Emotional Intelligence (EI): Implications for Information Technology

Robert Orr, Associate CIO Dr. John Sherlock, Assistant Professor of Human Resources

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Emotional Intelligence (EI): Its Created Quite a Buzz:

Ever since Dan Golemans first book on EI in 1995, EI

has become one of hottest buzzwords in corporate America.

Ex.--When Harvard Business Review published article on EI, it attracted higher percentage of readers than any other article published in that journal in 40 years!

Ex.--When Johnson & Johnson CEO read that same article, he was so impressed he sent copies to his 400 top executives!

Its more than 10 years since the buzz beganand the

interestand controversycontinue!

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Emotional Intelligence (EI)

What is it? Here are two of many definitions out

there:

Emotional Intelligence, also called EI and often measured as an Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ), describes an ability, capacity, or skill to perceive, assess, and manage the emotions of one's self, of others, and of groups. A form of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor ones own and others feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide ones thinking and action. (Salovey & Mayer, 1990)

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Emotional Intelligence (EI) Competencies: Four Major Groups

Self
Personal competence Recognition 1)Self-Awareness
Emotional Self-awareness Accurate self-assessment Self-confidence

Other
Social competence 2)Social Awareness
Empathy Service orientation Organizational awareness

Regulation

3)Self-Management
Self-control

4)Relationship Management
Developing others

Trustworthiness
Conscientiousness Adaptability Achievement Drive Initiative

Influence
Communication Conflict Management Leadership Change catalyst Building bonds Teamwork & collaboration

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1)Self-awareness domain
Emotional Self-awareness recognizing ones own

feelings and how they impact ones performance Accurate self-assessment - recognizing ones strengths and weaknesses Self-confidence Accurate self-assessment was a hallmark of superior performance in a study of several hundred managers from twelve different organizations (Boyatzis, 1982)

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2)Social-awareness domain
Empathy aware of others emotions,

concerns Service orientation recognizes customers unstated needs and concerns Organizational awareness ability to read undercurrents of emotion and political realities of a group
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3)Selfmanagement domain
Emotional self-control - controlling anger, stress

Trustworthiness - letting others know ones

values, principles, intentions and acting consistently Conscientiousness - careful, self-disciplined, attending to responsibilities Adaptability open to information, willing to change assumptions Achievement Orientation striving to improve Initiative act before being forced, proactive
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4)Relationship management domain

Developing others sensing others development needs and

bolstering their abilities Influence handle and manage emotions in other people Communication creating an atmosphere of openness, fostering dialog Conflict Management spotting brewing issues and taking steps to calm Leadership visionary, inspire others, shared mission Change catalyst recognize need for change, remove barriers, challenge status quo Building bonds networking, knowledge frameworks, resources Teamwork & collaboration practice domain competencies at group level

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A Sample of EI Research:
Penn State U. study (Sosik & Megerian,1999) looked at self-

awareness component of EI and transformational leadership:

63 managers, 192 subordinates, and 63 management superiors in sample Transformational leaders who are self-aware possess high levels of self-confidence and self-efficacy and provide orientation for followers Empirical support for EI being the foundation of other aspects of leadership. Self-awareness enable leaders to understand the emotional implications of their own feelings and thoughts Mgrs who maintain accurate self-awareness appear more effective to their superiors and subordinates

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A Sample of EI Research
But even before it was called EI Met Life study (Schulman, 1995): Salespeople who were optimists outsold pessimists by 57% over two year employment Bachman, 1988: US Navy study found most effective leaders were warmer, more outgoing, emotionally expressive, dramatic and sociable Lusch & Serpkenci, 1990: Study found store mgrs ability to manage feelings and stress directly related to net profits, sales per sq ft, sales per employee, etc.

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EI Research Specific to IT
Multi-Health Systems Inc. (MHS), 1999:

Tested EI of 104 information technology specialists (using BarOn EQ-i, first scientific measure of EI) Sample included systems analysts, technical support specialists, network administrators, systems analysts, programmers. EI scores (average score, some high, some low) were slightly lower than other work groups (e.g., HR, Marketing)

Traditionally, it has been believed that the cognitively smartest (highest IQ) make the best technical performers, but our initial research is showing that the high EQ IT professionals may be the real stars. They use their interpersonal skills to get more information, to get help solving problems, and are generally better liked by others. (Dr. Steven Stein, psychologist and President of MHS)

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Why EI for IT?

