control group. Further, most of theseimprovements maintained themselves or increased during thefollowing six months. Even more impressive, the work groups ofthe trained supervisors excelled the controls in several performanceand productivity measures, such as increased monthly production,improved recover rates, and decreased turnover and absenteeism.

Emotional intelligence involves more than just human relationcompetencies, self-motivation is another dimension that has beenassociated with the concept. Achievement motivation training basedof the work of McClelland (Miron & McClleland, 1979) is one typemanagement training program that specifically targets self-motivation.The program uses a variety of methods, including self-assessment,lecture and discussion, case studies, and simulations to helpparticipants become more aware of achievement-oriented thinking


and to develop a stronger achievement drive. The result of oneevaluation (Arnoff & Litwin, 1971) showed that program participantsevidenced a significantly higher rate of advancement within theircompanies when compared to a control group. In another evaluationstudy (Miron & McClleland, 1979), an achievement motivationtraining program targeted at small business owners was shown tobe effective in influencing business performance. Results of a cost-benefit analysis of this government sponsored program showed thatthe net increase in tax revenues due to the increased profitability ofthe targeted business was more than paid for the program. Thecost-benefit ratio after two years was more than five to one.

A more recent management development application is executivecoaching. This approach, usually targets the whole range of emotionalintelligence competencies. It is a highly individualized programtargeted at executives and middle managers. In one of the evaluationstudy (Peterson, 1996), the typical participants in this programgoes through an initial one-to-two-day diagnostic assessment andfeedback session, followed by the coaching phase, which involvesabout one day of training per month for the next six months. Thetypical participant receives about fifty hours of intensive one-on-one work. Specific behavioural learning objectives are developedfor each individual who are defined in terms of expected on-the-jobbehaviour. Each participant’s goals are unique, based on an integrationof the organizations description of the person’s needs and the resultsof a diagnostic assessment. In order to evaluate the program, ratingsof each behaviour are collected from the participant, the coach, andthe participant’s supervisor before coaching. These ratings arecompared with scores immediately after training and six monthsafter training is complete. Change on targeted behaviour is comparedto change on behaviours that are rated but not targeted. In this wayeach participant serves as his or her own control. Results of onepublished evaluation of the program indicated that all these ratingsshowed improvement on behaviours targeted for coaching. Therewas no change on non- targeted behaviours. Moreover, theseimprovements were maintained over time as evidenced by a follow-up evaluation (Peterson, 1993).


Some of the most important management training occurs inmaster’s programs in business administration. In the past, suchprograms have emphasized cognitive and analytical skills whileignoring the development of emotional intelligence. For this reason,employers of these graduates are often critical of managementschools. One business administration program that is an exceptionis the competency-based program at Case Western ReserveUniversity’s Wetherhed School of Management (Boyatzis, Cowanand Colf, 1995). The curriculum makes the promotion of social andemotional competence an integral part of each student’s education.All first-year students go though two weeks of in-depth assessmentactivities in which the social and emotional competencies associatedwith managerial success are assessed. Then they spend the nextseven weeks studying the results of those assessments and usingthem to develop learning plans for the next two years. Severalcohorts of students who have gone through the program have beenevaluated longitudinally. Students who have participated in thecompetency-based program compared to those who went throughthe traditional program. These comparisons suggest that the programhelps promote positive change in many different social and emotionalcompetencies, including initiative, flexibility, achievement drive,empathy, self-confidence, persuasiveness, networking, self-control,and group management (Boyatzis, 1996). Lynn (2002) has suggestedvarious activities which are claimed to enhance emotional intelligenceskills needed in management training. For example, he has suggested10 activities i.e., ‘Champion or Chump’, Coming Through’,‘Listening Habits’, ‘Genuine Listening’, ‘Turning Into OurEmployees’, ‘A Note of Thanks’, ‘Spirit Killers That Stunt YourGrowth’, ‘Your Most Inspired Self’, ‘Your Leadership Coat ofArms’, and ‘More Reflection’, which are believed to enhance self-awareness, empathy, social expertness, personal influence andmastery of vision, all needed to develop communication skills inorganizational set up.

Self-Management Training: Self-Management Training isanother type intervention that specifically targets the self-regulationdimension of emotional intelligence. Although, the earlier applications


were in clinical context (Kanfer, 1986; Kanfer & Phillips, 1970),self-management training has been used widely in work settingsas well.

