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Emotional intelligence: theory and description:A competency model forinterpersonal effectivenessJames Thomas Kunnanatt.  Career Development International.  Bradford:2008. Vol. 13,  Iss. 7,  p. 614-629

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Document 1 of 1Emotional intelligence: theory and description:A competency model forinterpersonal effectivenessJames Thomas Kunnanatt.  Career Development International.  Bradford:2008. Vol. 13,  Iss. 7,  p. 614-629

***** Abstract (Summary) *****Despite the crucial role that emotional intelligence (EI) could play inimproving individuals' performance and career prospects in organizations,employees, executives and career professionals across the world are still insearch of practical frameworks for understanding the concept. This is becauseEI research outputs from academics still remain mostly as correlations, co-variations and associations between EI and other variables. This paper seeks toprovide a practical framework that could help executives, employees and careeradvisors understand what EI competencies people need to acquire and how thesecould be developed through EI training. The approach is to develop acompetency-based model of EI based on inputs from academic research andfeedback from EI training specialists. An attempt is made to incorporate therole of brain theory in EI. Exploration is also made into the progressivestages and dynamics involved in typical EI training programs. The paper bringsout current research insights and highlights the strategic significance of EIas an augmenter of job performance and career advancement. The competency-basedmodel provides comprehensive understanding of the psychological configuration,inner mechanisms, and organization and operation of EI in human beings. Whilethe model holds many of the classic components of EI intact, a new sub-competence called social influence is introduced, with cautions about thedifficulty in acquiring this sub-competence solely through EI training. Goingbeyond the popular literature, the paper explains the role of brain theory inEI - a dimension often ignored in EI discussions. Finally, the paper providesan abbreviated coverage of the progressive stages and the dynamics involved intypical EI training programs. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

***** Full Text *****(7869  words)

Copyright Emerald Group Publishing Limited 2008

Emotional intelligence (EI) is a new branch of study in psychology. It isgaining currency in performance counseling and career development circles, asexecutives bestowed with EI are increasingly being shortlisted for fastercareer advancements in organizations ([15] Dulewicz and Higgs, 2003; [40]Langley, 2000). Realizing that EI is a strategic asset facilitating improvedorganizational performance many organizations including multi-nationalcorporations are realigning their HR policies and career development strategiesto favor an emotionally intelligent workplace ([3] Aydin et al. , 2005; [8]Cherniss, 1997; [14] Dries and Pepermans, 2007). As research unfolds,organizations are fast realizing that traditional intelligence, or IQ, isnecessary but not sufficient for human performance and career advancements inorganizations ([13] Diggins, 2004; [27] Goleman, 1995; [46] Mayer and Salovey,1997; [58] Rosete and Ciarrochi, 2005). No wonder, researchers and careeradvisors are exploring the possibilities of extending the application of EI tonon-business arenas of life such as health, government, defense, education andeven families ([26] Gibbs, 1995; [35] Kaufhold and Johnson, 2005; [39] Kuscheand Greenberg, 2001; [52] Morehouse, 2007).

In spite of the crucial role that EI could play in improving individuals'performance as well as career prospects in organizations, employees, executivesand career professionals across the world are only beginning to understand theconcept. They want to know what EI is, how EI develops in a person, and whattools, techniques and methods are available to raise and incorporate EI intoone's personality. These queries persist because, despite EI becoming amultimillion-dollar training industry in itself, research outputs from EIacademics are yet to reach the wider populations. This paper attempts to answerthese questions by portraying a model of EI drawn upon inputs from academicresearch and feedbacks from EI training professionals. Though the model wouldrequire more research in future to add empirical strength, the aim of thispaper is to help executives, employees and other career aspirants understandwhat EI competencies they need to acquire and how these could be developedthrough EI training.

Approach/methodology

The field of EI is rich with a plethora of research studies that often reportcorrelations, co-variations and associations between EI and other variables.

The approach in this paper is not to go extensively into these literatures butto draw upon relevant updates from academic research so as to create a model ofEI that would provide a comprehensive understanding of the concept. While themodel holds many of the classic components of EI intact, the attempt is topresent a competency-based model of EI that might deviate a little in itsconfiguration from the popular models.

