Measuring and developing emotional intelligence

MANILA, Philippines - The world is changing every day with many Asian countries taking an increasingly larger role on the global market.

The need to communicate with people from different cultures has become more important, as has the necessity of being able to work well in teams. High stress levels, lack of balance in life, increased workloads, and increased work hours all point to a different and more demanding workplace. The frequency and speed of change, and the pressure to learn and improve in a multi-generational workplace, call for skills beyond just technical/functional and good business acumen.

For decades, people have been trying to identify and measure what it is that makes people successful.

In 1994, I read an article in the New York Times by science journalist Daniel Goleman. He introduced the concept of Emotional Intelligence and wrote about how feelings are an intrinsic part of being human and how it affects our behavior, whether at home or at work. This struck a chord with me and when Daniel Goleman’s book Emotional Intelligence was published in 1995, I knew that this concept was a winner and something I wanted to incorporate in my work with companies and leaders all over the world.

And so when the measurement — The Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i) — was published in 1997, Kandidata Asia, which is now the leading provider of EQi in Asia, was one of the first companies to introduce the tool, first in Europe and a couple of years later in Asia.

IQ gets you hired, EQ gets you promoted

Basic cognitive intelligence is important. But once a person has passed the threshold for IQ, it does not tell you anything about his potential to succeed on the job. That’s where EQ comes in.

Clearly, there are more aspects of a person which are more important than IQ and functional/technical skills. Motivation, creativity, drive, communication, relationships, and energy are vital.

For a manager, it is important to be an effective leader, to get along well with people, and to have good communication skills. In any sales or commercial job, it is vital to have strong social skills, to be flexible and adaptable to change, and to cope well with stress. All of these personal skills are important and many of them constitute what we mean by Emotional Intelligence or EQ.

EQ is not about being emotional, soft or nice. It is a broad definition that includes the key personal skills that have been proven to be important to success. EQ includes skills like self-awareness, interpersonal skill, flexibility, stress management, and optimism.

So which is more important: IQ or EQ?

The answer is both. A very intelligent person will struggle as a manager if he cannot get along with others. Likewise, a high EQ person will have trouble coping with a job if the intellectual demands are beyond his capabilities.

However, it is easier to assess IQ than EQ. We can look at university credentials and be pretty comfortable using these as a proxy for IQ. But assessing EQ is more complex.

The EQ-I (the Emotional Quotient Inventory), a scientifically based, valid, and reliable tool that was published in 1997, has proven to be able to accurately measure Emotional Intelligence. It has been used by over a million people in over 60 countries. While no test is 100-percent accurate, the EQ-I has nonetheless revealed some very interesting results in terms of what makes a successful manager and leader.

The EQ-1 has since been peer-reviewed and serves as the catalyst for more than 200 research and applied manuscripts worldwide with more than one million administrations of the tools. An updated and modernized version — the EQ-I and EQ360 — was launched in July 2011.

What does the EQ-i2.0 measure?

The EQ-i 2.0 model of Emotional Intelligence consists of 15 factors and these skills form the building blocks of abilities such as communication, resilience, and time management. These skills can be mapped both theoretically and empirically to job and leadership competencies such as productivity, team management, and achieving results.

The EQ-i 2.0 and the EQ-i 360 measure a set of emotional and social skills that influences the way we:

• Perceive and express ourselves.

• Develop and maintain social relationships.

• Cope with challenges.

• Use emotional information in an effective and meaningful way.

We use the EQ-i 2.0 to assess, predict, and improve performance over the last 10 years — Kandidata Asia had over 1,000 managers from dozens of organizations — both from the private and public sectors, go through the EQ assessment. Results suggest that most people are around the average, but there are some outstanding people with well-developed and enhanced EQ.

Many studies around the world confirm our observations that when top performers, identified by their excellent performances at work, were selected from within their organization, their EQ scores were substantially above the local and international average.

Over the past 10 years, Kandidata Asia has learned about what makes managers and leaders successful.

By identifying and developing these skills, it is possible for companies and organizations to create a competitive advantage that is not easily duplicated.

Men of the world’s leading companies are finding ways of applying these personal EQ competencies to achieve better performance. It’s not easy to do, but it can be done — and those who don’t will be out-performed by companies who do.

Kandidata is now starting up in the Philippines and launching the EQi 2.0.

For inquiries, visit www.kandidataAsia.com or e-mail info@KandidataAsia.com.

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An adviser to many Blue Chips companies and internationally recognized expert in the HR field, the author Dr. Margareta Sjolund, Ph.D founded Kandidata in the US in 1986.