In one study (Frayne & Lathman, 1987), blue-collar employeeparticipants having record of abnormally high absenteeism receivedeight weekly one-hour group sessions during which they weretaught how to (i) set proximal and distal goals for job attendance,(ii) write a behavioural contract with themselves for administeringself-chosen reinforces and punishers, (iii) self-monitor theirattendance behaviour, (iv) administer these incentives, and (v)brainstorm potential problems in implementing their plans and comeup with potential solutions. The group sessions were supplementedwith one-hour per week individual sessions. An evaluation of theprogram suggested that it enhanced participant self-efficacy and jobattendance. Participants in the program spent an average of thirtyeight hours per week on the job compared to the control group’sthirty three hours per week. Furthermore, it too was found that thisenhancement was maintained for one year after employees completedthe training program.

Emotional Intelligence Based Personnel SelectionAnother workplace application that deserves mention involves

recruitment based on emotional intelligence. The use of competency-based selection procedures for selecting high-performing employeeshas become a standard practice for may business organization, anda close inspection of the competency model that are used indicatesthat most of the competencies relate to emotional intelligence(Goleman, 1998). Several studies emphasize that selecting employeesbased on emotional intelligence produces superior results comparedto more traditional methods that may rely more on cognitive abilityor technical knowledge or simply on simply how well a candidateperforms in an unstructured job interview. One such emotionalintelligence-based selection program was adopted by L’Oreal to hiresales people (Spencer & Spencer, 1993). The behavioural eventinterview was used to identify key competencies critical for successin sales in which the individual was asked to think of three situations


at work in which the outcome was especially positive, and threesituations in which the outcome was not positive. A number ofquestions were then asked by the interviewer about each incident inorder to get a full description of what happened and how theindividual thought about it. The individual’s answers were transcribedand later analyzed for themes relating to competencies. Once thecompetencies that distinguished the superior performers wereidentified, new sales people were selected using the behaviouralevent interview. Data indicated that on an annual basis, thecompetency-selected salespeople sold $ 91,370 more than thoseselected using the company’s old selection procedure, for a netrevenue increase of $ 2,558,360.

The emotional intelligence competency-based selection hasproduced even greater positions. McClleland (1999) reported, forexample, the case of a multinational beverage company of whoseaverage turnover among thirty-five divisional presidents was 25percent. After adopting behavioural event interviews to selectdivisional presidents based largely on social and emotionalcompetencies, the turnover rate for the next one and one-half yearsdropped to 6.3 percent which saved the company almost $3.5millionduring the tenure as the cost of replacing a divisional president was$ 25,000.

ControversySo far authors have focused on positive results pertaining to

the impact of emotional intelligence competencies in various domainsof business. However, not all attempts to enhance the emotionalintelligence of people at the workplace have been successful. Forexample, outdoor, experience based training programs such asOutward Bound have become popular in the business world, andmany managers see them as a vehicle for improving social andemotional competence. However, two different studies could notfind any positive effects on social and emotional competence forthis type of program (Ibbetson & Newell, 1996; Stoltz, 1992).When a large pharmaceutical firm evaluated a large number of itsmanagement training programs, it found that many were worthless.


These controvert negative findings suggest that it is naive toassume that a training program, even one that is popular, such asOutward Bound, will necessarily be effective in enhancing socialand emotional competence. They point to the need for evaluationthat goes beyond the “typical smile” that only tap participants’enjoyment of the training experience. Good evaluation must alsoassess whether a training experience has produced change in socialand emotional competence, and whether that change transfer tomeaningful behaviour in the business job situation. Moreover, theseneeds to be some kind of quasi-experimental control to ensure thatpositive changes are not the result of maturation historical factors,or some other confounding variable.

The negative results also suggest that there may be certainingredients that training programs need to incorporate in order to beeffective. For instance, the evaluator of the unsuccessful humanrelations training program suggested that it may have been in effectivebecause it was too brief (only two days in length), it relied onmassed practice rather than distributed practice, and there wasinsufficient post-training support from management (Miller, 1990).Although, now there are evidences that it is possible to enhancetheir emotional intelligence of people at work to make them moreproductive and successful, it is also clear that training anddevelopment efforts need to follow certain guidelines in order to beeffective.

