Reference no: EM133007389

Higher emotional intelligence makes you a better leader Source: By Suchitra Bajpai Chaudhary, Writer Education, July 28, 2013

https://gulfnews.com/life-style/education/higher-emotional-intelligence-makes-you-a-better-leader-1.1213707

What makes you a better leader at the workplace - academic competency or Emotional Intelligence (EI)? EI wins hands down if we were to refer to an award-winning study conducted by a Dubai-based professor.

Dr. Rommel Sergio, a Professor of Human Resource Management in a university in Dubai presented a research paper entitled "Emotional Intelligence and Demographic Profile Variables as Predictors of Job Performance among Bank Managers in the Middle East", at the Harvard University Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA on May 29, 2013 and his paper was awarded the title of being the best paper in the business track category at Harvard.

The research findings divulge that the bank managers in the Middle East who have been performing well on their jobs possess high emotional intelligence. Returning from the presentation, Dr Rommel, spoke to Education Section of Gulf News analyzing his paper for the layperson and reiterating the fact that EI played a greater role in determine the success of a bank manager in the Middle East.

The study focused on the determinants of job performance such as emotional intelligence and demographic profile variables among 134 bank managers deployed in the private sector of the Middle East countries such as United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman. The demographic profile variables such as age, civil status, educational attainment, and work tenure were ascertained.

The study intended to confirm if there was a correlation between and among demographic profile variables, emotional intelligence, and job performance of bank managers.

Operationally, emotional intelligence (EI) is regarded as the soft skills and a learned capability of employees that results in their outstanding performance at work. Essentially, EI plays a role in job settings in UAE. As the focus of my study is the Middle East bank managers who are engaged in customer service, it is indeed vital to for these managers to demonstrate high EI; it requires them an underlying ability in EI fundamentals, specifically, Social Awareness and Relationship Management. If a manager's EI is high, customer service as an indicator of job performance is predictably high as well.

There are four major dimensions of EI according to the framework of Goleman and Boyatzis (2000): Self-awareness, Self-management, Social Awareness, and Relationship Management. Leadership nests in Relationship Management dimension. Our research supports the previous researches across the globe that the higher the EI among managers, the better they perform at work. This is because of the leadership component of EI which is a job factor in a typical job performance among managers.

Managing in the new age does not only entail that one shall possess academic excellence or high IQ (intelligence quotient). Trustworthiness as part of EI Self-Management dimension points to an important value at work - ethics. If managers are ethical, it will be easy to manage work as people comply according to set of rules.

Even if EI is still a relatively new concept, I can say that in the western part of the world, EI education and testing have been prevalent. Currently, many explorations are being partaken to magnify the veracity of the established measurement tools and structured programs. We can essentially do the same in GCC/UAE. The survey instruments provide feedback about employees' competencies related to customer service. This can block customer traffic.

Indeed, if one is reflective of his day-to-day activities and has been given the opportunity to be exposed to constant interaction in groups, the higher EI one can possibly have. Being exposed to structured EI training programs can indeed help a person to bring out the best in him.

As of now, there are survey instruments that can measure EI and job performance of employees that can be used in the GCC/UAE corporate settings. The survey instruments are valid across culture and can generate specific data that can lead to the creation of structured EI training programs. Once the soft skills training programs are in place, employees can better discover their strengths and can unveil their opportunities for further growth.

Guide Questions

1. Discuss how emotional intelligence has been fundamental to interpersonal skills as part of people management. Explain, give an example to support your answer.

2. In reference to the article, explain why emotional intelligence serves as an important trait of a leader in managing people in today's digital world.

3. How can emotional intelligence (EI)-based programs in HR take place? How do these EI-based programs help improve the systems of the workplace in the UAE/GCC and in your current work in particular?