Emotional Intelligence and Entrepreneurial governance Skills

Dr.Ezhilarasan.M
ABSTRACT
IQ by itself is not a very good predictor of job performance. Research in brain-based learning has
suggested that emotional health is fundamental to effective learning. Emotional competence refers
to the personal and social skills that lead to superior performance in the world of work. The
ability to recognize accurately what another persons feeling enables one to develop a specific
competency such as Influence. Similarly, people who are better able to regulate their emotions
will find it easier to develop a competency such as Initiative or Achievement drive. Ultimately it is
these social and emotional competencies that we need to identify and measure if we want to be
able to predict performance. The workplace is considered a multidimensional environment that,
depending upon ones position, requires the motivation and ability to succeed in a number of core
competency areas. Higher levels of emotional intelligence are associated with better performance
in many areas of governance. Governance skills vary according to raters perspective and level of
emotional intelligence. In general, co-workers seem to appreciate entrepreneurs abilities to
control their impulses and anger, to withstand adverse events and stressful situations, to be happy
with life, and to be a cooperative member of the group. This paper is an attempt to bring out the
relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Entrepreneurial Governance in the work
environment and industrial context.
Key Words: Emotional Intelligence, Education, Teacher, Quality, Teacher Quality
Ever since the publication of Daniel Golemans first book on the topic in 1995, emotional intelligence has become
one of the hottest buzzwords in corporate America. For instance, when the Harvard Business Review published an
article on the topic, it attracted a higher percentage of readers than any other article published in that periodical in
the last 40 years. When the CEO of Johnson & Johnson read that article, he was so impressed that he had copies sent
out to the 400 top executives in the company worldwide. Experienced partners in a multinational consulting firm
were assessed on the EI competencies plus three others. Partners who scored above the median on 9 or more of the
20 competencies delivered $1.2 million more profit from their accounts than did other partners a 139 percent
incremental gain (Boyatzis, 1999).
In jobs of medium complexity (sales clerks, mechanics), a top performer is 12 times more productive than those at
the bottom and 85 percent more productive than an average performer. In the most complex jobs (insurance
salespeople, account entrepreneurs), a top performer is 127 percent more productive than an average performer
(Hunter, Schmidt, & Judiesch, 1990). Competency research in over 200 companies and organizations worldwide
suggests that about one-third of this difference is due to technical skill and cognitive ability while two-thirds is due
to emotional competence (Goleman, 1998). (In top leadership positions, over four-fifths of the difference is due to
emotional competence.)
Research by the Center for Creative Leadership has found that the primary causes of derailment in executives
involve deficits in emotional competence. The three primary ones are difficulty in handling change, not being able
to work well in a team, and poor interpersonal relations. One of the foundations of emotional competence -- accurate
self-assessment was associated with superior performance among several hundred entrepreneurs from 12 different
organizations (Boyatzis, 1982).
A study of 130 executives found that how well people handled their own emotions determined how much people
around them preferred to deal with them (Walter V. Clarke Associates, 1997). For 515 senior executives analyzed by
the search firm Egon Zehnder International, those who were primarily strong in emotional intelligence were more
likely to succeed than those who were strongest in either relevant previous experience or IQ. In other words,
emotional intelligence was a better predictor of success than either relevant previous experience or high IQ. More
specifically, the executive was high in emotional intelligence in 74 percent of the successes and only in 24 percent of
the failures. The study included executives in Latin America, Germany, and Japan, and the results were almost
identical in all three cultures.
Historical Roots of Emotional Intelligence:
When psychologists began to write and think about intelligence, they focused on cognitive aspects, such as memory
and problem-solving. However, there were researchers who recognized early on that the non-cognitive aspects were
also important. For instance, David Wechsler (1958) defined intelligence as the aggregate or global capacity of the