PRACTICE GUIDELINES FOR EFFECTIVETRAINING PROGRAMS

The consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence inOrganization sponsored a review of the research on training anddevelopment, counseling, psychotherapy, and behaviour change inorder to identify the factors that contribute to more effective socialand emotional learning in work settings (Cherniss, Goleman,Emmerling, Cowan and Adler (1998). This review led to a set ofempirically based practice guidelines, a modified version of whichis summarized in the box below.


Modified Version of Practice Guidelines of Effective TrainingProgram (Cherniss et al, 1998)

Phase 1: Preparation for Change1. Assess the organization’s needs. Determine the competencies

that are most critical for effective performance in a particular job.In doing so, use a valid method, such as comparison of thebehavioural events interviews of superior performers and averageperformers. Also make sure the competencies to be developed arecongruent with the organization’s culture and overall strategy.

2. Assess each person’s strengths and limits on the keycompetencies and deliver the results with care. This should comefrom multiple sources using multiple methods to maximize credibilityand validity. In delivering the results to the individual, try to beaccurate and clear. Also, allow plenty of time for the person todigest and integrate the information. Deliver the results in a safe andsupportive environment in order to minimize resistance anddefensiveness. But also avoid making excuses or downplaying theseriousness of deficiencies.

3. Gauze readiness of the learners before starting thedevelopment procedure. If they are not motivated enough, makereadiness a focus for change. Do not begin training developmentuntil the learners are ready.

4. Set clear goals, link them to personal values, and breakthem into manageable steps. People need to be clear about whatthe competence is, how to acquire it, and how to show it on the jobor workplace. Spell out the specific behaviour and skills that makeup the target competence. Make sure that the goals are clear,specific, meaningful, and optimally challenging.

5. Make learning self-directed. People are more motivated todo so. As much as possible, allow people to decide whether theywill participate in the development process and have them set thechange goals themselves. Let them continue to be in charge of theirlearning throughout the program, and tailor the training approach tothe individual’s learning style.


6. Help learners build positive expectations for the training.Show them that the social and emotional competencies can beimproved and that such improvement will lead to valued outcomes.

Phase 2: Training1. Foster a positive relationship between the trainer and the

learner. Carefully select trainers based on their warmth, empathy,and ability to relate to the learners, as well as their technical knowledgeof the subject and their presentation skills. Once they begin to dothe training, give the trainers ongoing evaluation and feedback ontheir competencies.

2. Use “live” models to teach the competencies. High status,highly effective people who embody the competence can be modelswho inspire change.

3. Rely on experiential methods. Emphasize active learning.Spend more time in demonstrations and practice of the competenciesthan in presenting lectures on them or having learners read aboutthem.

4. Provide opportunities for practice and give frequent feedbackon practice efforts. Encourage learners to use naturally arisingopportunities for practice at work and life, and to try the newbehaviours repeatedly and consistently, over a period of months.

5. Inoculate against setbacks so that they are not seen assignals of defeat. Help learners anticipate and prepare for lapsesand slip-ups as lessons to prepare themselves better for the nextround.

Phase 3: Encouraging, Maintaining, and Evaluating Change1. Build in social support. Encourage the formation of groups

where people give each other support throughout the change effort.Even a single buddy or coach will help.

2. Create an encouraging environment. Organizational policiesand procedures should reinforce people to work on improving theirsocial and emotional competence. Supervisors also should provideencouragement and the necessary support. Help supervisors to value


and exhibit the competencies and integrate emotional competenceinto the daily activities and culture of the organization.

3. Conduct ongoing evaluation research. Find unobtrusivemeasures of the competence or skill as shown on the job, ideallybefore and after training, and also at least two months (and, ifpossible, a year or more) later.

As indicative, these guidelines are grouped under the threemajor phases of the change process, which are labeled as(i) preparation for change, (ii) doing the work of change and,(iii) encouraging, maintaining, and evaluating change (Chernisset al., 1998).

Although training and development efforts can be successfulwithout adhering to all of the guidelines, chances for success aregreatly improved as the number of guidelines that are followedincreases. In fact, the impact of the guidelines may well bemultiplicative.

Many of the guidelines apply to all types of learning, thoughthey are especially crucial for efforts to improve emotionalcompetence, because cognitive and emotional learning involvedistinctly different processes (Goleman, 1998). In cognitive learning,new information is added to existing categories and maps, and newcategories are formed. At the level of the brain, this involves addingto existing neural pathways. However, there are strong responsehabits in emotional learning that must be altered. Existing neuralpathways must be weakened and eventually extinguished beforenew ones can be established. This implies that the learning processto enhance emotional competencies repeated practice over a muchlonger time. Probably there will be many lapses and setbacks also.Again it implies that the learners must enter the processes with ahigh degree of motivation, and there must be considerable guidanceand support to help them maintain that motivation until the newways of thinking and acting become second nature.