The paper first reviews the current research link between EI and careerperformance and shows how EI contributes to social effectiveness. The conceptof EI is then explained by portraying the psychological configuration, innermechanisms, and organization and operation of EI in human beings. Going beyondthe popular literature on EI, the paper explains the role of brain theory in EI- a dimension often ignored in the discussions on EI. The paper then introducesthe competency-based model of EI and explains in detail the EI competencies -personal and social competencies - that constitute the model. In particular,the model introduces a new sub-competence called social influence, but cautionsabout the difficulty in acquiring this sub-competence solely through EItraining. Finally, the paper provides an abbreviated coverage of theprogressive stages and the dynamics involved in typical EI training programsand discusses the implications of EI for HRD and career development.

Emotional intelligence and career performance

Before delving into the construct of EI, the role of EI in driving humanperformance and career advancements in organizations may be briefly reviewed.The question pondered here is "Do careers of individuals with high levels of EIdiffer from those of individuals with low levels of EI?" Research outputs tendto show that people possessing superior EI perform better and develop steadiercareer paths in organizations ([3] Aydin et al. , 2005; [12] Druskat and Wolff,2001; [15] Dulewicz and Higgs, 2003; [19] Feist and Barron, 1996; [41] Mandelland Pherwani, 2003). Studies on career performance of executives reveal thatmanagers who are aware and have true understanding of their own and other'semotions, and are able to use that understanding to effectively motivate,inspire, challenge, and connect with others are far more effective thantraditional managers who actively separate any emotion from the workplace andpromote methodical, detached, micro-managing style of supervision ([24]Gardner, 1999; [29] Goleman et al. , 2002; [38] Kouzes and Posner, 1995; [74]Wheatley, 1999). Based on evidences from 121 companies around the world [28]Goleman (1998) argues that EI abilities are two times more crucial forperformance excellence than technical and cognitive abilities. Recent researchevidences also support EI as a vital element in excellent job performanceprofiles in organizations ([52] Morehouse, 2007).

EI can also raise the level of individual and team performance. Perhaps due toan enhanced ability to recognize and manage emotions and brace againstdistracting emotions, EI skills connect both to individual cognitive-based

performance and team task performance skills ([52] Morehouse, 2007). Inresearch on teams, [34] Jordan and Troth (2004) reported that teams comprisedof members possessing high EI tend to display superior task performance skillswhen compared with teams made up of emotionally less intelligent members. [28]Goleman (1998) had earlier found that for technical and complex positions inorganizations, a lack of EI might lead to diminished cognitive performance andan inability to accomplish tasks, especially with others.

It thus appears that EI has a pervasive influence on job performance in diversecareer settings. But do these performance stories culminate in careeradvancements for people? Studies indicate that EI competencies are all the moreimportant for career advancement of people as they move up and across variouscareer levels in organizations. Research comparing promotion readiness ofmiddle and senior executives reports EI as a more important screening criterionthan intellect and other managerial skills ([40] Langley, 2000). [41] Mandelland Pherwani (2003) observe that EI-linked competencies of people in leadershippositions, such as flexibility, conflict management, persuasion, and socialreasoning, become increasingly important with advancing career levels inorganizations. Findings from a seven-year longitudinal study by [15] Dulewiczand Higgs (2003) also revealed EI as stronger determiner than intellect andother management competencies in predicting career advancements of managers.Analyzing the skills required at various career levels in an organization'shierarchy, [15] Dulewicz and Higgs (2003) compared skill differences betweensenior directors and managers and found that the directors displayedsignificantly higher measures on overall EI and on interpersonal sensitivitywhereas no differences appeared to exist among the directors and managers interms of intellect or other managerial competencies.

Though the above research studies do not deal with EI in detail, the findingsare sufficient, perhaps, to believe that EI provides both performance advantageand career advancement opportunities for executives in organizations.Realization of this truth regarding the power of EI in augmenting jobperformance and career prospects of individuals has resulted in manyorganizations aggressively realigning their HR strategies in favor of EI overthe hitherto valued traditional intelligence or IQ, though not as replacementto the latter but as a supplement to it ([3] Aydin et al. , 2005; [7] Carmeliand Josman, 2006; [10] Cote and Miners, 2006; [12] Druskat and Wolff, 2001;[58] Rosete and Ciarrochi, 2005; [62] Sayegh et al. , 2004).

Can emotional intelligence be a handicap?

While the discussions above portray EI as a virtuous attribute, is it alwaysso? Or, are there careers/occupations/jobs in which a high level of EI mightactually be a handicap or could be used to the detriment of others? Research isscanty in answering this question. However, there are popular literaturesavailable in the print media that advise people on topics such as "emotional

abuse", "emotional blackmail", "how to control people", etc. ([18] Evans, 2002;[23] Forward and Frazier, 1997). These literatures, though, do not advocatepeople to use EI in any negative or undesirable ways. Instead they advisepeople on how to deal with relationships and situations when other people usefear, obligation, and guilt to manipulate and get things done.