individual to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with his environment. As early as 1940 he
referred to non-intellective as well as intellective elements (Wechsler, 1940), by which he meant affective,
personal, and social factors.
Robert Thorndike, to take another example, was writing about social intelligence in the late thirties (Thorndike &
Stein, 1937). Unfortunately, the work of these early pioneers was largely forgotten or overlooked until 1983 when
Howard Gardner began to write about multiple intelligence. Gardner (1983) proposed that intrapersonal and
interpersonal intelligences are as important as the type of intelligence typically measured by IQ and related tests.
In the 1940s, under the direction of Hemphill (1959), the Ohio State Leadership Studies suggested that
consideration is an important aspect of effective leadership. More specifically, this research suggested that leaders
who are able to establish mutual trust, respect, and a certain warmth and rapport with members of their group will
be more effective (Fleishman & Harris, 1962). Many dimensions measured in assessment centres then and now
involve social and emotional competencies such as communication, sensitivity, initiative, and interpersonal skills
(Thornton & Byham, 1982).
IQ by itself is not a very good predictor of job performance. Hunter and Hunter (1984) estimated that at best IQ
accounts for about 25 percent of the variance. Sternberg (1996) has pointed out that studies vary and that 10 percent
may be a more realistic estimate. In some studies, IQ accounts for as little as 4 percent of the variance. For instance,
in the famous marshmallow studies at Stanford University, four year olds were asked to stay in a room alone with
a marshmallow and wait for a researcher to return. They were told that if they could wait until the researcher came
back before eating the marshmallow, they could have two. Ten years later the researchers tracked down the kids
who participated in the study. They found the kids who were able to resist temptation had a total SAT score that was
210 points higher than those kids who were unable to wait (Shoda, Mischel, & Peake, 1990).
Why is emotional intelligence needed?
Research in brain-based learning has suggested that emotional health is fundamental to effective learning. A worker
who learns to work, and is confident and curious in his/her approach to work, is more apt to succeed. Additionally,
improving emotional intelligence can help to
Achieve goals
Enhance relationships
Improve health
Build leadership skills
Become more accomplished in the workforce
Emotional Intelligence at Work:
In research at Met Life, Seligman and his colleagues found that new salesmen who were optimists sold 37 percent
more insurance in their first two years than did pessimists. When the company hired a special group of individuals
who scored high on optimism but failed the normal screening, they outsold the pessimists by 21 percent in their first
year and 57 percent in the second. They even outsold the average agent by 27 percent. In another study of learned
optimism, Seligman tested 500 members of the freshman class at the University of Pennsylvania. He found that
their scores on a test of optimism were a better predictor of actual grades during the freshman year than SAT scores
or high school grades (Schulman, 1995). A study of store entrepreneurs in a retail chain found that the ability to
handle stress predicted net profits, sales per square foot, sales per employee, and per dollar of inventory investment
(Lusch & Serpkenci, 1990).
However, this notion that emotional intelligence leads to success in work life actually is somewhat simplistic and
misleading. Both Goleman (1998) and Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso (1998) have argued that by itself emotional
intelligence probably is not a strong predictor of job performance. Goleman has tried to represent this idea by
making a distinction between emotional intelligence and emotional competence. Emotional competence refers to
the personal and social skills that lead to superior performance in the world of work.
For instance, the ability to recognize accurately what another persons feeling enables one to develop a specific
competency such as Influence. Similarly, people who are better able to regulate their emotions will find it easier to
develop a competency such as Initiative or Achievement drive. Ultimately it is these social and emotional
competencies that we need to identify and measure if we want to be able to predict performance.
Emotional Intelligence Competencies:
The workplace is considered a multidimensional environment that, depending upon ones position, requires the
motivation and ability to succeed in a number of core competency areas:

1.

