Working with Emotional Intelligence

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 5 OCT. 1998

Applying the lessons of his bestselling study Emotional Intelligence, Goleman has found that business success stems primarily from a workforce displaying initiative and empathy, adaptability and persuasiveness--i.e., key aspects of what he defines as emotional intelligence. He presents studies that show that IQ accounts for only between 4% and 25% of an individual's job success, whereas emotional competence (self-awareness, self-regulation and motivation) is twice as important as purely cognitive abilities in the workplace. These findings alone should shake up human resource departments that hire based on how good someone looks on paper. In sections like "Self-Mastery," "People Skills" and "Social Radar," Goleman uses anecdotes from the corporate trenches (and from his lecture tours) to isolate qualities, such as "trustworthiness" that are central to displays of emotional intelligence. These qualities, in turn, are broken down into sets of practices--"Act ethically and... above reproach"; "respect and relate well to people from other backgrounds"--that can be internalized for improved emotional intelligence quotients by individuals looking to get ahead, or managers seeking to revitalize the staff. These repetitive-sounding checklists can at times give the book the flavor of an overworked seminar presentation. Still, embedded within the linear format that emerges are many truly illuminating facts--that the real cost of employee turnover to a company is the equivalent of one full year of employee pay, for example--that show how critically important Goleman's thesis is to today's workplace.