The Business Book

110

E M O T I O N A L

INTELLIGENCE IS

T H E I N T E R S E C T I O N

O F H E A R T A N D H E A D

DEVELOP EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

E

motional intelligence

(commonly abbreviated

as “EQ”, for emotional

quotient) is the ability to perceive,

control, and evaluate emotions,

both in oneself and in others. The

concept emerged from research

into social intelligence in the 1930s,

and from work in the 1970s on

different forms of intelligence. In

the 1990s, US psychologist Daniel

Goleman published the highly

influential Emotional Intelligence:

Why it Can Matter More Than IQ.

In the book he identified the five

“domains” of emotional intelligence:

knowing your emotions; managing

your emotions; motivating yourself;

recognizing and understanding

other people’s emotions; and

managing relationships.

Goleman pinpoints high EQ as

a common trait among effective

business leaders. Without emotional

intelligence, he argues, a leader can

have limitless energy and ideas, a

perceptive and logical mind, and

impressive qualifications, but still be

ineffective and uninspiring.

Goleman cites Bob Mulholland,

head of client relations at Merrill

Lynch during the 9/11 attacks, as a

leader with high EQ. After his staff

saw a plane hit the twin building

opposite their own, they began to

panic—some ran from window to

window, and others were paralyzed

with fear. His first response was to

“unfreeze” their panic by addressing

each of their concerns individually.

He then calmly told them that they

were all going to leave the building,

via the stairs, and that they all had

time to get out. He remained calm

and decisive, but did not minimize

people’s emotional responses. All

his staff escaped without injury.

This was a rare and unusual context,

but Mulholland’s approach shows

the value of EQ in managing staff

in any form of volatile situation.

IN CONTEXT

FOCUS

Emotional intelligence

KEY DATES

c.400 BCE The philosopher

Plato says that all learning

has an emotional base.

1930s US psychologist

Edward Thorndike describes

the concept of “social

intelligence”—the ability to

get along with other people.

1983 US psychologist Howard

Gardner suggests that people

have multiple intelligences,

including interpersonal,

musical, spatial-visual,

and linguistic.

1990 US psychologists Peter

Salovey and John Mayer

publish the first formal theory

of emotional intelligence.

1995 Daniel Goleman

publishes Emotional

Intelligence: Why It Can

Matter More Than IQ, which

becomes a global best seller.

The most effective

leaders are alike in one

crucial way: they all

have a high degree of

emotional intelligence.

Daniel Goleman