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Emotional
Intelligence all the Rage, for Good Reason
Kansas City Star
- 01.19.00
By Jim Dugan, Ph.D, Fortisan Group
Is emotional intelligence just a business fad,
destined to cool like the dot.coms? Or can it
deliver on its promise that a healthy dose of EI
skills improves the bottom line? (For those
temporarily out of the culture loop, emotional
intelligence is described as being attuned to
your own and others' emotions.)
In the last five years, "emotional intelligence"
has enjoyed enormous appeal. More than 30 books
including two best sellers, countless articles
and a host of web pages are devoted to EI. A
number of primary, secondary and graduate
education programs have added emotional literacy
programs to their curricula including some
premier executive MBA programs such as the
Weatherhead School at Case Western University.
They are not alone. More than 600 organizations,
large and small, incorporate EI concepts in
their day-to day management. Lucent Technology,
Chase Manhattan, U.S. Air Force, and ABB
Automation, a $20 billion Swiss based
engineering and consulting firm, are just a few
using EI principles.
Popular culture also is abuzz with EI. There
have been testimonials on Oprah, a line of toys
and a shelf full of new self-help books. Some
critics of EI contend that the term is so
broadly defined and generously applied that any
sound advice or smart decision earns the label
as "emotional intelligent."
Streamlining and tweaking the term has caught
researchers' attention. More than a hundred
studies are underway or have been completed. The
recently published, (September 2000) Handbook of
Emotional Intelligence is the first
comprehensive and scholarly critique of the
field..
To date, though, only a few preliminary reports
suggest that EI positively impacts an
organization's financial picture. In 1997, The
U.S Air Force used a test of emotional
intelligence as part of its package to select
recruiters and found those with higher EI scores
stayed on the job longer and hit quotas more
often, saving the government a cool $2.7
million. (The EQ Edge 2000) The Army and Navy
are now gearing up to include an EI assessment
in their recruiter-selection. American Express
(Fast Company, June 2000) reported that
emotional intelligence training with their
financial advisors "apparently added tens of
million of dollars of revenue." A study in
Harvard Business Review (March 2000) reported
that leaders with a strong " EI skill set" such
as empathy, communication, and relationships
building boosted their company's bottom line.
These early results are encouraging and more
in-depth studies are in progress.
In the business world, EI came along about the
same time as "reengineering" with its
machine-like philosophy, began to fade.
Businesses with these new flattened hierarchies
needed to soothe the pains of overzealous
downsizing. EI, with its user- friendly terms --
empathy, relationships, and collaboration--
helped rally harried workers. Trends such as
economic globalization, rapid technical change,
information explosion, and merger and
acquisition mania have ushered in a renewed
importance for the human side of capital, or EI
skills. Emotional intelligence may be the social
lubricant of this new global economy. Being
tuned out, even momentarily in today business
environs can be costly. With just a click, an
errant e-mail sent in haste or frustration can
wreck havoc for an organization. Just ask Bill
Gates. Some of his e-mail messages about arch
rival Netscape were costly centerpieces in the
Microsoft anti-trust trial.
Is emotional intelligence the "magic bullet" for
whatever ails a business? Hardly. However, a
strong dose of EI may boost an organization's
immunity to the excessive hubris, tunnel vision
and poor communication that have leveled some
prominent leaders and businesses. With more
impact studies in progress, and a growing
interest in EI by the academic and the business
world, the prognosis for EI seems "excellent."
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