Emotional intelligence - the acid test of social effectiveness

It thus appears that emotionally intelligent people are more effective in theworkplace and enjoy better career advancements. Research ([2] Abraham, 2004;[7] Carmeli and Josman, 2006; [10] Cote and Miners, 2006) shows that this isparticularly because while interacting with the social environment peoplepossessing personality patterns with high EI (EI personality) produce win-winrelationships and outcomes for themselves and others. Such people, by virtue oftheir positive personality and cordiality of interactions ([1] Abraham, 1999)develop a magnetic field of "emotional attraction" around them. People with lowEI, on the contrary, happen to enter into counterproductive emotional behaviorswith others, and end up in win-lose or lose-lose type of transactionaloutcomes. Their emotional negativism or the neutrality of their socialtransactions builds around them, often unknowingly, a field of "emotionalrepulsion" because of which their social circles get contracted and distancedfrom them. Such people often prove detrimental to their own and others' careersin organizations (Figure 1 [Figure omitted. See Article Image.]).

Accordingly, there exists a scale of emotional attractiveness - repulsivenesson which every individual will fall, and the better the position on this scale,the greater the success of a person in the social environment. The goal of EI,then, is to facilitate individuals in gaining self-awareness about who they areand where they stand in the world of emotions and to guide them smoothly towardsuccess in their interpersonal journeys in life ([42] Martinez, 1997).

The EI personality - a profile description

Research on career performance of emotionally intelligent people from businessand industry has revealed many of the characteristics that contribute to whatmay be called the EI personality. Chief among them is the capacity for"emotional literacy" or the competence in sensing, tracing and reading,correctly and in real time, the rational-emotional processes going on withinthe mind ([45] Mayer and Salovey, 1995; [43] Mayer et al. , 2004; [54] Park,2005; [61] Salovey et al. , 1999). Research shows that emotionally intelligentmanagers, supervisors and leaders are better at handling their own emotions,are more effective at soothing themselves when upset, and get upset less often([1], [2] Abraham, 1999, 2004). Because of this capacity for "self-regulation",such people are also more relaxed biologically, with lower levels of stresshormones and other physiological indicators of emotional arousal ([37] Keichel,1987; [70] Tischler et al. , 2002). Even in the midst of most complex social

transactions, their superiors, colleagues, and subordinates experience them asemotionally comfortable companions and rate them as having fewer behavioralproblems such as rudeness or aggressiveness ([1] Abraham, 1999). Socially theyare more "attractive" to their peers and associates and are seen by others asmore interpersonally skilled and influential ([73] Walter, 1996).

While in leadership roles or when executing responsibilities, EI personalitiesdisplay remarkable empathy in their feelings and approach toward people andmake others feel understood, supported, trusted, remembered, involved, listenedto, helped, empowered and rewarded ([8] Cherniss, 1997). They are both visibleand credible among their fellow beings as compassionate individuals who can seethings from the point of view of the other persons. In organizational contexts,the net impact of EI people in their organizations is that they act as powerfulcatalytic agents who transform both the character and performance of theorganizations ([43] Mayer et al. , 2004; [51] McGarvey, 1997). Studies fromindustry, government, education, and other fields show that emotionallyintelligent people are far more effective and productive than their lessemotionally intelligent counterparts in making things happen with and throughothers ([10] Cote and Miners, 2006; [55] Pilling and Eroglu, 1994; [58] Roseteand Ciarrochi, 2005).

Emotional intelligence - the roots

EI has its roots in the early works of psychometric researchers like [68], [69]Thorndike (1920, 1936), [53] Moss and Hunt (1927), [32] Hunt (1928), and [72]Vernon (1933) but the concept was defined and theoretically sharpened only inrecent years through the works of Drs J.D. Mayer and [59] P. Saarni (1999). Thetrue merit for popularizing the concept, however, is attributed to [27] Goleman(1995) who through his classic book published in 1995 took EI from the world ofacademics and research to the practical world of business and industry.

The founding authors and researchers explain that emotionally intelligentpeople possess the remarkable attribute of diagnosing and monitoring theinternal emotional environment of their own and others' minds during socialtransactions and show skillfulness in managing their dealings and relationshipswith others in ways that produce winning and mutually productive outcomes forboth. Drawing upon their leads, the EI model in this paper conceives EI as thesum total of the mind capabilities that enable a person in understanding one'sown and others' emotions correctly, in real time, and in managing theseemotions intelligently so as to produce personally and socially desirabletransactional outcomes. From a practical point of view, EI is the applicationof emotions in a rationally guarded (intelligent) manner in situations thatcall for the synchronized involvement of both emotion and reason.

