A short piece about emotional intelligence

IQ, or ‘conventional’ intelligence, is too narrow a concept with which to understand how and why people can be successful.  IQ (‘intelligence quotient’)—which is essentially an attempt to measure cognitive ability—has been the traditional measure of intelligence, yet ignores essential personality, character, emotional and behavioural chacteristics.  We know that a high IQ rating does not automatically guarantee success.

Emotional intelligence (EI) rose to prominence with the publication, in 1995, of Daniel Goleman’s book, Emotional intelligence:  why it can matter more than IQ.

He integrated work carried out by previous theorists and researchers Peter Salovey and John Mayer, and Konstantin Vasily Petrides.

In the context of emotional intelligence, Goleman talks of domains of competences.  These are divided into personal competences and social competences.

Personal competences

These are:

Self awareness—“knowing one’s internal states, preferences, resources and intuitions”

Self regulation—“managing one’s internal states [particularly feelings], impulses and resources”

Motivation—“emotional tendencies that guide or facilitate reaching goals”.

Social competences

These are

Empathy—“awareness of others’ feelings, needs and concerns”

Social skills—“adeptness at inducing desirable responses in others”.

There are two important points, both of which need making because of the blurring of these oncepots by other writers and practitioners.

1  Goleman refers to competences, he does not refer to “skills”, still less to “soft skills”.  Skills are behaviours which can be taught.  The competences Goleman describes are not behaviours:  awareness, knowing, “managing one’s internal states”, for example, are not behaviours.

2  Many writers add that social competences included managing other people’s emotions.  This strikes me as wishful thinking.  It’s not possible.  It is not possible for anyone to make anyone else feel, believe or do anything.  How someone is is always their choice.  What people can do is be adept at “inducing desirable responses in others”.

All quotations are from Daniel Goleman’s book Working with emotional intelligence, which develops these themes at length.

© 2015 Jeremy Marchant Limited . by Jeremy Marchant . added 1 may 2015 . image:  Free images