Social and emotional learning also typically involves change thatis much closer to the core of personal identity. Infact, we are whatwe feel much more than what we think we are. For example, it


involves lesser turmoil when we are told that we must learn a newword processing program than being told that one must learn to bemore self-actualized, more assertive, more empathetic, more able tohandle stress better, and manage our moods better by remaininghappier and more optimistic.

THE EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT ORGANIZATION

Emotional Intelligence at Team LevelAt an international business conference recently, people were

asked, “Does your organization have a mission statement?” Abouttwo-thirds raised their hands. Then they were asked, “Does thismission statement describe the day-to-day reality of life there?” allbut a few raised their hands. An emotionally intelligent organizationneeds to come to terms with any disparities between the values itproclaims and those it lives by. Clarity about an organization’svalues, spirit and mission leads to a decisive self-confidence incorporate decision making. There are enumerable business reportswhich revealed failure of even well planned program strategies.Among so many other factors a lack of emotional intelligence alsocontributed to these failures. Just as person has emotional intelligenceskills, a group of people working as a team have a collectiveemotional intelligence. Team emotional intelligence is a group’s styleof relating to one another, making decisions, and responding toother groups in the business organization. This concept was firstintroduced in 1998 in the Harvard Business Review. Member ofemotionally intelligent teams respond constructively in emotionallyuncomfortable situation, influencing one another positively in leadingbetter results and experience deeper satisfaction. The basic modelfor team emotional intelligence is similar to that of individual emotionalintelligence, though the largest part of the focus is on the team as agroup. More recently, work has been done which looks at the roleof emotional intelligence in work teams. Druskat & Wolff (2001)have developed a model of group norms that they argue representemotional intelligence at the group level. They define group emotionalintelligence (GEI), as a “shared set of group norms that shapemembers’ interpretation and response to stimuli that elicit emotion”


(Druskat & Kayes, 1999). They propose that the ability of a groupto manage individual and group-level emotion plays a key role in thedevelopment of social capital, effective task processes, and groupeffectiveness. George (1990) focused on individuals in teams andtheir emotional tendencies “Affective tone”, the ongoing emotionalreactions of work team members, was found to impact the group.Positive affective tone groups had lower absenteeism, and lessnegative tone teams exhibited more helping behaviour.

Barsade & Gibson (1998), and Goleman, Boyatzis and Mckee,(2002) discussed the need for research to look at a group measureof emotional intelligence based on individuals in the team. Theysuggested that focusing on emotion in the workplace would bevaluable because emotion affects the outcomes of team behaviour.Emotional tendencies could be looked at as individual traits, thuscombining to influence the emotional composition of a group. In astudy (Rapisarda, 2002), the results showed emotional intelligencecompetencies of influence, empathy, and achievement orientationwere positively related to student and faculty ratings of teamcohesiveness. Empathy was positively related to student and facultyratings of team performance, and achievement orientation waspositively related to student ratings of team performance. The resultsof this study suggest that managers and other organization leaderswould benefit by recognizing the importance of both empathy andachievement orientation in creating the successful workplace. Forexample, demonstrating empathy as well as achievement orientationcan enhance a developmental discussion with an employee. Beingable to truly understand the situation and specific needs of thatemployee will enable the manager to accurately co-create a learningplan that will benefit the individual as well as the goals of theorganization.

Team managers in the workplace can benefit by realizing thattheir managers may perceive them in a very different light and theymake decisions accordingly. It will behove group members to clarifywith their superiors that they are on the path to achieving theirgoals and high performance, regardless of the impression theirinterpersonal skills can create. Such tools as team mission statements,


charters, clearly defining roles, responsibilities, and specific projectplans can help both the superior and team members to accuratelyassess the current progress of the team. Teams are often part of alarger organization, thus significant results from this study (Rapisarda,2002) added to information on overall organization effectiveness inacademic learning environments and in business.

