An array of emotional, personal and social skills and abilities that influence one's ability to cope with environmental demands and pressures and determines success in life. Emotional Intelligence is the outcome of a combination of:
inborn temperament.
childhood experiences.
later learning.
Emotional Intelligence skills are not uniform. Even those with high emotional intelligence overall may be strong in some specific abilities and relatively weaker in others. Most of these abilities can be improved through learning and practice.
PERSONAL COMPETENCE (how we manage ourselves)
SOCIAL COMPETENCE (how we manage others)
Relates to inner states of Being, self-awareness, self-Motivation, meta-cognition, Dreams, spiritual realities
Operates via person to person relationship and covers the whole gamut of social competencies
What can emotional intelligence offer leadership and the corporate world?
leaders develop high self-awareness and are able to effectively apply values and ethics to systems and technology
leaders appreciate the organisation as both an economic enterprise and a human system
leaders create bonds that fulfil deep needs of employees and the purpose of the organisation
leaders develop their leadership skills so that their teams can continue as high performers and to achieve challenging goals, whilst avoiding stress or ‘burn-out’
leaders spend more of their time leading, inspiring and challenging their teams, rather than actually doing the work themselves
hearts are contributed, as well as the minds of leaders and their team members, so that levels of passion, enthusiasm, and commitment are commensurate with the challenging demands made upon the organisation
the environment is created for a cross-fertilisation of ideas, across all teams, so that the innovation and creativity of team members is accessed, and performance is constantly improved
high-performing leaders and team members don't leave the organisation through frustration and are less susceptible to attractive offers from alternative employers
leaders and team members are hungry to learn, to develop themselves, and to develop the organisation for the long-term.
Achievement of these changes will result in the organisation generating outstanding results, and its leaders and team members achieving goals that will both inspire and support them, whilst the quality of products and services delivered to the organisation's clients is also at an outstanding level. Specifically, this would translate into the following:
achievement of the organisation's Vision
less work is actually done by the leaders, and more is delegated
leaders strive for balance between work, family and professional areas of their lives
reduced risks of losing great team members to competitors; research shows that the cost in Australia of replacing a great team member is more than 200% of that person's annual salary!
a reduction in 'silo mentality' thinking between the teams in the organisation, so that sharing of great ideas is increased, and the learning opportunities from mistakes are maximised
increased levels of trust and openness between the leaders
less resistance to change and improvement
improved skills and knowledge, because leaders and team members are 'hungrier' to learn, develop and succeed.
Surely leaders need more of a brain than a heart?
"While the precise ratio of emotional to cognitive abilities depends on how each are measured and on the unique demands of a given organization, our rule of thumb holds that EI [emotional intelligence] contributes 80 to 90 percent of the competencies that distinguish outstanding from average leaders – and sometimes more. To be sure, purely cognitive competencies, such as technical expertise, surface in such studies – but often threshold abilities, the skills people needed simply to do an average job. Although the specifics vary from organization to organization, EI competencies make up the vast majority of the more crucial, distinguishing competencies."
Ref: Goleman D. (2002) The New Leaders: Transforming the Art of Leadership into the Science of Results Little, Brown
What is Spiritual Intelligence?
"Neither IQ nor EQ, separately or in combination, is enough to explain the full complexity of human intelligence no the vast richness of the human soul and imagination…SQ allows human beings to be creative, to change the rules and to alter situations. It allows us to play…an infinite game. SQ gives us the ability to discriminate. It gives us our moral sense, an ability to temper rigid rules with understanding and compassion and an equal ability to see when understanding and compassion have their limits. We use SQ to wrestle with questions of good and evil and to envision unrealized possibilities, to dream, to aspire, to raise ourselves out of the mud."
Ref: Zohar D. & Marshall I. (2000) Spiritual Intelligence: The Ultimate Intelligence Bloomsbury, London
Research is now validating the existence of Spiritual Intelligence and showing that humans are hard-wired to be spiritual beings. For example, from a review of the literature, Zohar and Marshall concluded that 40 Hz oscillations are the neural basis of SQ, that places our actions and experiences in a larger context of meaning and value thus rendering them more effective.
