Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace

In 1998, Daniel Goleman collaborated with Richard Boyatzis and the Hay Group to write Working With Emotional Intelligence, a follow up to his earlier best selling book Emotional Intelligence. This second book generated a great deal of enthusiasm among human resource professionals, executives and psychologists, all of whom needed tools to help people develop Emotional Intelligence.

The research was clear. Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is one of the greatest contributors to personal excellence and leadership. Increased EQ moves individuals and teams to stronger resilience in the face of change, enhanced performance and greater success. They developed a new 360° instrument called the Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI) to be utilized in professional development courses; executive and managerial coaching; and career development programs. They also devised a process for accrediting professional coaches to use this instrument for executive development. John Bruckman, Ph.D. is one of 650 professionals accredited by the Hay Group to administer this instrument. There are four major clusters of competencies measured in the ECI:

  • Self-Awareness: The Core Of Emotional Intelligence
    This cluster is about understanding the link between thinking, feelings and their impact on every behavior, choice and decision we make. Self-awareness allows us to take into account how much our emotions may impact our actions. Getting the right balance between reason and emotion is an important factor in the ability to act appropriately.
  • Self-Management
    The ability to practice self-control and manage negative emotions is a critical emotional intelligence competency. This begins by taking responsibility for our own emotions and responses. Having strategies and skills to manage negative emotions like fear, anger and sadness are essential to cope with life‘s challenges and setbacks. This style of thinking promotes resilience and the capacity to bounce back from adversity and stay focused on goals. The ability to control impulses and delay gratification in the pursuit of our goals is a core competency in success.
  • Social Awareness
    This is the ability to empathize with and feel compassion for others. Empathy is the emotional connection with others. The ability to read a situation, recognize what are the underlying issues and display empathy are vital cornerstones for strong working relationships.
  • Relationship Management.
    The ability to get along with and work with others is the factor that leverages results. This ability combines the other emotional intelligence competencies to be able to influence the thinking, feeling and behaviors of others. Exceptional performance and teamwork are inseparable. Organizations need leaders, managers and employees who are team players who can work in harmony toward common goals.

The ECI accommodates an unlimited number of raters (self, peers, bosses, employees) when it is administered via the Internet. It also boasts two exciting features: verbatim comments and workforce, unit or team composites. Please look at our training module Emotional Intelligence and contact us if you would like to utilize the Emotional Competence Inventory for your organization.