Brain theory - the link with emotional intelligence

Careful and intelligent use of emotion and reason is an art. It calls forproper understanding of how emotion and reason interact and operate within thehuman brain. Brain theory today is so advanced that we know much about how thehuman brain works. Researchers in brain theory suggest that there exists anongoing relationship of competitive inter-dominance between the rational andemotional domains of the brain ([5] Bear et al. , 1996; [16] Edelman, 1987;[33] Isaacson, 1982). In this inter-relationship, due to the geneticprogramming of human biological equipment and due to the type of conditioningreceived during socialization, in most individuals the emotion-regulating partof the brain (i.e. the amygdala along with other limbic structures) tends todominate the rational brain (neocortex) controlling or even suppressing therational thoughts and actions of humans ([67] Thompson, 1988).

When emergencies or critical moments call for intelligent and careful action bythe rational mind, the emotion-biased amygdala might suppresses the rationalprocesses of the neocortex thereby depriving the individual of his/herreasoning power to cognitively process and test the reality of the situation ([11] Davidson et al. , 2000). Moreover, in many situations, the amygdalainterprets and even exaggerates the events as hostile and dangerous and advisesthe bodily equipment of the organism to get ready for a fight or flightsituation. In such cases, obeying commands from the amygdala, the personperceives the situation as threatening and starts engaging in defensive,emotionalized behavior that takes irrational dimensions, which, in turn, couldharm the person as well as the environment ([31] Holland and Gallagher, 1990).The person can be depicted as operating in the emotionally less intelligentmode. At this point, the person becomes emotionally excited and the body showssymptoms of palpitations, increased blood pressure, and other biologicalreactions. All these happen within the flicker of a moment and can besummarized as the "emotional game" played by the amygdala. Most peopleexperience many such series of emotional games daily ([11] Davidson et al. ,2000).

The true role of EI in managing a person's interactions lies here. Inemotionally intelligent people, the mind is trained and tuned to detect thisemotional game played by the amygdala and the capacities of the mind are sodeveloped that the person exercises "controlled emotional involvement" duringthe process of dealing or negotiating with others or working through a criticalproblem. This ability of the EI person to pull back and recognize "what ishappening inside the mind" is called "meta-regulation of mood" ([47] Mayer etal. , 1997a). In the mature form of EI, the person is even able to channel his/her emotions constructively and use them as "motivational support" for theactions of the rational mind ([25] George and Brief, 1996; [70] Tischler et al., 2002).

Emotional intelligence - the model

EI competencies - the building blocks of emotional intelligence

Drawing upon the support from various sources of research and training in EI,EI theory has tended to take two different approaches to model building.Academic researchers view EI as an abstract concept whereas trainingspecialists look at it as a combination of practical competencies acquired bythe individual. This paper, while drawing heavily upon the insights fromacademic research, approaches EI from the competency perspective and henceattempts to present a model that construes EI as a constellation ofcompetencies.

Some researchers suggest that emotionally intelligent people may be believed tobehave in rationally and emotionally balanced ways because they are inpossession of certain attributes called EI competencies ([43] Mayer et al. ,2004; [61] Salovey et al. , 1999). These competencies can be classified intotwo broad categories:

personal competence in understanding and managing one's "own self"; and

social competence in knowing and dealing with the "self of others" ([19] Feistand Barron, 1996; [27] Goleman, 1995; [46] Mayer and Salovey, 1997; [65]Sternberg, 1996; [71] Van Rooy and Viswesvaran, 2004).

Personal competence is the ability of a person to sense one's own internalmental moods and processes and regulate the operations of the mind in such away that emotions do not disturb or deter the rational mind from executing itsactions rationally and to the best of its intellectual capacity. Personalcompetence is divisible into two sub-competencies, namely, self-awareness andself-regulation.

Self-awareness is the ability to detect the internal emotions and feelings, inreal time, as they occur within us. Self-aware individuals are able to read and"link" their feelings with what they think and act. In EI terms, it is called"emotional literacy" ([44] Mayer and Salovey, 1993; [51] McGarvey, 1997).

Self-regulation is the ability of a person to use self-awareness (or emotionalliteracy) to manage one's own emotions. The person uses self-awareness toregulate the rational and emotional operations of the mind in balanced ways soas to provide an emotionally supportive pathway for the reasoning mind to makelogically correct and socially acceptable decisions and judgments ([42]Martinez, 1997; [70] Tischler et al. , 2002).

