Emotional Intelligence > Introduction

These theories were given support by the Ohio State Leadership Studies (1940’s) which found that leaders who are able to establish "mutual trust, respect, and a certain warmth and rapport" with members of their group will be more effective. In addition, the US Office of Strategic Services developed a process of assessment that included the evaluation of non-intellective abilities. This evolved into the "assessment center" which was first used in the private sector at AT&T in the mid ‘50’s. Many of the personal attributes measured in assessment centers involve social and emotional factors such as initiative, sensitivity, and interpersonal skills.

The assessment centerrepresents the most challenging and intimidating selection process you can face. You will be judged on how you perform against other candidates who all want the job as much as you do. Learn how to excel at the
in-tray exercise, role play, presentations and group discussions.

By the early 1980’s the concept of "multiple intelligence" was firmly established among psychologists and it was becoming recognized that non-intellective intelligence were as important as the type of intelligence typically measured by IQ tests.

The term “emotional intelligence” was first used by the psychologists Salovey and Mayer in 1990. They defined it as "a form of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and action". Salovey and Mayer began a research program to develop valid measures of emotional intelligence and to explore its significance.

Underlying Salovey and Mayer's approach was the belief that there is a small number of specific skills all of which have to do with either accuracy or effectiveness. Accuracy at perceiving an understanding emotional state in the self and in others and effectiveness of regulating, controlling and using these emotions in order to achieve one's goals. They proposed that there are four fundamental aspects to emotional intelligence:

• Recognizing emotions
• Understanding emotions
• Regulating emotions
• Using emotions

The whole idea of emotional intelligence as something worth serious study appealed to a growing group of researchers who were becoming concerned with how poorly traditional IQ tests predict an individuals future success. A number of scientific studies have rated IQ as accounting for between 4% and 25% of the variance in job performance, which is far lower than one might initially expect. Even if the 25% figure is accepted, this would mean that three quarters of the variability that we see in job performance is not the result of IQ and must be due to something else.

An example of this research on the limits of IQ as a predictor is the Sommerville study, a 40 year investigation of 450 boys who grew up in Sommerville, Mass. The study found that IQ had little relation to how well they did at work or in the rest of their lives. What made the biggest difference were childhood abilities such as being able to control emotions and get along with other people.

This idea of IQ as a threshold competence is one that has often been overlooked or down played by the business and popular media. The impression has sometimes been given that high emotional intelligence might somehow compensate for a low IQ. This has given the false impression that IQ matters doesn't matter very much. This ignores the fact that in certain jobs the ability to pass examinations is a pre-requisite and this may demand a high IQ. However, once you are established in that particular job, success is more likely to depend on your ability to persist in the face of difficulty and to get along well with colleagues and subordinates than it is to have an extra 10 points of IQ. So, what is the evidence that emotional intelligence is important in business?
 

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