EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE   

Our emotions are now being viewed as being an integral part of how we interact within a social world. As such we need the ability recognize, understand and regulate our emotions 1all of which require the capacity for introspection, or an awareness of an inner life in both the self and in others2, the skills of emotional intelligence.

Salovey and Mayer (1990) were among the first to use the term ‘emotional intelligence’ to refer to the ability of individuals to be able to monitor both their own and others emotions, to be able to discriminate one emotion from another, then to use this information to guide their thinking as well as their actions.  This was later defined into a four-branch model of emotional intelligence3.  

If the skills of emotional intelligence are not being used to accurately perceive the emotional expression of another person, we may act from an old template and respond as we have in the past, that is, from habit.  We may not even be aware that the other person’s expression is pressing our ‘old buttons’.  For example, we may automatically and unknowingly, become fearful because this expression reminds us of a past situation.  

As a result we may ‘hold our breath’ or start ‘walking on eggshells around this person.  It is his or her reaction that we most fear.  Are they going to get angry or be verbally abusive? Will I become embarrassed by his or her outburst?  Will I feel shamed if this is said in front of my workmates?  It is at this point that we have to be aware of what our own reaction is to this situation.  Without the skills of emotional intelligence, we may blame the other person for how we feel, become defensive, and respond accordingly.  

In the workplace this has been shown to create a reciprocal feedback loop between negative emotion, and uncivil workplace behavior, both from the perpetrator and target perspective4.   Emotional self-efficacy5 is the precursor of a model that shows the association between these workplace outcomes.  

 

EMOTIONAL SELF-EFFICACY IN THE WORKPLACE

 

Kirk, Schutte, & Hine (2008) developed a scale that incorporates the skills of emotional intelligence with self-efficacy6.   The measure was named the Emotional Self-Efficacy Scale (ESES).  As such, the scale measures, not just how emotionally intelligent people are in the workplace, but how confident they are, to acknowledge, that they have feelings in the first place. 

As Beverley Kirk PhD, a consultant psychologist, communicates, “so many people hail from a society that has not supported them to ‘feel’.  It was not that long ago that they were not able to ‘rock the boat’; they were told to ‘keep the peace’, so they ‘turned a blind eye’, were even told ‘well, you have made your bed now lie in it’; these behavioral responses to situations did not allow for emotions and feelings to be validated and expressed assertively; as a result, a response, if in anger, came out aggressively or passive aggressively; these are old habits, and old habits ‘die hard’; Nevertheless, it is often expected that, everyone in today’s workplace needs to, all of a sudden, to be able express how they feel, assertively; This takes a skills training.  Learning how to, through applying the skills of Emotional Self-Efficacy is a good starting point.  Contact us to find out how.

 

 

 

 

 

REFERENCES

  1. Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 9, 185-211.
  2. Isaacs, K. S. (1998). Uses of emotion: Nature's vital gift. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.
  3. Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D.R.  (2004).  Emotional intelligence: Theory, findings, and implications. Psychological Inquiry, 15, 197-215: Schutte, N. S., Malouff, J. M., Hall, L. E., Haggerty, D. J., Cooper, J. T., Golden, C. J., et al. (1998). Development and validation of a measure of emotional intelligence. Personality and Individual Differences, 25, 167-177.
  4. Kirk, B., Schutte, N., & Hine, D.  (2009).  The role of emotional self-efficacy, emotional intelligence, and affect in workplace incivility and workplace satisfaction.  In C.E.J. Hartel, N.M. Ashkanasy, & W.J. Zerbe (Eds). Research on emotions in organizations; Emotions in groups, organizations and cultures (pp. 21 1-225). UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
  5. Kirk, B.A., Schutte, N.S., & Hine, D.W. (2008)  Development and preliminary

validation of an emotional self-efficacy scale. Personality and Individual

            Differences, 45, 432-436.

  1. Bandura, A. (2001). Guide for construction self-efficacy scales. Division of Educational Studies, Emory University, Atlanta, GA.: Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action:  A social cognitive theory.  Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.