Research indicates that people possessing personal competence manage theirimpulsive feelings and disturbing emotions well and stay composed, positive,and unflappable even during trying moments ([42] Martinez, 1997; [45] Mayer andSalovey, 1995). Such people can think clearly, stay focused under pressures and

are able to take sound, decisive decisions despite uncertainties and demands,shifting priorities, and changes in their life ([63] Slaski and Cartwright,2002). Moreover, they show remarkable tact in adapting to fluid circumstances.

Concepts related to personal competence have been discussed in psychologypreviously. For example, personal competence may appear similar to self-monitoring - a concept in psychology proposed by [64] Snyder (1974). Self-monitoring theory refers to the process through which people regulate their ownbehavior so as to appear and "look good" so that they will be perceived byothers in a favorable manner. Self-monitoring theory distinguishes between highself-monitors, who monitor their behavior to fit different situations, and lowself-monitors, who are more cross-situationally consistent ([64] Snyder, 1974).However, while self-monitoring takes care of one's behavior and appearance inpublic/social situations, it does not fully enable a person to handle andregulate his/her deeper, disturbing internal feelings and emotions - a featthat EI can achieve. EI should, accordingly, be viewed differently from self-monitoring.

Social competence is the ability of a person to gain psychological insight intothe emotional world of others and to use one's empathic capabilities and"relationship skills" (such as leadership, assertiveness, and communication) toproduce socially desirable and productive behavioral outcomes both forthemselves and others. Social competence includes two distinct sub-competencies: social-awareness and social influence.

Social awareness refers to the competence of a person in getting a "true feel"of the emotional mind of others. He/she enters into a covert "emotionaldialogue" with the interacting partners ([61] Salovey et al. , 1999) and isable to empathize or "feel like" the other person. Empathy forges emotionalconnection ([36] Kellett et al. , 2002) and in many cases bonds people even fardeeper and stronger than shared values, ideologies, and beliefs. Golemanbelieves that empathy underlies many interpersonal aptitudes like teamwork,persuasion and leadership ([28] Goleman, 1998).

Social influence refers to the potential of a person to influence and effectpositive changes and outcomes in others by using his or her interpersonalskills. The term social influence, as a component of EI, has received onlyrudimentary treatment in EI literature. In the classic EI models, the secondcomponent of social competence is represented by "social skills". Social skillsare a misnomer in the study and analysis of EI, so far. A review of 18 journalwebsites reveals that EI theorists and training specialists have bundled alarge repertory of (historically known) interpersonal skills under thecompetence "social skills" - making it difficult to define as well as measurethis competency.

This paper, however, assumes that there are prominent interpersonal skills that

need to be focused and developed in individuals if EI is to produce desirableeffects and impacts on their social environment. While the skills required foreffectively influencing others could be many, a few could be rated asimportant, considering the significance attached to these skills in managementdevelopment and career counseling circles. Chief among these skills thatcontribute to a person's social influence are assertiveness, communication, andempowering leadership. Assertiveness helps a person in establishing a mutuallyrespectful, win-win, I am ok-You are ok relationship with others. Communicationskills enable the person to listen carefully to others as well as negotiatesuccessfully to produce desirable outcomes in social transactions. Empoweringleadership equips the person with the abilities of guiding and motivatingothers in situations that involve leadership and group management. Though thesecore social influence skills might appear as independent of each other, inactual use they merge and blend with each other and have to be used in a highlysynchronized manner to be productive and effective in the social environment.

Social influence might appear akin to the so-called political skill but the twoshould be viewed as related but different attributes. Political skill is theability of a person to influence others and get them to buy into one's ownideas and objectives ([21] Ferris et al. , 2000). Political skill in itself isa virtue that is increasingly being advocated today as necessary competency tobe effective in organizations ([22] Ferris et al. , 2007); but, the possibilityexists that it could also be used, at times, for personal gains than for mutualbenefits. Social influence on the other hand uses one's relationships skills inan empathic manner and focuses on buying others into one's ideas by buildingtrust and pursuing means that mutually benefit each other. These additionalelements of empathy coupled with mutuality of benefits to each other in socialtransactions perhaps demarcate social competence from political skill anddistinctly distinguish it from the latter.

