Tim Concannon
February 1, 2009
MBA 6630 – Leading Teams
Issue Paper #1 – Emotional IQ
There are half a million web pages on “emotional intelligence,” and everyone wants to claim the “right’ definition, so how many definitions do we need? EQ Today asked the world’s top experts and researchers to explain emotional intelligence. The conclusion: “There is an intelligence based on emotion, and people who have this capacity are less depressed, healthier, more employable, and have better relationships.”
It all began about 2,000 years ago when Plato wrote, “All learning has an emotional base.” Since then, scientists, educators, and philosophers have worked to prove or disprove the importance of feelings. Unfortunately, for a large part of those 2,000 years, common thought was, “Emotions are in the way. They keep s from making good decisions, and they keep us from focusing.”
There is ongoing discussion about the origins of “EQ,” but Peter Salovey and John “Jack” Mayer wrote an article in 1990 called “Emotional Intelligence.” The article defined EQ as a scientifically testable “intelligence.” They have gone on to publish numerous articles, and their definition of EQ has evolved to: “Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive emotions; to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought; to understand emotions and emotional knowledge; and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth.” In other words, there are four parts; 1) Perceive or sense emotions, 2) Use emotions to assist thought, 3) Understand emotions, 4) Manage emotions.
Many of us get caught up in emotions that lead us to unproductive ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving? Emotional intelligence affects just a bout everything you do at work whether in a solitary setting or in a room with other people. How well you work has a lot to do with how well you discipline and motivate yourself.
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