This dissertation proposal examines the theoretical constructs and measurement of emotional intelligence (EI) and its relationship to effective leadership and organizational success. Drawing on foundational theorists including Salovey and Mayer, Daniel Goleman, Howard Gardner, David Wechsler, Charles Spearman, and Reuven Bar-On, the paper traces the intellectual lineage of EI from early intelligence research through contemporary competency models. It reviews major EI frameworks — including the Four Branch Model, the Personal and Social Competence Model, and the Bar-On EQ-I — and evaluates empirical evidence from workplace studies demonstrating that higher emotional competence correlates with superior leadership performance, reduced turnover, and measurable business outcomes.
This dissertation proposal examines the relationship between the role of emotional intelligence and effective leadership and job success. In terms of conceptual definition, Peter Salovey and John Mayer view emotional intelligence as a set of skills hypothesized to contribute to the accurate interpretation and expression of emotion in oneself and others, the effective regulation of emotion, and the use of feelings to motivate, plan, and achieve success. The better-known Daniel Goleman has popularized emotional intelligence to a broader audience outside academia. Goleman defines emotional intelligence as "the ability to rein in emotional impulse, to read another's innermost feelings, and to handle relationships smoothly."
During the early 1990s, Goleman — while working as a science writer for the New York Times, covering topics related to the brain and behavioral research — became aware of the writings of Salovey and Mayer, whose academic work would form the intellectual foundation for much of his subsequent popularization of the construct.
The theory of emotional intelligence holds that emotional intelligence "is a combination of the intelligence we have that helps us both know and manage ourselves well, and the intelligence that we have that helps us understand, motivate and relate effectively to other people" (Centre for Applied Emotional Intelligence, 2006). Many individuals contributed to the development of this theory. The Hay Group — Emotional Intelligence Services states that the basics of emotional intelligence include:
1) Knowing your feelings and using them to make life decisions you can live with; 2) being able to manage your emotional life without being hijacked by it — not being paralyzed by depression or worry, or swept away by anger; 3) persisting in the face of setbacks and channeling your impulses in order to pursue your goals; 4) empathy — reading other people's emotions without their having to tell you what they are feeling; and 5) handling feelings in relationships with skill and harmony — being able to articulate the unspoken pulse of a group, for example (Hay Group, 2006).
In a 1994 report on the state of emotional literacy in the United States, Daniel Goleman stated: "In navigating our lives, it is our fears and envies, our rages and depressions, our worries and anxieties that steer us day-to-day. Even the most academically brilliant among us are vulnerable to being undone by unruly emotions. The price we pay for emotional illiteracy is in failed marriages and troubled families, in stunted social and work lives, in deteriorating physical health and mental anguish and, as a society, in tragedies such as killings." Goleman holds that the best and most practicable cure for dealing with emotional shortcomings is "preventative medicine" (2001).
Emotional intelligence can also be defined as the individual's ability to manage their own emotions while remaining aware of the emotions of others in social interaction. When an individual has attained a level of emotional intelligence, they understand that emotions cannot rule their actions or their communications with the world around them. Emotional intelligence is defined as having five characteristics and abilities: 1) self-awareness — knowing one's emotions and recognizing one's feelings as they occur and being able to discriminate among them; 2) mood management — handling feelings in a manner that is relevant to the situation at hand, with an appropriate reaction; 3) self-motivation — gathering up one's feelings and directing oneself toward a goal despite self-doubt, inertia, and impulsiveness; 4) empathy — recognizing feelings in others and being able to discern their verbal as well as nonverbal cues; and 5) managing relationships — handling interpersonal interaction, conflict resolution, and negotiations (Emotional Intelligence, 2001).
Research in brain-based learning suggests that emotional health is fundamental to effective learning. According to a report from the National Center for Clinical Infant Programs, the most critical element for a student's success in school is an understanding of how to learn (Emotional Intelligence, p. 193). The traits comprising the spectrum of emotional intelligence include: confidence, curiosity, intentionality, self-control, relatedness, capacity to communicate, and ability to cooperate (Emotional Intelligence, p. 194).
