Can A Group Of Management Students Improve Their Emotional Intelligence Over An 8 Week Period?
Working paper
Pickston, Robin M. M.
Abstract
Much has been written about the potential links between emotional intelligence and leadership with some researchers claiming a definitive link and others arguing the validity of the construct of EI. Other writers have looked at links between the leadership t raining and emotional intelligence skill development courses and the impact of learning and development interventions on students.
This exploratory study explores the development of emotional intelligence by a group of management students over an 8 week period. It uses competence based measurement of EQ and other qualitative research tools; initial results indicate that that the majority of the participants were able to develop skills that could be associated with EI but also suggest that a good level of self awareness is required to be able to achieve this.
Introduction
Emotional intelligence is a subject that has been widely written about since Mayer et al (1990) published their first paper on the subject. Equally there has been considerable discussion regarding the link emotional intelligence has with leadership. Goleman et al (2002) argue that it is not only getting results that is important but how the results are achieved. They maintain that “the primal job of leadership is emotional.” They go onto say that by winning the hearts and minds of their teams the leader will get the best from them and achieve the best possible results. Massey (2003) discusses leadership and emotional intelligence, he argues that teams should be “properly led” and that the team should be “emotionally literate” in order that each member of the team contributes to the emotional intelligence of the team as a whole and therefore increases its ability to succeed. Newman (2007) also makes the link between emotional intelligence and leadership he discusses that “A leader’s intelligence should have a strong emotional component. Goleman (1995) goes onto discuss emotional intelligence’s link with leadership and its importance in delivering results in organisations and Newman (2007) also makes the link between emotional intelligence and leadership he discusses that “A leader’s intelligence should have a strong emotional component.” Gardener and Stough (2001) discuss Ashforth and Humphrey (1995) who describe “that transformational leadership appears to be dependent upon the evocation, framing and mobilisation of emotions.” They go on to discuss that there are considerable links between transformational leadership and emotional intelligence. Bass and Avolio, (1994) discuss transformational leadership and argue that transformational leaders who are able to manage and control their emotions and act as “role models” will be able to influence and gain the trust of their followers. They go on to propose that leaders “high in the emotional intelligence component of understanding emotions are more likely to accurately perceive the extent to which followers’ expectations can be raised, and this is related to the transformational sub-component of inspirational motivation.” Additionally Hartsfield (2003) also argues that there are strong links between transformational leadership and emotional intelligence, most particularly through the leader’s ability to recognise emotions in their followers and to what intrinsically motivates them, using this to gain trust and motivate. Ilies, Morgeson and Nahrgang (2005) who discuss authentic leadership and emotional intelligence they maintain that “Self-awareness includes being aware of one’s strengths and weaknesses as well as understanding one’s emotions and personality. Understanding one’s emotions is a component of emotional intelligence.”
Chang (2009) also discusses authentic leadership and although does not make a direct link to emotional intelligence makes clear that the very nature of the construct lends itself to it.
The author of the paper is a teacher and programme manager in a further education college, the role involves the management of business courses and the delivery of the curriculum. One of the courses is a leadership and management undergraduate programme; the students are operational managers from a variety of industries who are all undertaking the course for their own continuous professional development. With a variety of researchers arguing links between leadership and emotional intelligence the author wanted to research whether a group of management students who were undertaking a course for professional development could increase their emotional intelligence over an 8 week period.
For the purpose of this paper the link between emotional intelligence and leadership is assumed although it recognises that certain leadership constructs lend themselves to the link more than others as discussed by Bass and Avolio, 1994), Palmer et al (2001), Ilies, Morgeson and Nahrgang (2005) and Chang (2009) George (2008). Additionally Clarke & Mahadi (2010) maintain that their research supports and strengthens the theoretical arguments on the association between leadership and EI. Although it is recognised by the author that research on the link between the two constructs is in its infancy. (Walter, Cole & Humphrey, 2011).
Background
Leadership training whether conducted in organisations or as a course of study in a college or university are common place and the emphasis on leadership capability in meeting organisational goals very high Muyia & Kacirek (2009); they go onto say that the importance of measuring the impact of learning interventions on organisational performance is a key measure for HRD practitioners. Goleman (1998) makes the argument that the world of work has changed and the need for managers to be able to handle themselves and other people effectively is now an essential requirement. He goes onto discuss the importance of emotional intelligence in the achievement of sustained organisational success suggesting that the main competencies of EI he outlines are the key to leadership effectiveness.
The participants of this study were all managers from a variety of backgrounds and undertook a graduate Chartered Management Institute Diploma in Leadership and Management. The learning outcomes of the course are aimed at equipping operational managers with knowledge and skills to enable them to become more effective in their jobs. The curriculum incorporates a range of skills and is underpinned by theoretical concepts that include leadership; it should be noted that emotional intelligence was not taught as a separate topic previously, although skills that could be linked to EI such as reflective practice and motivation were. Initial work conducted by Muyia & Kacirek (2009) on the impact of a leadership development programme on EQ shows that quantitatively there was little or no improvement in EQ based on their method of testing however they discuss that other researchers have found significant improvements in EQ scores following training including Boyatzis (2001), Dulewicz & Higgs (2004) & Grant (2007). Wang, Young, Willhite & Marczyk (2010) work on assessing students’ emotional competence in higher education discusses that many higher education institutions have attempted to integrate social and emotional learning into their undergraduate curricula but need a reliable measure of its impact. Their work attempts to measure some of this impact using a new EQ (competence) measurement WELS, which they developed to use in a higher educational setting. Clark, Callister and Wallace (2003) outline the similarities between the teaching of undergraduate management skills and emotional intelligence; their research showed that considerable improvements in EI measures were made in comparison to their control group and suggest that delivers of management skills training should include place more emphasis on personal skills including emotional intelligence. Clark et al’s (2003) work uses reasonable sample sizes and the comparison between the 2 groups appears to yield significant results, they do recognise the limitations of their study in terms of method of measurement and whether the improvements shown we sustained after the course of study was completed. It is not clear however what if any effect outside influences had in terms of workplace, home life and personal relationships. Walter et al (2011) discuss that the inclusion of the concept of emotional intelligence in leadership education, training and development can be of benefit teachers and trainers must consider the relative newness of the research and the lack of academic clarity on the correct measurement of EI.