Because Its not about technology, its about relationships
EDUCAUSE Top 10 issues Dewey & DeBlois, 2006

Security and ID management how will the campus balance security and the tradition of open networking? Funding IT interact with campus on achieving institutional goals through technology Administrative/ERP/information systems what are user expectations and how will they be managed? Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity key elements are technology, people and communication Faculty development, support and training role of IT: driver, supporter, or in-between?

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IT is about Relationships
IT professionals are being called on now to be partners in addressing campus issues, not just campus IT issues. . . . Our profession has evolved and our experience has deepened. It is time to engage in higher educations grand challenges. (EDUCAUSE Executive Team, 2006)

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EI Scenarios: Your Turn Scenario 1

An instructional developer has been working with a senior faculty member on adding active learning elements into some lesson plans and they have had several good conversations. When the developer presents a new lesson outline that features best practices in student interaction and group work, the faculty member rejects the plan and suggests the effort was a waste of time.

Why this reaction? (Fear of failure, uncertain of own ability, comfortable teaching in old way) How could EI help?

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EI Scenarios: Your Turn Scenario 2

The help desk receives a call from a student asking for help in completing an assignment using technology. The students computer is loaded with spyware and the helpdesk suggests installing campus software to avoid this. The student, rather than thanking the help desk, turns rude and calls the help lame.
Why? (Anxiety over admitting he did know about spyware or anxiety that people would find out that he had been accessing inappropriate content. ) How can EI help?

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EI Scenarios: Your Turn Scenario 3

The DBA needs the SYS/Ops folks to grant access to certain features on the server in order to complete an important project. The Sys/ops folks say no problem but drag their feet in granting the access.
Why (Loss of control, job security)? How could EI help?

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EI Scenarios: Your Turn Scenario 4

A member of your staff does great work and always delivers on what the clients wants as opposed to another worker who has trouble meeting deadlines--but clients always ask for the second worker. Why? (Ability to be empathic, helpful, understanding, non-threatening) How could EI help?
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EI Scenarios: Your Turn Scenario 5

You know your staff are great and work hard to support those they serve, yet the customer service indexes never reflect excellent levels. Whats going on? (focus on technology instead of relationships) How could EI help?

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EI: Not without its critics

No "benchmark" to set itself against.

While IQ has established ranges (high to low) and tests designed to correlate as closely as possible with school grades, EI lacks similar objective benchmarks

Many psychologists believe if its an intelligence like IQ,

then it cannot be developed. Some critics say EI is old wine in new wineskinsa repackaging of social intelligence. Despite the critics, EI continues to get LOTS of attention from scholarly and professional communities.

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Closing Thoughts:
The measurement of emotional intelligence in

the workplace is the first step towards improving it. By understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your teams, you can systematically work towards increasing the skills that count. The truly intelligent human being is one who is not only cogtelligent (cognitively intelligent) but also emtelligent (emotionally intelligent).

Dr. Reuven Bar-On, the author of the EQ-i and the person who coined the term "EQ" over twelve years ago
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Closing Thoughts:
It is very important to understand that

emotional intelligence is not the opposite of intelligence, it is not the triumph of heart over head -- it is the unique intersection of both (David Caruso)

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Good EI Resources

Goleman, D., Boyatsis, R., & McKee, A. (2004). Primal Leadership: Learning to Lead with Emotional Intelligence. Harvard Business School Press. Goleman, D. (1995) Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. New York: Bantam Books. Goleman, D. (1998) Working with Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam Books. Feldman, D. (1999). The Handbook of Emotionally Intelligent Leadership: Inspiring Others to Achieve Results. Leadership Solutions Press, Inc. Cherniss, C. & Goleman, D. (2001). The Emotionally Intelligent Workplace: How to Select For, Measure, and Improve Emotional Intelligence in Individuals, Groups, and Organizations. Jossey Bass. www.eiconsortium.org (LOTS of helpful info here!) http://ei.haygroup.com/resources/default_ieitest.htm (Fun mini EI self-assessment tool on this site).

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Questions?
Emotional Intelligence: Implications for Information Technology
Dr. John Sherlock (sherlock@email.wcu.edu) Robert Orr (orr@email.wcu.edu)

Emotional Intelligence: Implications for Information Technology - UNC CAUSE November, 2006