Team emotional intelligence focuses heavily on managementskills: Managing the emotions of the team members, managing therelationships among the team members, and managing therelationships that the team has with outside individuals and groups.The core awareness skill is simply being able to identify andunderstand emotions as they surface among group members. Thefour core team emotional intelligence skills are emotional self-awareness, emotion management, internal relationship management,and external relationship management (Bradberry & Greaves, 2005).

(i) Team Emotional Awareness: It is the team’s ability toaccurately perceive the emotions that influence the group. Thisincludes recognizing how each team member tends to respond tospecific situations and people. For instance, consider a team ofsenior managers who have an important meeting to put theirpresentation to the Director of the company in regard to launch of anew product. Due to certain unavoidable reasons the meeting hasbeen postponed a month. They have been working hard on thispresentation together, and the setback is badly timed. The teamcollectively feels this is a big disappointment, and the group ofsenior managers sit around the table griping about all of the thingsthat will not get done according to the deadlines they have projected.A team with emotional awareness skills will recognize the frustrationand discontent in the air and will allow members to express theirdisappointment. Stifling this type of expression will only prolongthe griping. The team must discuss what its various members arefeeling and how it will influence their plans. The team’s awarenesswill only make its planning more effective.

Team emotional awareness is a large product of how wellmembers recognize the emotions that surface and influence theirwork. It pertains to the acknowledgement of what happens to the


team when members are bored, overly excited, defensive, losinghope, or threatened. It is realization to the members whether theyhave similar or different reactions to the same situations and whetherfeelings are taking over discussions, or they are repressed andnever explored. This knowledge indicates a team’s emotionaltendencies which are repeated patterns of responding when emotionssurface in the group. The team members should explore the group’stendencies with emotions in order to build their emotional awarenessskills. Just as organizations have cultures in which certain behavioursare encouraged and others discouraged, each team develops itsown micro-culture. There are unspoken rules about how much orhow little emotions can be acknowledged an explored. Some teamsrelish strong feelings, whereas other will avoid uncomfortable feelingsat all costs. The emotionally aware team recognizes importantemotional signals as key information that should be used to help getresults.

(ii) Team Emotion Management: It is the team members’ability to use their awareness of the group’s emotions as a whole tobe flexible and direct behaviour in a positive direction. This meansmanaging the collective emotional reaction of the team in responseto a given situation. Those teams are truly more productive whocan manage there tendencies in comparison to those who cannot.Using the team whose presentation to the Directors was postponedas an example, will the group member wallow in their disappointmentby stalling all progress on the project for a month? May be they willmake this period of a month a gripe session. An emotionally intelligentteam would manage member’s emotions and use them to motivateefforts to strengthen their presentation during the extra time given.A team with effective emotional management skills will have at leastone or two members who will pull the group out of the doldrumsand get everyone back on track. This does not mean telling thegroup to get over their disappointment, but instead to feel it as wellas begin looking constructively towards what is next. Infact thegreatest business tool is NEXT. Some times clients are described animaginary button, which resets everything and refreshes them forfuture. They learn to “press” this button and say, or even yell out,


“NEXT”. The training develops the clients’ E.Q. This strength ofemotional competence is essential for development and growth.There are many aspects of E.Q. in business, but it’s a major onefor any person facing the challenges of the business world. Forinstance, one of business clients, the senior manager in a big corporatehouse has mastered the art of “NEXTING” deals personally withmany executives in the organization and in her job, usually men,while jugging her boss’s criticism and strange, unreasonable desires.When she started emotional intelligence training, she experiencedheavy stress and had anxiety attacks, for which she was takingmedication to survive each day at work. She loved her job verymuch, but spent most of her day either in conflict with her boss,talking about it or thinking about it. Every meeting between she andher boss lasted only for few minutes, but she kept them in her mindmonths later. Her definition of rejection was unhealthy for her, as itgave her boss much more power than he had in reality. He was ableto control her feelings during and outside of working hours just bythinking differently from her.

She came to the counselor looking for a tool that will allow herthe freedom to enjoy her work. She discovered the “NEXT!” buttonin one of her first sessions. A week later she optimistically describedher change scenario at her office. She managed to handle most ofthe difficulties at work as well as at home using “NEXT!” as hermain tool. Now she is able to assess the situation, take the learningand move on and her efficiency increased tremendously while inthe past, every arguments and unsuccessful sale added pressure toher work. “NEXT!” is an important coaching tool. Using it enhancesemotional intelligence by promoting optimism. “Nexting” allowspeople of any group or team to move on and shift their energy formlingering in the part to focusing on the future, a core aspect ofsuccess.

