Emotional intelligence is linked to success in many areas of life.
People with high emotional intelligence are more successful at work and across many areas of life, research finds.
There are five signs of emotional intelligence, according to one model developed by Daniel Goleman:
- Self-awareness: knowing your own strengths and weakness, as well as drives and values.
- Self-regulation: being able to control disruptive emotions and adapt to new circumstances.
- Social skill: capable of managing relationships with other people effectively.
- Empathy: taking into account other people’s feelings when making decisions.
- Motivation: a drive to succeed.
Those high in emotional intelligence are aware of their emotions and good at controlling and expressing them.
They can read emotions in others well and know how to manage them to achieve desired goals.
Higher emotional intelligence leads to better relationships with others, higher psychological well-being, greater self-compassion and a more positive perception by others.
The conclusion comes from a ‘meta-analysis’ — a type of study that collects together the results of other studies.
The results showed that emotional intelligence predicted workplace performance over and above personality and IQ.
The authors write that other studies have found that emotional intelligence is…
…a predictor in important domains such as academic performance, job performance, negotiation, leadership, emotional labor, trust, work–family conflict, and stress…”
Daniel Goleman’s model is just one way of thinking about emotional intelligence.
The researchers found, though, that different models and measures all provided insights into people’s emotional intelligence.
Professor Neal Ashkanasy, who was not involved in the research, said:
“By analyzing the numerous studies of emotional intelligence that have been conducted over the last decade, the authors of this article provide an evidence-based account of emotional intelligence, where it works and where it doesn’t.
And, most importantly, which of the various versions of emotional intelligence work the best.
This will prove to be a valuable tool for academic researchers, as well as business consultants and managers.”
The study was published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior (O’Boyle et al., 2010).
