A few days ago, in collaboration with Selekcija.hr, DeeP Project held a webinar intriguingly titled ‘Emotional Leaders (Do Not) Exist’. Our reflections on emotional intelligence were based on Herzberg’s research from 1959, which sought answers to the question of which business factors contribute to extreme employee satisfaction and which factors lead to a lack of employee satisfaction.
We relied on Google’s research, which attempted to conclude why some teams perform well while others do not. The main difference was in psychological safety.
Psychological safety creates a secure circle in which people feel comfortable admitting their mistakes and learning from their failures; as a result, everyone openly shares their ideas and experiments, nurturing an innovative environment. It also prevents teams from becoming victims of analysis paralysis and leads to faster decision-making. Team members with a high level of psychological safety feel that their opinions are accepted and respected, not just when they agree with the rest of the team. On the contrary, expressing contradictory opinions (with valid arguments) helps the entire team’s progress and increases productivity.
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We also considered how to keep employees in the desirable ‘upper right quadrant’ concerning their psychological safety.
Our teams can be in:
Employees come to work, but their hearts and minds are elsewhere. Instead of effort, responsibility, and perseverance in work and progress, they choose to retreat into lethargy, stagnation, and apathy as an internal defense mechanism.
Employees and team members are reluctant to offer ideas, try new things, or seek help, thus endangering the business itself.
Employees and team members are open and collegial, but they lack challenges. Consequently, teams fail to make significant progress.
It is desirable for all team members to be in the Learning Zone. In that case, employees and team members actively collaborate and learn, achieving high performance while completing new and complex tasks.
Mutual Alienation
Stress among employees has reached an all-time high, according to Gallup’s annual report on the global workplace for 2022. ‘Poor interpersonal relationships are the main reason we quit,’ revealed a study by the portal MojPosao.hr in February this year.
‘Every other person thinks more about quitting now than they did two years ago (51 percent), one-fifth (22 percent) does so as often as before, while 27 percent of respondents today juggle that thought less often,’ this year’s study by MojPosao also showed.
Employees are four times more likely to quit if their leaders have low EQ than those whose leaders have high EQ, according to Gallup’s 2015 research.
Although 95 percent of people believe they are self-aware, in reality, only 10 percent to 15 percent truly are, according to a five-year research project by organizational psychologist Tasha Eurich in Harvard Business Review in 2018.
Additionally, with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world changed abruptly. The pandemic was an extremely challenging and difficult period for leaders to work and manage their people.
The speed at which we transitioned to remote work, different work habits (pajamas and working at midnight…), different behavior patterns (online communication lacking non-verbal cues), and a limited environment (nuclear family?) did not keep pace with our human evolution. While some were pleasantly surprised by the new form of work, a large part of us became alienated from each other and stopped ‘feeling’. Such behavior is still evolutionarily foreign and unnatural to all of us.
For this reason, there is a weakening, and even a break, of certain connections and relationships within teams and mutual alienation.
How to (Re)Achieve a Homogeneous and Long-Term Sustainable Team?
Due to close collaboration with their employees and achieving a homogeneous team, line managers – leaders must possess certain skills:
- expressive leadership abilities,
- developed empathy,
- good communication skills,
- organizational skills,
- trust,
- proactive thinking,
- decisiveness…
To meet most of these (today’s) prerequisites, especially from the perspective of Generation Z, today’s leaders must be more emotionally intelligent than ever.
Also, alongside emotional intelligence, before we proceed further, we would like to mention the so-called circles of safety. ‘We draw’ them from the Paleolithic era. During that period, our ancestors were exposed to danger daily. They were surrounded by various weather hazards and animals. In the gap between all those dangers, they created their circles of safety and felt secure among their own.
And so in life, the main relationship that is very important in all aspects is the relationship of trust. We trust our partners, friends, various producers of goods and services. We must also have a relationship of trust with our team members. However, we cannot simply come to them and say: ‘Trust me!’ or ‘Collaborate!’.
It does not work that way precisely because feelings and emotions are involved in every relationship. When feelings are concerned, commands do not work. Only when the condition of safety is met does the natural reaction that arises be trust and the desire for collaboration.
Good leaders create circles of safety for everyone and enable others to dedicate themselves to what they are best at. Good leaders are the first to acknowledge the achievements of others, thus creating a stimulating and productive environment. Good leaders give rather than take. They lift our spirits rather than lower them. When we are around such people, we feel comfort, safety, and trust. That is why we follow them. Good leaders are emotionally intelligent.
