Management Science and Leadership Studies

Much evidence of Emotional Intelligence comes out of organizations: studies of leadership, management, and performance have, like laboratory research, produced much exciting new information. Here are some interesting findings.

Studies of "think tanks," where everyone is highly intelligent, reveal that even there, some people outperform others. They are more willing to take on responsibility, are more adaptable, and more easily establish rapport with co-workers. These qualities are considered Emotional-Intelligence qualities that have little to do with IQ or technical competency.

Research on sales managers indicates that those who are unable to handle stress oversee departments that perform poorly, while those managers who perform better under stress have high sales volume.

CEOs judged most successful by their peers in some studies were not those rated highest in technical competency but were instead those who scored the highest in a different area: the ability to establish relationships with and inspire others.

Men and women seem, generally, not to differ in their overall level of Emotional Intelligence. However, research often finds women to be better at empathy and social skills and men stronger in self-confidence and self-control. [These facets of EQ are the subjects of upcoming chapters.]

Education, gender, hours worked, and geographic area did not predict sales success for those in sales. However, Emotional-Intelligence qualities of empathy, optimism, assertiveness, and self-awareness were highly predictive of sales success. Optimistic salespeople, in fact, sold 37% more insurance and were twice as likely to stick with the job as those who had pessimistic outlooks on life and work.

We make better decisions when we act on information from our feelings, our instincts, and our intuition, as well as on information coming from our rational intellect. It is our emotional brains, after all, that allow us to access memory and assign weight or preference to the choices we face at work and in our personal lives. It is our Emotional Intelligence that guides us in controlling or accessing emotions when we must adapt to change, get along with others, or deal with stress. Performance and leadership in any organizational setting are both influenced by EQ.