IQ being
equal, it has been established that EQ (the emotional equivalent of
IQ) contributes 80 to 90 per cent of the competencies that distinguish
outstanding from average leaders – and sometimes more.
Although
the specifics vary from organization to organization, Emotional
Intelligence competencies make up the vast majority of the more
crucial, distinguishing competencies. A large accounting firm was
studied and it was found that, if the partner had significant
strengths in the self-management competencies, he or she added 78 per
cent more incremental profit than did partners without those
strengths. Likewise, the added profits for partners with strengths in
social skills were 110 per cent greater and those with strengths in
the self-management competencies added a whopping 390 per cent
incremental profit. By contrast, significant strengths in analytical
reasoning abilities added just 50 per cent more profit. Thus, purely
reasoning abilities helped – but the Emotional Intelligence
competencies help far more.
Can these
be learned? A unique series of longitudinal studies, started in 1990
and still under way at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case
Western Reserve University in the US have already shown found that
emotional intelligence competencies can be improved over both the
short-term and long-term.
The
longer the person works on emotional intelligence, the higher the
improvement and the longer it lasts. 2 year programs show an average
47 per cent improvement. 3 to 5 year programs show an average 67
percent improvement in the self-awareness and self-management
competencies and 40 percent improvement in social awareness and
relationship management competencies. But even two years later (which
was between five and seven years since they had taken the initial
courses), the gains continued: 63 percent showed improvement on the
self-awareness and self-management competencies, and 45 percent had
improved on the social awareness and relationship management
competencies. There was not a single competence in which students were
not able to improve, provided they targeted it in their learning
plans.
These
remarkable results are the first to demonstrate gains sustained over
many years in the emotional intelligence building blocks. There was
yet another, unexpected, bonus that was found in the data: Five to
seven years after the original course, people were showing
improvements on additional competencies, not just those on which
they'd already improved after three to five years. In other words,
once they'd learned how to improve the emotional intelligence
abilities that make for success, they continued developing new
strengths on their own. That finding provides solid evidence that
these competencies can continue to be acquired throughout life.
More
evidence of this kind of lifelong learning comes from a study done
with senior executives in the Professional Fellows Program at Case
Western Weatherhead School of Management. The program, designed for
experienced executives and advanced professionals (with an average
entering age of 48, versus 27 for MBA students), attracts top
executives, lawyers, and physicians who want to hone their business
and leadership skills. In longitudinal studies of these senior
executives up to three years after the program, improvement was found
on two-thirds of emotional intelligence competencies. Clearly, then,
leaders can be made more effective-if they are offered the right tools
for learning.
Good
consultants and coaches understand the dilemmas of the organization
and its culture as well as the client’s personal strengths and
challenges and use EI themselves. To be really helpful, a
consultant/coach will understand the leader’s dilemmas from multiple
perspectives: the individual level (what’s going on for the person);
the team level (the group dynamics of the executive or staff teams);
and the organizational level (how all of this fits with culture,
systems, and strategy). A consultant/coach can tailor the client’s
development program, offering the luxury of going through the entire
process in a one-on-one relationship.
Many of our consultants/coaches are specialists
in this area of Emotional Intelligence and will be able to support your self-development in this
area.
For what research confirms employees would tell bosses - if asked, send
an email to bs@futurevisions.org with
"MWS research on bosses" in the subject
and nothing in the body