It may also be important to note the work of Clarke (2006) who helps to make the distinction between the teaching of emotional intelligence as part of a leadership programme and the numerous training packages that have evolved to ‘develop emotional intelligence.’ He argues that many of these programmes are simply a re-brand of the soft skills that have been taught previously and do not offer better understanding of how effective EI may be in the workplace. He maintains that the effectiveness of the training is “elusive” and the courses are marketed on “positive testimonials and flimsy anecdotes.” He goes onto to discuss Law, Wong & Song 2004 & McEnrue & Groves 2006 saying that there have been calls for “more rigorous and considered research to examine the potential for developing employee’s EI and the efficiency of the interventions for doing so” These are reasonable considerations, like many concepts that are adopted by the commercial world there is a danger that evidence and validity are not prioritised.
When discussing the development of EI it may be worth considering the work of Waldman, Balthazard & Peterson’s (2011) research on leadership and neuroscience; they introduce Mintzberg (1976) & Finkelstein & Hambrick (1996) concept of left and right side of the brain, they suggest that management and leadership ability maybe affected by the dominance of either one. Waldman et al (2011) go onto to discuss the concept of “coherence” outlining that it is “a way of measuring the interconnectedness of the areas of the brain, a way of tracking coordinated activity or communication between various areas of the brain.” They go onto make the link with the management of emotions suggesting that a high level of coherence in the right side of the brain may suggest greater emotional balance. This concept could be linked to learning theory discussed by Beevers & Rea (2010) who discuss the links between learning methods and the left brain / right brain theory and the author suggests that by understanding these processes an educationalist could develop more effective learning strategies when teaching soft skills including emotional intelligence. However it should be noted that Waldman et al (2011) mention Hines’s (1987) criticism of the left/right brain theory although they go onto discuss that the developments in neuroscience in the last ten years have created new interest including the development of coherence discussed earlier.
The sample group in this study were exposed directly to the concept of emotional intelligence in the form of lecture and individual research, this approach being different to the one previously used with other cohorts. The group had received other leadership training early in the academic year and measurement of their leadership and managerial capability was undertaken and personal development plans written; the concept of EI was introduced during the second semester when the research was undertaken.
Emotional Intelligence Measurement
Since Mayer and Salovey (1990) first published their paper about emotional intelligence three main models for measuring emotional intelligence have evolved; the ability model developed by Mayer and Salovey in 1997; Bar-On’s non cognitive models also in 1997 and Goleman’s competency based model in 1998. Goleman (1998) developed five basic competencies of emotional intelligence, “self awareness, self regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills.” He breaks them down into two component parts personal competence and social competence.
The measurement tools for EQ used in this study were tests contained in a training package on emotional intelligence by The Fenman Training Group. Three different tests consisting of an EQ test, an internal critic test and a pessimistic / optimistic questionnaire were used (Bagshaw 2005). In the introduction to the training pack Dr. Bagshaw acknowledges that the information used to develop the pack is based on the research conducted by Daniel Goleman on emotional intelligence.
EQ Test
The EQ test is based on 5 core emotional intelligence competencies (Bagshaw 2005), they are: creative tension, active choice, resilience under pressure, self awareness and self control and empathetic relationships.
· Creative tension – Aims to measure how an individual manages the tension between dealing with the present and creating the future.
· Active choice – Aims to measure how much a manager is being proactive and not procrastinating or worrying about the choices they have made.
· Resilience under pressure – Aims to measure how positively a manager copes with pressure.
· Empathetic relationships – Aims to measure how well a manager builds trust and credibility in their relationships.
· Self awareness and self control – Aims to measure how well a manager knows how there are feeling and how well they can moderate their internal responses.
The advantage of this test is that it only covers 5 core competencies; any more may have been harder to manage and reflect on as the research period was only 8 weeks. A key disadvantage is that if one of the participants scored well across all 5 competencies a wider range of assessment would be more likely to identify areas for development.
The internal critic
This test aims to establish to what extent the leader’s internal critic and negative self talk affects their effectiveness at work. It focuses on nine common negative beliefs and makes a link with the underlying hope and associated emotions behind them. This test links to both Goleman (1998) emotional intelligence competencies and is advantageous in that it encouraged the participants to explore some of the reasons why they think or feel a certain way; it encouraged the self awareness competency
Optimist / Pessimist questionnaire
This questionnaire aims to establish if the manager’s outlook is optimistic or pessimistic in nature. This information was used to establish if their particular outlook had an impact on them at work and as part of their leadership role. The advantage of this questionnaire was that it was used like a control, to either confirm or refute the participants opinion as to whether they are an optimist or a pessimist; it also encouraged them to reflect on different situations and how they may react. However some of the questions are hypothetical and some of the participants may not have related to them and so may not have been able to complete them accurately enough to give a true result.