In an emotionally intelligent person, the above four competencies work togetherand in unison. Absence of one or more of these reduces the EI competence of theperson and possibly inflicts damages both to the person and to his/her socialfunctioning. However, a word of caution is due. The first three of the EIcompetencies, namely, self-awareness, self-regulation, and social-awareness arebasically functions of the rational-emotional mind of the person and could beenhanced by a person through rigorous training and practice in EI techniques.The fourth competency, social-influence, on the contrary, is highlyinterpersonal in nature, and, therefore, the success of this competency isdependent, also, on the attitudes and attributes of the other parties involvedin social interactions. Furthermore, while engaging in and deploying the skillsof social influence, the person is under pressure to keep aloof from thetendencies to engage in politicking because the means and goals of the latteroften conflict with those of emotionally intelligent behavior. The conclusionhere is that developing one's social influence skills is more difficult thanthe acquisition of other competencies of EI.

Is emotional intelligence measurable?

In psychology, traditional intelligence is expressed as IQ. Similarly EI ismeasured and expressed as emotional quotient (EQ). EQ is a measure of theemotional competencies of a person, but it is not EI as such. It is the measureof the application of EI to one's personal and social life. EQ measures thelevel of one's personal and social awareness and active skills in the area ofmanaging interactions with others and vice versa ([48] Mayer et al. , 1997b).From the brain theory point of view, EQ is the measure of a person's competencein maintaining the rational-emotional balance required at the inner mentallevel and tells his or her "touch with reality". In summary, thus, EQ is asummative score of the rational and emotional abilities in dealing with theinterpersonal realities of life.

Even though there are conflicting arguments ([9] Ciarrochi et al. , 2000) aboutthe validity and reliability of the tools used in measuring EI, EQ measurementis fast becoming an industry in itself. Academic researchers and EI trainingagencies have designed and used a plethora of measuring instruments to helppeople gain insight into their EI profile. The most common measuringinstruments include Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT;[49] Mayer et al. , 2002), Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI; [29] Goleman etal. , 2002), and [4] Bar-On's (1997) EQ-I.

Raising emotional intelligence - the training process

Interested in the interpersonal benefits of EI, people frequently ask thequestion, "How can one raise the level of emotional intelligence and be moreeffective at interpersonal relations?" Aimed at helping people to restructuretheir EI competencies, EI practitioners have developed a variety of EIdevelopment programs. Though there is no universal standardization, in acarefully drafted EI development program the participants pass through aprogressive series of stages such as emotional mapping, emotional diagnosis,emotional authentication, emotional navigation, empathy building, and buildingsocial influence.

Emotional mapping is often the first stage of an EI development program.Universally, human beings experience a multiple set of emotions that includesjoy, hope, eagerness, surprise, fear, anger, sorrow, jealousy, resentment, etc.Every passing moment, depending on our moods and environmental cues, weexperience, enjoy or withstand hundreds of variations of these emotions. Also,depending on the social circles and the context in which our interactionsoccur, these emotions emerge and disappear, blend and merge, and on at leastcertain occasions confuse us or even conflict within ourselves ([20] Feldman etal. , 1991). Negotiating successfully with these emotional upheavals anddownfalls is not possible without gaining meaningful insights into how they

operate within our mind. Emotional mapping exercises train people to capturetheir own emotions and feelings as they appear and strengthen and help to taketrue cognizance of these emotions and diagnose deep into their causalattributes and direct impacts upon the operations of mind ([59] Saarni, 1999).Through the mapping process, people learn to understand how emotions operatewithin the mind and how they influence and determine our thoughts, feelings,and actions.

Diagnosing emotional patterns is the second stage in EI training. Bio-chemically the human brain is so structured that it develops a network ofneural pathways in the brain and uses these pathways as guidelines for actionduring social interaction ([27] Goleman, 1995). These neural pathways are thebiologically learned responses of the human mind to the various stimuli comingfrom the social and natural environment. During socialization in our society,through repetition and reinforcement, these response patterns become habitualand transform themselves into neural pathways that define the person'sbehavior. Over time, through further reinforcement, they become roads and roadsbecome highways. Once the neural pathways become reinforced they define anddetermine almost every aspect of our behavior so strongly that we are oftenunable to think and act differently ([27] Goleman, 1995, [28] 1998). Thepathways are so strong that they tightly control or even dictate our thoughts,feelings, and actions. Once formed, interrupting an established neural pathwayrequires extraordinary efforts and energy.