‘A Subset’ of Social Intelligence
The term ’emotional quotient’ is linked to academic efforts from the early 1980s, and it is believed that it was introduced into use by the famous researcher and scientist Reuven Bar-On. A significant contribution to defining this concept in the early 1990s was made by psychologists John D. Mayer and Peter Salovey. They represent the concept of emotional intelligence as a ‘subset’ of social intelligence, which includes the ability to monitor one’s own emotions and the emotions of others, to differentiate them, and to use that information in one’s own thinking and actions.
In its early beginnings, the term caused a certain confusion. Since traditionally emotions were understood in the context of disorganization of mental activity, or as those that can overwhelm or dominate mental processes, the question arose whether it was a contradiction.
However, through modern theories, a perspective emerges about emotions as sources of useful information, which can guide cognitive activities and motivate goal-directed (adaptive) behavior. Thus, emotions provide certain information, and emotional intelligence encompasses that aspect of a person’s ability to use that information in a way that helps them adapt and in motivating, planning, and achieving goals in life.
The term was popularized by psychologist and journalist Dr. Daniel Goleman in 1995 in his book ‘Emotional Intelligence’. Since then, it has become widely accepted as a key indicator of success in life.
Essentially, emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to accurately perceive, understand, and respond to the emotions of others. It implies the ability to be aware of and understand one’s own emotions and the emotions of others. It is, in fact, about the capacities to regulate one’s emotions, effectively respond to the emotions of others, and create positive relationships.
The four main skills it includes are: self-awareness (self-awareness), self-management (self-management), social awareness (social awareness), and relationship management (relations management).
It Is Different at Work
When discussing emotional intelligence, it is important to reflect on the significance of contextual factors. Namely, it has been shown that emotional intelligence is conditioned by contextual factors, which is why it is often measured and defined concerning the environment.
Thus, there are individuals who have high emotional intelligence in one context, e.g., within the family and among friends, but not in another, e.g., at work. This ability to differentiate emotional intelligence within different contexts has also been confirmed through research. One of them, for example, indicated higher emotional skills in men at work than at home or in the family, while the situation was reversed for women (Boyatzis and Sala, 2004).
When we focus on the workplace, the ability to understand and monitor one’s own emotions, as well as the emotions of those around us, is crucial for maintaining a positive and productive environment. In that context, it can be as important as IQ in predicting success in various fields.
In fast-paced and demanding business circumstances, it is more important than ever to have developed emotional intelligence. Given the changes brought about by the digitalization of business, and ultimately the ‘legacy’ left by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is very important to be able to regulate one’s emotions, effectively respond to the emotions of others, and create positive relationships.
There are many advantages to strong emotional intelligence in the workplace. First and foremost, there is a greater likelihood of success in creating and retaining a homogeneous team, fostering and maintaining motivational factors, and thus achieving both group and individual business goals, and ultimately reducing (existing) employee turnover.
There Is Also Organizational Intelligence
It should be emphasized that the complete work environment and the context in which emotional intelligence is expressed are significant and must not be overlooked. According to the model of Giorgi and Majer, emotional intelligence within an organization is defined through so-called ‘contingent performance’. In other words, certain skills and emotional and social characteristics are predictors of effectiveness and excellence in the workplace. However, maximum performance occurs when the psychological capabilities and characteristics of the individual align with those required by the context and work environment.
Interestingly, emotional intelligence in the organizational context does not only pertain to the individual or the team. It seems that organizational intelligence is also crucial for a successful organization! This understanding is based on the work of Giorgi and Majer (2007) and an approach that emphasizes the social and emotional components of individual team members. They are formed and structured in relation to the organizational climate and culture, thus creating organizational intelligence itself. Therefore, this is not about the IQ of managers and business leaders but about the emotional skills of all individuals who make up the organization.
Essentially, emotional intelligence is created in a specific environment and becomes organizational intelligence, and practical examples confirm that the best companies often consider the effective performances of each individual worker, thereby promoting the quality of the organizational group in such a way that the vision actually expands from the individual to the entire organization.
What is very important in this regard are the concepts of:
- ’emotional contagion’
- ’emotional labor’
On one hand, ’emotional contagion’ encompasses the phenomenon of the close relationship between the collective mood of the work group and individual mood (e.g., Fisher, 2000). On the other hand, ’emotional labor’ focuses on the consequences and negative effects that can arise from repressing an individual’s expression of feelings. For instance, as a result of suppressing unpleasant emotions (frustration, resentment, stress; often in accordance with some usual organizational or professional rules of emotional expression), emotional collapse can occur, with negative effects on the organization as a whole.
The strong connection that emotional intelligence has with the concept of organizational climate speaks to its applicability as a sort of organizational aggregate. Ultimately, highly emotionally intelligent individuals in the organization build virtues and promote desirable behaviors that contribute to maximum effectiveness (Giorgi, 2006).
