Emotional intelligence skills provide developing leaders with an increased understanding of the impacts of emotions within a team or organization. Caruso and Salovey (2004) demonstrated the advantages EI has with respect to six common challenges in leadership: (a) building effective teams, (b) planning and deciding effectively, (c) motivating people, (d) communicating a vision, (e) promoting change, and (f) creating effective interpersonal relationships. Throughout Caruso and Salovey’s descriptions of the six challenges, they cited a connection with Kouzes and Posner’s Effective Leadership Practices Model. 1. Building effective teams The first challenge was building an effective team. Caruso and Salovey discussed the need for clarifying personal values before attempting to formulate team values. Like Kouzes and Posner’s model, Caruso and Salovey explained that leaders must identify their own values before clarifying team values. A significant level of trust is important for leading teams, and a leader must generate positive opportunities for meaningful Continue reading
Emotional Intelligence
A Spiritual Perspective of Emotional Intelligence from the Bhagvad Gita
Emotions are reflective of a society’s weakness and strengths and can be disruptive and interfering when displayed at a wrong time. However, when expressed constructively it can play a role in organisational effectiveness. The ancient sacred teachings of the Bhagvad Gita can enlighten an employee to identify, interpret and apply emotions in their personal and professional life. Hinduism advocates that ‘a man should first seek wisdom and thereafter pursue material ambition’. In order to achieve self-realization, one must have perfect emotional self-control. The Indian scriptures state that our senses are like wild horses, the body its chariot and the mind its reins. Intellect is the driver. The Atman is the Lord of the chariot. If the senses are not kept under proper control, they will throw this chariot into a deep abyss. He/she who keeps the reins firm and drives this chariot intelligently by controlling the horses (senses) will reach Continue reading
Emotional Quotient (EQ) Vs. Intelligence Quotient (IQ) – Which One Is More Important?
Intelligence is a term that is difficult to define, and it can mean many different things to different people. Intelligence is often defined as the general mental ability to learn and apply knowledge to manipulate your environment, as well as the ability to reason and have abstract thought. In education, Intelligence is defined as the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or challenging situations. In psychology, it is the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one’s environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria; for example IQ test. It is thought from deriving a combination of inherited characteristics and environmental such as developmental and social factors. General intelligence is often said to comprise various specific abilities like verbal ability, ability to apply logic in solving problems. There are two types of intelligence quotients: emotional and intelligence quotient. Emotional intelligence or emotional quotient (EQ) is Continue reading
The Four Branch Model of Emotional Intelligence
The four branch model of emotional intelligence proposed by Salovey and Mayer, that identified four areas of capacities or skills of emotional intelligence: the perception of emotion, the ability reason using emotions, the ability to understand emotion and the ability to manage emotions. According to Salovey and Mayer, the four branches of their model are, “arranged from more basic psychological processes to higher, more psychologically integrated processes. For example, the lowest level branch concerns the (relatively) simple abilities of perceiving and expressing emotion. In contrast, the highest level branch concerns the conscious, reflective regulation of emotion” (1997). Salovey and Mayer add that abilities that “emerge relatively early in development are to the left of a given branch; later developing abilities are to the right.” They also say that, “people high in emotional intelligence are expected to progress more quickly through the abilities designated and to master more of them.” The Continue reading
Differences Between Emotional Quotient (EQ) and Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
Intelligence Quotient (IQ) Intelligence Quotient is a number or a count of the intelligence of a person. In a standard IQ test, a person’s quotient of intelligence is compared and determined on the basis of the scores of other on the same test. These days more and more people are relying on IQ tests for a lot of reasons. IQ tests have become a parameter for educational institutes and corporate offices in conjunction with personality tests. Intelligence Quotients are used by people to find out a person’s mental age, which is the persons understanding levels and performance capabilities at a particular age. A Standard IQ test would consist of tasks that involve the use of mental ability and vary on their difficulty levels. The test includes gauging of memory, reasoning power, numerical capability, definitions and scope of recalling data. Psychologists have determined a given age at which people can correctly Continue reading