The topic of discussion chosen
today is one of the latest concepts that the researchers have found. This skill
is called ‘Emotional Intelligence’.
The first question that we ask from ourselves is that what we want in life? The
answer that every person gives is to be a successful person in life. Now
another question arises is how? This is what is going to be explained in this
post.
Yardstick for Success:
Well everything is measured using
a yardstick. Same is the case with success. Success has always been measured
using a yardstick. This yardstick has gone through many changes. Why is this
yardstick, this criterion so necessary? You get hired on this criterion. You
get promotions on this criterion and if downsizing occurs, you get retained in
the organisation on this criterion.
This criterion is defined by
distinguished qualities which help in the improvement of your carrier. The
increase in the improvement of your carrier increases the productivity of the
organisation thus enabling the company to progress and this eventually helps
you as a whole.
Let’s start with a story. This
will help you in understanding the importance and concept of emotional
intelligence.
Mechanical Movements:
Well the story dates back to
1800’s when machines were not so much used in the industry. A scientist Dr.
Fredrick Taylor defined success in terms of mechanical movements. A person was
thought to be successful if his mechanical movements are better. If the company
is downsized then a person with better mechanical movements is retained in the
company. This was the yardstick for success in the 1800’s.
Emergence of IQ:
After this, i.e. late 19th
century and the 20th century was the era of machines. Now a press of
button did all the things. Mechanical movements were no more needed. Now a new
yardstick was needed for the measurement of success. IQ was defined as the new
criteria for success. This criterion was in use for about 30 years. Success was
defined by high IQ level. A person having a very high IQ level was thought of
as a successful person.
Expertise and Competence:
Now Dr. David McLean in 1970’s
did some research. He went to the American State office and asked for the list
of the star ambassadors of US. A list was provided to him. He then went to the
CSA or the Civil Services Academy of the US and asked for the IQ Test results
of the ambassadors of the US. A list was gain provided to him. When he compared
both the lists he found out that out of 100 star ambassadors only 25 had the IQ
results of a successful person. The results of the rest of 75% was average or
above average
He then stated that IQ focuses on
analytical process only. It defines only 4%-25% of the success of a person. IQ
is a poor indicator of success. People should be tested on the basis of their
competence.
Now a question arose what is
competence? The answer to this question was again given by Dr. David McLean, he
said that a person who shows competency is called an expert and the competency
that a person shows is called expertise. Now another question came up. What is
expertise?
Expertise:
Dr. David said that Expertise is
the sum of knowledge, past experiences and the common sense to use them both in
a particular situation.
Expertise = Knowledge
+ Experience + Common Sense
So a new yardstick was introduced
with this research. A successful person is the one who has a better IQ and with
this has the expertise in his field. People were very happy that a new theory
has been developed which will help companies in hiring better individuals.
Wrong Theory?
Then comes Dr. Robert Sternberg.
He conducted his own research. He went to the Fortune 500 companies and asked
all of them to provide a list of all the star performers of their company. A
list was provided. He then asked the companies to provide the IQ results of the
individuals. He then confirmed from the companies whether the individuals were
hired as experts? The answer was a yes. Now when he compared the two lists, he
found out that out of 100 successful individuals only 50 were with a high IQ
and expertise. The rest 50 were without a high IQ level and excellent
expertise.
Dr. Robert Sternberg then stated
that Expertise only counts 25% in your success.
Expertise + IQ = 25%
+ 25% = 50%
He said that expertise is the
basic competence. It’s like how you do the job. How you convert your practical
knowledge into job performance. But this is not enough.
He took these results and
approached Dr. David McLean. Dr. David McLean had no option than to accept the
results. He then started thinking that what could be the factors involved in
success. One day he was sitting in his lab and a few students were doing an experiment.
They had designed a filter that filtered the voices from a film and presented
only the tones that were from the film. Seeing this an idea clicked in Dr.
McLean’s mind.
The Experiment:
He setup the experiment and then
called a star performer from the fortune 500. He played a scene from a film.
The observer could only hear the tones from the film. He asked the individual
to tell what type of scene could be going on in the back ground. The person
replied that it is a sad scene. Dr. McLean looked at the scene and it was
correct. He then changed the scene then asked the individual. He replied that
there is something happy going on and viola it was correct.
Dr. McLean now called an average
performer and did the same experiment with him. He in reply to first scene said
that it was a happy scene and in reply to the second scene said that it was a
sad scene. Dr. McLean repeated this experiment and got 100% results.
Emotional Intelligence:
He then said that a star
performer is the one who understands and handles the emotions of the people.
Star performers have the ability to judge the emotion of the people without
going on the words. He understands the tone of the person saying the words.
This makes them a star performer.
Well this is it, comments are
highly appreciated. In the next part we will discuss about the Emotional
Intelligence and the EI Skills that you need to have in order to perform
excellently. Stay connected for updates.
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