Charles Edward Spearman is remembered as a psychologist and a developer of the statistical method known as factor analysis. Within the theoretical framework of his research, Spearman proposed a "two-factor" theory of intelligence. He held that general intelligence ("g") "was a single factor correlated with specific abilities ('s') to varying degrees." The basis of intelligence testing that Spearman formulated through his research shaped the field for decades (Encyclopedia of Psychology, n.d.).
In 1920, Edward Thorndike proposed what was termed "social intelligence." Related to this concept is the term alexithymia, used to describe the essence of emotional-social intelligence, with a focus on the ability — or rather inability — to recognize, understand, and describe emotions (MacLean, 1949; Ruesch, 1948; as cited by Bar-On, Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations). From the study of alexithymia, both the elements of "psychological mindedness" and "emotional awareness" developed in parallel, stemming from the failure to describe emotions. Bar-On relates that research exploring the neural circuitry governing emotional awareness (Lane, 2000), as well as additional emotional and social aspects of this concept, "has begun to provide tangible evidence of the anatomical foundations of this wider construct which some have questioned as an intangible myth" (Davies et al., 1998; Matthews et al., 2003; Zeidner et al., 2001).
David Wechsler stated that "Intelligence is the aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with his environment" (1944, p. 3). Wechsler developed several widely used intelligence tests, including the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (1949) and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (1955). Wechsler also established the use of the deviation quotient (DQ), which replaced the use of mental ages in the computation of IQ scores.
Howard Gardner's notion of "Multiple Intelligences" holds that there are many dimensions comprising human intelligence. Gardner states that there are "at least eight different kinds of human intelligence" (Multiple Intelligences, n.d.), and that individuals vary in the extent to which they possess each of these. Gardner addressed the first seven intelligences in the work entitled Frames of Mind: The Theory Behind Multiple Intelligences (1993). More recently, two further intelligences were introduced: the naturalist and the spiritual. Although Gardner does not specifically list creativity as an intelligence, creative thought weaves through all of his categories.
The eight multiple intelligences specified by Gardner are as follows:
Linguistic intelligence: the ability to learn, use, and be sensitive to language. Logical-mathematical intelligence: analysis, mathematics, and scientific or investigative abilities. Musical intelligence: the ability to perform, compose, and appreciate music, particularly with respect to pitch, tone, and rhythm. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence: coordination and use of the whole body or parts of the body. Spatial intelligence: the ability to recognize, use, and solve spatial problems both large and confined. Interpersonal intelligence: the ability to read others' intentions, motivations, desires, and feelings. Intrapersonal intelligence: self-knowledge and the ability to understand and use one's inner knowledge. Naturalist intelligence: the ability to draw upon the immediate environment to make judgments.
To illustrate his work, Gardner selected seven individuals known for pronounced creative intelligence in a specific domain: T.S. Eliot (linguistic), Albert Einstein (logical-mathematical), Igor Stravinsky (musical), Pablo Picasso (visual-spatial), Martha Graham (bodily-kinesthetic), Sigmund Freud (intrapersonal), and Mahatma Gandhi (interpersonal). He later added Charles Darwin as exemplifying naturalist intelligence.
The Four Branch Model of emotional intelligence, postulated by Mayer and Salovey (1997), describes four areas of capacities or skills that collectively cover the major domains of emotional intelligence. Within this theoretical framework, emotional intelligence comprises the abilities to: (1) accurately perceive emotions in oneself and others; (2) use emotions to facilitate thinking; (3) understand emotional meanings; and (4) manage emotions well. This model is referred to as the "ability" model of emotional intelligence (Mayer & Salovey, 1997).
"Detailed personal and social EI competency frameworks"
"ESI model, EQ-I instrument, and development stages"
"EI as predictor of leadership success and business outcomes"
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