Introduction

Emotional Intelligence (EI) has become widely accepted as a dimension (construct in psychometric language) that plays a key role in determining job performance as we have already noted. However, there is disagreement on what EI is with a variety of EI models – Ability Model, Mixed Model and Trait Model – attempting to explain EI.

There is also a strong opinion that EI does not really exist as a distinctive psychological dimension or construct but that it is simply the expression of a person’s cognitive ability and personality traits.

Based on our 30 years of action research in the field, we agree with the latter view that EI really is our personality traits, underpinned by our cognitive ability, in action. We prefer to refer to this as Emotional Capability and as you know abbreviate it as EQ. In this module we show you why it is critical to assess and understand any individuals' EQ before making a decision to appoint them or not.

What then is Personality/Emotional Capability?

Personality can be described as:

• a) Deeply ingrained attitudes and patterns of behaviour that tend to repeat themselves and are stable over time.

• b) That regulate the way in which we interact with our working environment – people, pressures, self-management….

• c) And that influence the way in which we use our acquired/ technical competencies (skills and knowledge)

We will illustrate this with a short case study.

The Case of Robert

Robert is a chartered accountant with 5 years working experience in a manufacturing organisation. A pre – employment psychometric assessment showed that Robert’s general mental ability is very superior and places his IQ in the top 5% when compared to other graduates. An EQ assessment shows that he lacks attention to detail, is unassertive, shy and prefers to work alone. Robert has recently been appointed into the position of financial manager. Being a CA with solid working experience Robert has all the technical/acquired competencies to do the work of a financial manager. His very superior general mental abilities indicate that he has ample cognitive ability to deal with the problem-solving challenges of the job.

However, his performance in the role is characterized by errors and careless mistakes. His team works in silos and are uncoordinated resulting in workflow bottlenecks. Robert isolates himself in his office all day and pays no attention to leading and motivating his staff. He avoids having meetings wherever possible and when he does have them, he is indecisive, disengaged and unable to persuade and influence his team. As a result, he begins to manage by decree and instruction. Staff morale and performance are low.

Let’s Analyse Robert…

Despite having excellent acquired competencies and general mental ability, Robert still failed in the financial manager position because his personality and emotional capabilities were poorly matched to the role.

Remember we have said that EQ is deeply ingrained.

The attributes of poor attention to detail, unassertiveness, shyness and preference for working alone were therefore bound to manifest even though they were counterproductive, much like the scorpion and frog story we shared in an earlier module. We would expect Robert to continue with the same behaviour – careless mistakes (poor attention to detail), general disengagement from his staff (shyness and preference for working alone) and an inability to lead and persuade (unassertiveness). This will be his default way of functioning across a wide range of jobs and work situations.

We said EQ regulates the way in which people deal with the non – technical demands of a role (how we interact with people, deal with pressure, self-manage)

This is clearly seen in the way Robert handles his staff and his poor leadership.

We also said it influences the way in which we use our acquired/technical competencies.

Despite having excellent qualifications and good working experience, Robert’s poor attention to detail influenced HOW he used those competencies resulting in careless errors in financial reporting.

Remember...

An individual’s personality is made of stable patterns of behaviour, that are partly genetically “coded” but that are also developed as we grow up. By the time we reach young adulthood, these behaviours - both through genetic coding and repetition over time - are “hardwired” in our brains and become the default way in which we respond to situations. The “deeply ingrained” aspect is important to remember, because when someone comes into an organisation, he brings these deeply ingrained behaviours with him to the job. They will express themselves as the default way in which he deals with a multitude of situations. With all of us, some of these embedded patterns of behaviour will reflect high emotional competence (EQ) and others will reflect low EQ.

Being deeply ingrained, they are not easy to change. Low EQ, or a poor match between a person’s EQ and what the job requires is a critical reason why some people fail in jobs, despite having excellent competencies (technical and non – technical skills) and cognitive capabilities (IQ)s . This has a huge impact on organisational performance and bottom line. “Correcting” low EQ or “adjusting it” so that it will fit the job, is no easy matter given it's “deeply ingrained” nature.