Emotional Intelligence: What Is It?

Win May*, Pediatrics

Lawford Anderson*, Earth Sciences

Frank Manis*, Psychology

*All faculty fellows of the Center for Excellence in Teaching

Objectives

At the end of the workshop, you will be able to:

define emotional intelligence be aware of the different models of

emotional intelligence. describe the relationship between EI and

job performance use emotions to achieve your objectives

Simple Definition

Ability to manage emotions in one’s self and in others in order to reach desired outcomes.

The "New Yardstick"

On how we handle ourselves and each other Goes beyond intellectual ability and

technical skills Focuses on personal qualities such as

initiative, empathy, adaptability, persuasiveness

Emotional Intelligence

Seen as the fundamental key to success and leadership - and it can be learned!

Working with people Not just about being nice Managing one’s own emotions Ability to handle encounters Teamwork Leadership

Job Success, not Survival

Today's great growth and prosperity is running parallel to some of the highest rates of job turnovers.

Just because you work hard does not mean you will rise to the top or that the job is secure.

Common employer complaints

Lack of social skills, motivation to keep learning, and inability to take criticism

Leads to plateaued or derailed careers because of crucial gaps in EQ (EI)

The Two Sides of Emotional Intelligence

Personal Competence – how we manage ourselves

Self Awareness – knowing your strengths and weaknesses

Self Regulation - trustworthiness, responsibility, adaptability,

Motivation - drive, commitment, initiative, optimism, charisma

 

Social Competence - how we handle relationships

  Empathy - awareness of other’s feelings and concerns

Social skills - adeptness a inducing desirable responses, such as communication, conflict management, cooperation, and leadership

The more complex the job, the more EQ (EI) matters!!

Goleman’s Competencies Model

Mayer & Salovey’s Ability Model

4 inter-related abilities

Perceiving,Using, Understanding, andManaging emotions

Identify emotions

Identify how you feelIdentify how others feelSense emotions in musicSense emotions in artDetect real vs fake emotions - accuracy

Basic emotions with very clear facial signals

AngerSadnessFearSurpriseDisgustHappiness Ekman, 2003

Understand Emotions

Recognizes what events are likely to trigger different emotions

Knows that emotions can combine to form complex blends of feelings

Realizes that emotions can progress over time and transition from one to another

Provides a rich emotional vocabulary for greater precision in describing feelings and blends of feelings

What Does “Use Emotion” Entail?

The capacity to generate and feel an emotion in order to focus attention, reason, and communicate.

The capacity to use emotion to influence cognitive processes such as decision making, deductive reasoning, creativity, and problem solving.

Happiness

Up-side Generate new ideas Think in new ways Be creative Enhance “big-picture” thinking Enhance decision-making abilities

Downside More problem-solving errors

Manage Emotions

Stay open to feelingsBlend emotions with thinkingReflectively monitor emotions

Manage Emotions

Research findings:

Significant relationship between managing emotions ability and burnout and mental health

Teams with higher scores for managing emotions received higher performance rankings

You are in a meeting when a colleague takes credit for the work you have done. What do you do?

A. Immediately confront the colleague saying that you did the research?

B. After the meeting, take the colleague aside & tell him/her that in the future you would appreciate credit for the work you did.

C. Nothing. It’s best not to embarrass colleagues in public.

D. After the colleague speaks, publicly thank him/her for referencing your work & provide additional details about the work.

Why do people with high IQs not always succeed?

Illustrative Example of EQ and IQ

Suppose you are brilliant in a particular domain of study.

Or suppose you happen to have a great idea for a project (or both).

What kinds of emotional and cognitive intelligence are needed to see the project through to completion?

“All I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten”

Four of the five skills educators (NRC, 2000) emphasize for school readiness are socio-emotional:

- mastery of educational building blocks

- motivation to succeed in school

- ability to get along & make friends

- ability to function in a group

- capacity to manage emotions

Childhood studies find both genetic and environmental components of EQ (temperament, social competence) and IQ.

Emotional, social and cognitive processes constantly influence each other during development.

It’s not either/or but both: the marshmallow study (Shoda, Mischel & Peake, 1990) found both impulse control & verbal ability contributed to later SAT and grades.

Lifespan Development: Roots in Childhood

Lifespan Development: Moving into adulthood

Adolescence & early adulthood – frontal lobe maturation: emotional vs. rational reasoning (emotions are a two-edged sword).

Middle to later adulthood: what are the components of wisdom?

In Essence

Being intelligent about emotions means that we can perceive and use emotions to create optimal relationships and produce desired outcomes.