Participants in EI development programs are trained through appropriateemotional exercises to penetrate deep into these neural pathways and recognizehow the pathways are configured and networked within their minds and affecttheir interactions, goals, and motivations. They are also encouraged todecipher how the neural pathways interfere with or promote the way theystructure their relationships with others. Based on the insights so derived theparticipants are helped to formulate strategies that augment their emotionaland social effectiveness and to develop a structure of personal values andbeliefs, and support systems that validate the strategies and courses ofactions chosen. The whole process strengthens the mind's capacities to faceemotions with proper understanding of their cues, causes and effects and indealing with them in socially productive ways ([39] Kusche and Greenberg,2001).

The above two stages of emotional mapping and emotional pattern diagnosis equipthe participants with true and deeper self-knowledge of their emotional worldand give them a true awareness of where they stand in the world of emotions andmanagement of emotions. Participants then gradually pass onto the next twophases of training: namely, "emotional authentication" and "emotionalnavigation".

Emotional authentication exercises are aimed at helping each participant assess

how productive or unproductive their emotions and actions have been in the pastand are in the present and how these impact on the emotions and actions ofothers and themselves. Emotional authentication, at times, permits andjustifies impulsiveness if the situation so necessitates, but it also warrantschecks, limits and delays in gratification if the consequences would beunproductive, undesirable, or painful. In any case, the individual's emotionsand actions are carefully guarded through conscious self-monitoring and arekept under guided control and self-regulation. The outcome is that many ofthose decisions and choices the person tended to make unconsciously or lessconsciously in the past now become clearer to the conscious mind and give wayto the rational and intelligent deliberations of the mind ([30] Halberstadt etal. , 2001) and produce results that are profoundly more effective andproductive in the social circles. The individual learns to become more self-synchronized at evaluating the costs and benefits of his/her emotional andbehavioral choices.

The next stage of the EI program is emotional navigation - a series ofsupervised exercises that provide participants with opportunities to experiencea true feel of their hidden emotions and feelings. Societal pressures oftenforce individuals to control and suppress their emotions and, as a result, theyrepress and often hide feelings such as excitement, anger, sorrow, and the likefrom their natural decisions and behaviors. Emotional navigation tells peopleto experience just the opposite. It tells that emotions are not as destructiveor troublesome as they are often thought to be; instead, they have powerfulhealing and soothing properties and are required on many natural occasions inour social life. Emotions, when deployed with care and caution, provide themuch needed insight, energy, and motivational support for making bold andqualitatively superior decisions. Emotional navigation trains people not todeny the existence of active emotions but guides them on how to consciouslyslow down and regulate their emotional reactions until they get a consciousopportunity to think and act creatively, insightfully, and powerfully. When ina conflict or crisis mode, this slowing-down process helps in carefullyengaging both heart and mind, and, thus, generating creative and intellectuallysuperior solutions ([45] Mayer and Salovey, 1995; [62] Sayegh et al. , 2004).By navigating boldly through emotions intellect can be used to guide emotionsand harness the productive power embedded within them ([50] Mayer et al. ,2003). As we become competent at sensing, labeling, and using our covertemotions, we are able to face and harness them as a source of information andmotivation and use them constructively as a force for self-action.

Having learned to test the reality and value of one's own emotions, the nexttask in EI development is building empathy. An empathic individual recognizesand responds to other people's emotions. The person has the capacity toexperience the emotions of others in their true spirit. In nature and incontent, empathy is both instinctive and conscious. Certain aspects of empathyare instinctively gained through heredity. The other dimension is the

consciously built up understanding of the other person - a competency acquiredthrough learning and socialization in society. In EI programs, participantspass through a series of empathy workshops that help them diagnose and becomeconscious about the inner empathic deficiencies and strengths in theirpersonality. Though a difficult process, once empathy is developed at theconscious level, it provides the way for building and sustaining valuablerelationships with others in the social circles. The empathic change in thepersonality is visible through the way participants begin to make others feel ([17] Eisenberg et al. , 2000). They are now more confident and tuned to makeothers feel attached to, attended to, listened to, cared for, respected, andtrusted with the result that an emotionally enriched foundation starts buildingup in their surrounding social relationships.

Influence building is the last stage in the EI development program. The aim isto develop the interpersonal influence potential necessary for effectivemanagement of social relationships. Success in this competency area depends onthe level of mastery acquired by a person in such interpersonal skills asleadership, communication, assertiveness, and negotiation, among others. Thecontents of most EI programs generally do not address these interpersonal skillareas because a variety of highly specialized and sophisticated trainingprograms are available for developing these skills. What is important from theEI angle is that a person who has sharpened his/her skills in the othercomponents of EI need to sequentially develop these people management skills soas to use them as vital inputs for building productive social relationships andfor managing these relationships successfully.