Team emotion management is one of the more difficult teamemotional intelligence skills because most of the members of anygroup are not yet comfortably managing their emotions publicly ordiscussing emotions in a group-setting. It requires a group of peopleto work together to spot when emotions are steering their progress.


They have to stop and ask themselves if their progress will behelped or hurt by bringing their emotions to the surface. For example,if the group is feeling excited and motivated after a visit from a topexecutive who has thanked them for what they have accomplished,their willingness to take risks and to be more creative will bebolstered. Similarly, if excitement turns into overzealousness orimperviousness to mistakes, the team could overlook significantrisk. The important step after feeling the excitement is to couple itwith reason and action. Managing emotion as a group requiresnoticing when emotions are playing a role and managing them sothe team can move forward.

(iii) Internal Relationship Management: It refers to the teammembers’ ability to interact effectively with one another in order torespond well to difficult or challenging situations. This is the sumof each team member’s ability to interact constructively with allother team members. For example, suppose one team member hasbeen experiencing a high level of stress at home lately and is havingtrouble producing reports on time and without errors. The teamdepends on these reports for making decisions. Should the teamavoid confronting the situation by tolerating the reports as they are?Should the other team members pressure this person even more bysending curt e-mail reminders? Or might there be a team memberwho can stop by his office to offer support and help him draft thereports? Efforts at managing relationships within the group serve tostrengthen the bond between team members. Team members whomanage relationships with the rest of the group, both during andoutside meetings, minimize the challenge that come up when emotionsare strong.

A team’s internal relationship management skills are strengthenedby the ability of each team member to practice social competence.The team’s performance is enhanced when each team membertakes responsibility for being aware of his or her emotions. Duringteam meetings, self-management and social-awareness are criticalfor everyone in the room to avoid problems such as interrupting orignoring people or putting them down. Each team member isresponsible for developing and maintaining a positive - or at leastproductive – working relationship with every other team member.


(iv) External Relationship Management: It is the team’s abilityto act effectively as a group across organizational boundaries.Consider a design team that invites a member of the quality assurancegroup to its final planning session for a new product. Do the teammembers treat the person as an outsider to be ignored, as a memberof their extended team, or as an unwelcome guest? The team thatcan proactively welcome the advice and concerns of another groupthat has the power to make a go/no-go decision is the team that isusing external relationship management skills to its benefit. Theserelationships often propel a team’s objectives forward, and teamsthat pay no attention to it often lag down the path to their goals.

Very often, team focuses solely on relationships within thegroup, and this creates pitfalls for them in the long run. A highperforming team may celebrate a little too zealously, forgetting tothank those outside the team who helped to make their achievementpossible. When difficulties face this team in the future, outsideparties may not feel like going the extra mile to help out. Teams alsohave to compete for resources or to get their projects approved.External relationship management means that team determines whohas a good relationship with the decision maker who will determinewhat that team needs. The team can select an ambassador to createvisibility or support for its work. Work accomplished in groups isdependent upon influence. If the team is not able to influence thedecision makers outside their group, most probably the failure isknocking their door the moment it is opened, inspite of all thecritical facts are prepared by them in advance within theirgroup only.

Enhancing Team Emotional IntelligenceAn organization’s collective level of emotional intelligence

determines the degree of which that organization’s intellectual capitalis realized – and so its overall performance. Though, formal researchon team emotional intelligence is still in its infancy, it has beenclearly demonstrated that emotionally intelligent teams achieve theirgoals and contribute more to success of organizations in comparisonto those teams which are not so. The low scorer team on workgroup


emotional intelligence lacks ability to focus on tasks and achievesignificantly low than a high scorer team. Just like in case of anindividual unit of a team, training in emotional intelligence skillsenhances a team’s emotional and social competence and in turn thebusiness performance. It improves a group’s ability to focus andbrings its performance into line with that of teams that are alreadyhigh in emotional intelligence.

