Emotional intelligence Value and limitations in leadership communication

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Emotional intelligence: Value and limitations in leadership communication Richard Rock Communication Strategies for Leaders/ORG

Emotional intelligence: Value and limitations in leadership communication Richard Rock Communication Strategies for Leaders/ORG 423 Colorado State University Global Campus October 17, 2012

Agenda • What is emotional intelligence (EI)? • Relationship between EI and leadership •

Agenda • What is emotional intelligence (EI)? • Relationship between EI and leadership • Value and limitations of EI in leadership theory • Practical application of EI in leadership communication • Summary

What is Emotional Intelligence? • • “Emotional intelligence refers to an ability to There

What is Emotional Intelligence? • • “Emotional intelligence refers to an ability to There are three definitions and models in the literature recognize the meanings of emotion and their relationships, and to reason and problem-solve on Mayer-Salovey’s model is favored for its greater the basis of them” (Mayer, Caruso, & Salovey, 2000, p. 267). psychometric acceptability (Bass & Bass, 2008) Goleman (2002) • Popular Psychology • Competency Model • Self-Awareness • Self-Management • Social Awareness • Relationship Management • Exaggerated claims • Unsubstantiated assertions • Lacks empirical support Bar-On (1997) • Academic/Commercial • Mixed model of competencies, skills, and facilitators organized into 5 -meta factors • Intrapersonal • Interpersonal • Stress Management • Adaptability • General Mood • Lacks discriminant validity from Big 5 personality measures • Uncorrelated to cognitive ability Mayer-Salovey (2000) • Academic • Ability model • Perceive emotion • Understand emotion • Manage emotion • Use emotions to facilitate thinking • High reliability • Good discriminant validity from Big 5 personality measures • Correlated with cognitive ability

Relationship Between Leadership & Emotional Intelligence • Little evidence for measureable relationship between EI

Relationship Between Leadership & Emotional Intelligence • Little evidence for measureable relationship between EI measures and leadership outcomes – Cavazotte, Moreno, and Hickman (2012) found EI effects on leadership not significant – Antonakis, Ashkanasy, and Dasborough (2009) acknowledge problems with the EI construct – Researchers continue to explore “the role of emotions in leadership, and the need for leaders to be aware of, and to attempt to manage emotions in themselves and in their followers” (Antonakis, Ashkanasy, & Dasborough, 2009, p. 259). • However, there are several leadership theories that share perspectives with the EI construct – Implicit Leadership Theory measures follower perception and includes emotional measures (Offerman, Kennedy Jr. , & Wirtz, 1994) – Authentic Leadership Theory includes self-awareness as a primary dimension (Avolio, Gardner, & Walumbwa, 2007) – Transformational Leadership Theory includes individualized consideration as a dimension requiring leaders be supportive, considerate, empathetic, and caring (Bass & Bass, 2008)

Value and Limitations of EI in Leadership Theory • Value of EI – The

Value and Limitations of EI in Leadership Theory • Value of EI – The focus on self-assessment and self-management of emotion is important for personal development and will likely improve leadership effectiveness – The ability to perceive emotion in followers likely improves a leader’s ability to provide individual consideration – Ability to manage emotions likely improves follower perception of a leader • Limitations – Existing constructs are not demonstrably viable, therefore caution is warranted when selecting EI instruments for self-assessment – For competency based self-assessments, use assessments based on the Big 5 personality measures as they link empirically to leadership theories.

Practical Application of EI in Leadership Communication • Increase self-awareness through assessments – The

Practical Application of EI in Leadership Communication • Increase self-awareness through assessments – The Leadership Practices Inventory (Kouzes & Posner, 2007) or the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (Avolio, et. al, 2007) – Conduct personality profiling based on the Big 5 personality measures and analyze against leadership theory – Conduct best-self exercise to define personal leadership narrative (Sparrowe, 2005) • Practice using different non-verbal communication techniques • Improve listening skills to increase perception of leadership ability – Demonstrate individualized consideration through empathy, consideration, and care

Summary • Despite criticism, Emotional Intelligence Theory holds promise for improving leadership effectiveness •

Summary • Despite criticism, Emotional Intelligence Theory holds promise for improving leadership effectiveness • EI and leadership theories share similar ideas about the role of emotion in leadership • Avoid commercial EI models, they exaggerate potential outcomes and lack support • The Mayer-Salovey model for EI is the most mature • There are viable options for practical application of EI concepts that include self-assessment and improvement of both non-verbal communication and listening skills

References Antonakis, J. , Ashkanasy, N. M. , & Dasborough, M. t. (2009). Does

References Antonakis, J. , Ashkanasy, N. M. , & Dasborough, M. t. (2009). Does leadership need emotional intelligence? The Leadership Quarterly, 20(2), 247 -261. Avolio, B. J. , Gardner, W. L. , & Walumbwa, F. O. (2007). Authentic Leadership Questionnaire. Retrieved from http: //www. mindgarden. com Bandura, A. , & Walters, R. H. (1963). Social learning and personality development. New York, : Holt. Bar-On, R. (1997). Bar-On emotional quotient inventory: A measure of emotional intelligence. Toronto, ON: Multi-Health Systems, Inc. Barrett, D. (2011). Leadership communication (3 rd ed. ). New York: Mc. Graw-Hill Irwin. Bass, B. M. , & Bass, R. (2008). The Bass handbook of leadership : Theory, research, and managerial applications (4 th ed. ). New York: Free Press. Cavazotte, F. , Moreno, V. , & Hickman, M. (2012). Effects of leader intelligence, personality and emotional intelligence on transformational leadership and managerial performance. The Leadership Quarterly, 23(3), 443 -455. Davies, M. , Stankov, L. , & Roberts, R. D. (1998). Emotional intelligence: In search of an elusive construct. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 989 -1015. Day, A. L. , Newsome, S. , & Catano, V. M. (2002). Emotional intelligence and leadership: Canadian Forces Leadership Institute, Saint Mary's Applied Research Team. Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam Books. Goleman, D. , Boyatzis, R. E. , & Mc. Kee, A. (2002). Primal leadership : Realizing the power of emotional intelligence. Boston, Mass. : Harvard Business School Press. Kouzes, J. M. , & Posner, B. Z. (2007). The leadership challenge (4 th ed. ). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Mayer, J. D. , Caruso, D. R. , & Salovey, P. (2000). Emotional intelligence meets the traditional standards for an intelligence. Intelligence, 27(4), 267 -298. Mayer, J. D. , Di. Paulo, M. , & Salovey, P. (1990). Perceiving affective content in ambiguous stimuli: A component of emotional intelligence. Journal of Personality Assessment, 54, 772 -781. Offerman, L. R. , Kennedy Jr. , J. K. , & Wirtz, P. W. (1994). Implicit leadership theories: Content, structure, and generalizability. The Leadership Quarterly, 5(1), 43 -58. Sparrowe, R. T. (2005). Authentic leadership and the narrative self. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(1), 419 -439. doi: 10. 1016/j. leaqua. 2005. 03. 004 Trabun, M. A. (2002). The relationship between emotional intelligence and leader performance. Master of Science in Leadership and Human Resource Development, Naval Postgraduate School.