You don’t have to be bright just control those emotions writies Adrian Furnham, Professor of Psychology at University of London in Times newspaper (3rd July). He argues that emotional intelligence is not as important as we have been led to believe by many commentators over the last 20 years. Real intelligence (cognitive ability) is more important.
“Intelligence unlocks the doors of education which gives the knowledge and skills to acquire jobs. Certainly soft skills help, but they are little use without the horse-power of intelligence.”
Emotional intelligence is quite simply an awareness of our own and others emotions. More importantly it is about emotional management: the ability to regulate and control your feelings to suit the situation. And crucially at work it is about managing others’s emotions. “It is about:-
- inspiring the downhearted
- dissipating anger
- calming fears
It is an important skill but without real intelligence will only get you so far. Overall brighter people do beter. But how is it that averagely intelligent people can do so well. Furnham says there are 3 reasons:-
1.Success in some jobs is not linked to intelligence
Sales is one example You have to be motivatedand resilieint rather than bright.
2.People Inherit Jobs far above their Ability level
Nepotism remains rife in many organisations and peole can be gifted jobs by realtives or friends.
3. Ability is Never Actually Revealed
There are situations where incompetence is never actually revealed or tested. Working for an organisation where output is never measured means an average employee may never be found out
And what about the super-smart who don’t make it? Furnham suggests that one of the main reasons is that, and this is the point of emotional intellignce lobby, some bright people fail because they are not good at social relationships. You have to work with and through your people. You have to motivate and inspire them. People can be too clever by half and dismissive of those around them who are too slow to understand concepts. They are good with ideas bad with people.
How often have you heard this said about people in your organisation? How do you address this well in our opinion by raising self-awareness on the part of the individual. Are they aware they have certain behaviours and preferences for how they interact with colleagues. Do they realise they have to adapt thier style depending on the situation and the individuals. This is where training and development can be so important.
For more information on emotional intelligence visit the Call of the Wild website
Comments