The art of maximizing intellectual capital lies in orchestratingthe interactions of the people whose minds hold that knowledge andexpertise. When it comes to technical skills and core competenciesthat make a company competitive, the ability to outperform othersdepend on the relationships of the people involved. Any groupdesiring to enhance emotional intelligent skills need not to ascertainthat all team members are emotionally intelligent all of the time,rather it concerns that members of the team have and use emotionalintelligence skills for the good of the group. Member of the groupare allowed to be human and to have days when they feel discouragedor even overly confident. It is important that other team membersbalance emotions that may not be realistic or helpful to the situationby helping the group remain aware (Bradeberry & Greaves, 2005).Emotional intelligence can be learned. Individually, One can addthese skills to the team’s tool kit for survival at a time when jobstability seems like a quaint oxymoron. For business of all kinds,the fact that emotional competencies can be assessed and improvedsuggests another area in which performance – and so competitiveness– can be upgraded. What’s needed amounts to an emotionalcompetence tune-up for the cooperation.

Team members must take time to get to know one anotherbefore they can understand one another. One popular technique isto conduct an off-site meeting to discover more about one another’svalues, interests, talents, and styles. A team can go to lunch or havecoffee together as a group. Team members should ask check inwith one another at the beginning of a meeting and at key points ina design process or any other task they work on together (Bradberry& Greaves, 2005).


Member of the team have to keep themselves reminded thatundesirable and uncomfortable interactions do happen and also dohave some reasons. If one team member is uncomfortable, resisting,or reacting, his or her discomfort should be acknowledged and theperson should be told that the entire team is seeking to understand.When the group is uncomfortable with something, someone shouldrecognize the mood in the room and ask, “Why is this so hard forus to discuss?”. Most oftenly, the group members will be relievedthat they do not have to play along with something they do notagree with or hide their true opinions. A more constructive – or atleast genuine – discussion can then follow.

A team can also enhance its emotional perspective by focusingmore on bigger picture. If team members have opposing views, thegroup should discuss these views from each team member’sperspective. If everyone agrees, ask, “What are we overlooking?”The group or any team member can ask quiet members what theythink, and get members who talk a lot to ask questions of others.

When things are uncertain, someone in the group shouldreinforce the team’s confidence in its ability to succeed. Thisreinforcing person does not have to be the team leader or even thesame person every time. It may be the newest player on the team,the quite one, or anyone who is willing to engage the team indeveloping a more positive outlook. Together, team members shouldfocus on what the group can control. They should remind oneanother of the larger goal and its greater importance than the currentdisappointment or frustration. They can revisit how the teamresponded to a previous, similarly difficult situation with good results.They can discuss how to move beyond the emotional pitfalls thathinder teams. Group members can take matters into their ownhands to improve their team’s emotional intelligence and achieve itsgreatest goals.

Lyn (2002) has developed 50 activities out of which somecombinations are needed to develop team building, interpersonalskills, leaders/managers/supervisors through enhancing emotionalintelligence competencies like self-awareness, empathy, socialexpertness, personal influence and mastery of vision.


Lastly, take a minute to talk about ourselves, our own emotionalintelligence, and the modeling we do for others especially for younger,subordinates at business work place. After all, elders, managershave feelings too.

Almost every business enterprise, like other organizations,harbors vast emotional undercurrent, a shadowy hidden world ofunexpressed feelings. Though, we may appear calm and relationalon the surface, beneath we harbor various emotions: resentment,jealousy, love, fear, guilt, revulsion, caring, pride, frustration,confusion, and joy etc., underneath. We spend untold time andenergy protecting ourselves from people we don’t trust, avoidingproblems we are afraid to broach, tiptoeing around performanceissues, pretending to accept decisions with which we disagree,accepting jobs and assignments we don’t want, and withholdingour opinions insights. Isn’t it a devastating waste of human energy,time and money? Truly speaking “yes”, we do waste. Emotions canhelp us solve problems. Let us use them.

Emotional energy, whether positive or negative, moves us toaction. Emotions are the source of passion, motivation, andcommitment. When we share our feelings and emotions, work andwork relationships are experienced as more vital and meaningful,and movement towards goal accelerates.

We must master emotional competencies through which feelingscan be recognized, communication can flow freely, and conflictsare handled productively. We must nurture an emotionally intelligentworkplace wherein we can air complaints honestly, knowing thatthey will be viewed as helpful, where diversity is valued andnourished, and inclusion and interdependence are experienced atmany levels. In nutshell, when we model emotional intelligence, weemploy the most potent teaching strategy of all and thus, pave wayto guaranteed business success along with employees: physical,psychological, and economical welfare. Though, studies conductedso far suggest that the degree of emotional stability, emotionalintelligence, demonstrated by team members and leaders influencesteam functioning, more research in this area would be helpful.


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