To sum up, participants who successfully travel through the so-called stages ofemotional mapping, emotional diagnosis, emotional authentication, emotionalnavigation, empathy building, and influence building are expected to come outof the program with meaningful changes in the emotional structure thatinfluence both their "inside" aspects and the "outside" relationships. Theprogram acts as an instrument of emotional engineering that restructures therational-emotional processes and elevates their capacity to reason aboutemotions and regulate emotions in ways that promote emotional and intellectualgrowth in life.

Implications of EI development programs for HR and career development

Companies that have implemented EI development programs and endeavored toenhance EI competencies of human resources have witnessed quicker and morepowerful changes in the quality of employee effectiveness and have found thechanges to be sustained over time([6] Brooks and Nafukho, 2006; [54] Park,2005). Research evidences indicate that by creating emotionally intelligentwork places, organizations have been able to truly drive performance andcareers in organizations ([7] Carmeli and Josman, 2006; [54] Park, 2005). As aresult, organizations have begun redefining the norms for dealing with employee

careers and promotions. In the past, external staffing criteria (hiring fromoutside the organization) tended to be well defined, and most often defined interms of technical skills and intellectual factors such as IQ ([8] Cherniss,1997; [28] Goleman, 1998). Promotion or career advancement criteria were,however, less so well defined and tended to be somewhat ambiguous. In recenttimes, due to increasing awareness about the role of emotional competencies incareer performance and organizational success, more weight is often given byorganizations to personality-related interpersonal competencies ([3] Aydin etal. , 2005). People who get along well such as those with high EI tend topossess an advantage over those with lower levels of EI.

The message that emerges from these developments is clear: executives,employees and career aspirants who wish to advance and grow in their careersshould pay attention to developing EI competencies and endeavor to strengthenthese skills as they progress through organizational careers. As individualsgrow in EI, it changes both their inner minds and outside relationships andcultivates within them better attitudes, clearer perceptions, and productivesocial relationships that are valued in diverse career and life settings ([27]Goleman, 1995). Most often, EI builds and incorporates into the minds of peoplea burning spirit for pursuing noble goals, missions, and accomplishments thatlead to definable progress both in their career and life.

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Further Reading

1. Rahim, M.A. and Minors, P. (2003), "Effects of emotional intelligence onconcern for quality problem solving", Managerial Auditing Journal, Vol. 18 No.2, pp. 150-5.

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Corresponding author

James Thomas Kunnanatt can be contacted at: drjamesthomas@gmail.com

 

[Author Affiliation]

James Thomas Kunnanatt, Department of Business Administration, College ofBusiness and Economics, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United ArabEmirates

[Illustration]

 

 

Figure 1: Emotional intelligence and social interaction

 

***** References *****    * Cited by (1)***** Indexing (document details) *****

Subjects:          Emotional intelligence,  Personal relationships,  Career                   development planning,  Models,  Studies

Classification     6200,  9130Codes

Author(s):         James Thomas Kunnanatt

Author             James Thomas Kunnanatt, Department of BusinessAffiliation:       Administration, College of Business and Economics, United                   Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

Document types:    Feature

Document features: Diagrams,  References

Publication title: Career Development International. Bradford:                    2008. Vol. 13, Iss.  7;  pg. 614

Source type:       Periodical

ISSN:              13620436

ProQuest document  1587923731ID:

Text Word Count    7869

DOI:               10.1108/13620430810911083

Document URL:      http://proquest.umi.com/                   pqdweb?did=1587923731&Fmt=3&clientId=74211&RQT=309&VName=P

Abstract (Summary)

Emotions in health organisations tend to remain tacit and in need of clarification. Often, emotions are made invisible in nursing and reduced to part and parcel of 'women's work' in the domestic sphere. Smith (1992) applied the notion of emotional labour to the study of student nursing, concluding that further research was required. This means

investigating what is often seen as a tacit and uncodified skill. A follow-up qualitative study was conducted over a period of twelve months to re-examine the role of the emotional labour of nursing. Data were collected primarily from 16 in-depth and semi-structured interviews with nurses. Key themes elicited at interviews touch upon diverse topics in the emotional labour of nursing. In particular, this article will address nurse definitions of emotional labour; the routine aspects of emotional labour in nursing; traditional and modern images of nursing; and gender and professional barriers that involve emotional labour in health work. This is important in improving nurse training and best practice; investigating clinical settings of nurses' emotional labour; looking at changing techniques of patient consultation; and beginning to explore the potential therapeutic value of emotional labour. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]