Abstract Reasoning or problem solving involves the ability to understand and solve complex,
multidimensional problems. Abstract Reasoning is positively related to emotional intelligence in the
workplace, as issues related to emotions at work are often highly complex and thus may rely on strategic,
as opposed to simple, solutions.
2. Accommodation measures friendliness and openness in personal interactions. Those who possess moderate
or average levels of this trait are likely to seek out situations in which they can demonstrate their
helpfulness and compassion towards others.
3. Assertiveness is the ability to express ones thoughts consistently and in a direct manner. Those with
average or above-average levels of this trait should also possess higher emotional intelligence, as they will
be better able to express their thoughts, feelings and beliefs in a direct, yet constructive way.
4. Ego Strength/Confidence is the ability to handle rejection and accept criticism in a manner that is
constructive and growth-oriented. In general, individuals with moderate to high levels of Ego
Strength/Confidence tend to have healthy, intact egos and positive self-esteem.
5. Empathy is an important component of emotional intelligence because it is a measure of your ability to
sense the reactions of another person and to adjust your position appropriately in order to deal effectively
with others.
6. Flexibility involves the ability to adapt and respond to change. A cornerstone of emotional intelligence at
work is the ability to perceive and quickly respond to everyday changes.
7. Gregariousness, an extroverted, cheerful optimism, also taps into components of emotional intelligence.
Individuals who possess some degree of Gregariousness will find genuine enjoyment in social interactions
both in their professional and personal lives.
8. Self Structure/Self Discipline. Individuals possessing a moderate to high degree of Self Structure are able
to establish and maintain their own agendas at work, and are unlikely to permit distractions, emotional or
otherwise, from interfering with completion of tasks and goals.
9. Scepticism or a pessimistic attitude toward others detracts from ones ability to display emotional
intelligence. Having a doubting attitude or state of mind toward others can block ones ability to effectively
perceive and respond to peoples feelings. Similarly, optimism increases ones mood or motivation to
persist despite obstacles and setbacks; thus, optimism is considered to be an important component of
emotional intelligence.
10. Sociability measures the ability and desire to be with and work with people. Sociable individuals will be
motivated to hone the skills necessary to effectively collaborate with others.
Uses of Emotional Intelligence:
1) Individual Development - identifying leadership style, developing entrepreneurial potential, time and stress
management and executive coaching
2) Team Building and Team Development - Improving communication, enhancing team problem solving,
valuing diversity and resolving conflict
3) Organizational Change - Understanding and dealing with responses to rapid change, understanding ream
and corporate conflict
4) Improving Communication - Developing selling and influencing skills
5) Education and Career Counselling - Identifying learning styles and motivations, teaching and training
methods, and providing career guidance
6) Relationship Counselling - Improving the quality of relationships and interactions
Emotional Intelligence and Governance Skills:
Higher levels of emotional intelligence are associated with better performance in the following areas of governance:
1. Participative Management - reflects the importance of getting buy-in at the beginning of an initiative. It is
an extremely important relationship-building skill in todays management climate in which organizations
value interdependency within and between groups. Of all the skills and perspectives measures on
Benchmarks, participative management had the largest number of meaningful correlations with measures of
emotional intelligence.
2. Putting People at Ease - gets at the heart of making others relaxed and comfortable in your presence. From
the perspective of direct reports, putting people at ease was related to impulse control, which is defined as
the ability to resist or delay the impulse to act.
3. Self-Awareness - describes those entrepreneurs who have an accurate understanding of their strengths and
weaknesses. Ratings on self-awareness were related to impulse control and stress tolerance. If you find
that you explode into anger easily, it is likely that others dont see you as very self-aware.

4.

Balance between Personal Life and Work - measures the degree to which work and personal life activities
are prioritized so that neither is neglected. High ratings from bosses on these behaviours were associated
with the emotional intelligence measures of social responsibility, impulse control, and empathy.
5. Straightforwardness and Composure which refers to the skill of remaining calm in a crisis and recovering
from mistakes, is related to several emotional intelligence measures. Not surprisingly, ratings from bosses,
peers, and direct reports on this scale are related to impulse control. Direct report ratings are also
associated with stress tolerance, optimism, and social responsibility.
6. Building and Mending Relationships - is the ability to develop and maintain working relationships with
various internal and external parties. Ratings from bosses on this scale were related to only one measure of
emotional intelligence: impulse control. This is not surprising because poor impulse control manifests
itself as an inability to control hostility and explosive behaviour.
7. Doing Whatever it Takes - has to do with persevering in the face of obstacles as well as taking charge and
standing alone when necessary were related to two of the emotional intelligence scales: independence and
assertiveness. People who are high on independence tend to be self-reliant and autonomous. Although they
may ask for input from others, they are not dependent on it. Assertiveness has to do with expressing
feelings, thoughts, and beliefs in a non-destructive manner. People high on this scale are not shy about
letting others know what they want.
8. Decisiveness is related to assessments of independence. Decisiveness has to do with a preference for
quick and approximate actions over slow and approximate ones. Independence has to do with the ability to
be self-directed and self-controlled in ones thinking.
9. Confronting Problem Employees - the degree to which a entrepreneur acts decisively and fairly when
dealing with problem employees, and the emotional intelligence measure of assertiveness. Assertive people
are able to express their beliefs and feelings in a non-destructive manner. These results suggest that being
able to do this is helpful when it comes to dealing with problematic performance situations.
10. Change Management - is the final Benchmarks scale to be connected with emotional intelligence. This
skill has to do with the effectiveness of the strategies used to facilitate change initiatives. Ratings from
direct reports are associated with measures of social responsibility. Peer ratings of change management are
related to interpersonal relationship abilities.
Conclusions: Governance skills vary according to the perspective and level of emotional intelligence of the
entrepreneur. In general, co-workers seem to appreciate entrepreneurs abilities to control their impulses and anger,
to withstand adverse events and stressful situations, to be happy with life, and to be a cooperative member of the
group. These leaders are more likely to be seen as participative, self-aware, composed, and balanced.
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