Perhaps that is why, in modern society, emotional intelligence is increasingly gaining importance. Understanding its connection to the functioning of the organization, and considering the changes in the professional environment, it seems more important than ever to understand the implications it has.
Keeping in mind contextual factors, we also wondered what is happening with emotional intelligence globally, in a fast-paced, technologically advanced society and organizations whose employees are primarily technically oriented.
As we began with a focus on high tech environment, and keeping in mind the previously mentioned different historical understandings of the relationship between emotions and cognition, the question of the connection between technical professions and emotional intelligence naturally arose.
Does a Too Structured Life Kill Emotional Intelligence?
Working as consultants in the field of human resource management, we were troubled by the correlation between technical professions and emotional intelligence.
A recent study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology showed that people in technical professions are less emotionally intelligent. The study, conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Vienna, found that people working in technical professions scored lower on emotional intelligence measures than those working in non-technical professions.
The study examined the relationship between emotional intelligence and the type of profession by observing a sample of over 4000 workers from various industries.
Additionally, a study conducted by researchers from the University of Toronto examined data from over 1000 participants. They found that people in technical professions scored lower on measures of empathy and emotion recognition. Why is this the case?
There are several possible explanations for the causes. First, technical professions often require a high level of cognitive abilities and abstraction, which can hinder the ability to read emotions. Second, work environments in technical professions are often highly competitive and individualistic, which can lead to reduced empathy and social skills.
On the other hand, technological advancement leading towards the development of artificial intelligence somehow sets a demand for the additional development of emotional intelligence. Smart devices and robots can identify problems and devise the most efficient solutions, but an emotionally intelligent person is needed to motivate a team of people, to lift morale, or to celebrate success in a project with colleagues.
This line of thinking also leads to questions about training emotional skills.
Acquired or Learned?
After the findings of the research on emotional intelligence in the technical environment, we were curious whether people can be taught emotional intelligence? The answer is encouraging!
Although it is a common belief that emotional intelligence is innate, recent research published in the journal PLOS ONE shows that emotional intelligence can be developed through training.
Today, we recognize three main models of emotional intelligence:
- mixed model,
- ability model, and
- traits model.
The model closest to us, mixed model, conceptualizes emotional intelligence as a combination of emotional skills and personality dimensions (assertiveness and optimism).
Emotional-social intelligence (ESI) is a multifactorial set of competencies and skills that determine how people express and understand themselves.
ESI consists of:
- Self-esteem
- Interpersonal relationships
- Impulse control
- Problem-solving
- Emotional self-awareness
- Flexibility
- Reality validation
- Stress tolerance
- Assertiveness and empathy.
Ability model focuses on information processing while traits model understands emotional intelligence as information related to emotions.
It is important to note that these models do not mutually exclude each other, while Hodžić and colleagues confirm that we can accurately measure emotional intelligence using psychological tests (Hodžić, S., Scharfen, J., Ripoll, P., Holling, H. and Zenasni, F. (2018). How efficient are emotional intelligence trainings: a meta-analysis. Emotion Review).
The research described in PLOS ONE was conducted in an international company on a sample of 54 managers. The sample was drawn from the entire population of managers within the company using a stratified random sampling procedure, taking into account the gender of the population to ensure equal representation of both genders.
The average age of participants was 37.61 years (standard deviation = 8.55), and the percentage of female managers was 50 percent. For evaluation purposes, these employees were randomly divided into two groups: an experimental group (n = 26; mean age = 35.57 (7.54); 50 percent women) and a control group (n = 28; mean age = 39.50 (9.11); 50 percent women).
The results are presented in the graph below.
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These findings serve as empirical evidence of the effectiveness of the training program conducted in this research in improving key dimensions of emotional intelligence that promote emotional skills that are both necessary and desirable in the workplace.
Emotional Intelligence and Leadership
Gardner and Stough further explored the relationship between leadership and EI among senior managers and found that a leader’s management of positive and negative emotions has a beneficial effect on motivation, optimism, innovation, and problem-solving in the workplace. Therefore, it is expected that a leader’s emotional intelligence will be positively correlated with employee motivation and achievements.
Additionally, emotionally intelligent people will find it easier to:
- select organizational goals,
- plan and organize work activities,
- maintain collaborative interpersonal relationships, and
- obtain the support needed to achieve those organizational goals.
And so, if our structured life, education, work environment, or something else has diminished our emotional intelligence, let us learn it. Because emotionally intelligent leaders strive to create a positive work environment that enhances employee satisfaction. And that, alongside salary, as part of motivational factors, is very important today.
