Impact of Emotional Intelligence Development on Performance Improvement

Emotional intelligence is defined as “a set of emotional and social skills that influence the way we perceive and express ourselves, develop and maintain social relationships, cope with challenges, and use emotional information in an effective and meaningful way.”

Emotional Intelligence is proven to be a key indicator of human performance and development. People higher in EI communicate effectively, form strong relationships, and create powerful coping strategies. EI can be measured – more accessibly and less controversially than IQ – and unlike IQ, it can be substantially strengthened and developed.

Our behaviour is a result of the way we think and feel. And the way we behave influence the results that we obtain. Changing behaviour and achieve different results means to change emotions and the way we think.

While emotional intelligence isn’t the sole predictor of human performance and development potential, it is proven to be a key indicator in these areas. Emotional intelligence is also not a static factor — to the contrary, one’s emotional intelligence can change over time and can be developed in targeted areas.

For almost 20 years, consultants and organizations have trusted the science that underpins the EQ-i 2.0® (and its predecessor the EQ-i 1.0) to help improve human performance.

The EQ-i 2.0 is a psychometric assessment which measures emotional intelligence (EI) and how it can impact people and the workplace.

Being the first scientifically validated measure of EI, coupled with research from premier organizations, means you can count on the EQ-i 2.0 to add robustness and accuracy to your talent management initiatives.

The EQ -i 2.0 model is based on the EQ-i model created by Dr. Reuven Bar-on, one of the pioneers most prestigious area of emotional intelligence. EQ-i means Emotional Quotient Inventory.

The EQ-i 2.0 features one overarching EI score (Total EI), broken down into five composite scores which measure five distinct aspects of emotional and social functioning. These in turn, are broken down into a total of 15 subscales.

A Well-Being Indicator that measures the client’s level of happiness; resulting in additional development opportunities.

The measured scales are:

Intra-personal
Self expression
Interpersonal Relations
Decision Making
Stress Management
The availability of this information allows the participant to gain an understanding of their strengths and areas for improvement in emotional terms, so that they can put in place action plans for development in the most critical areas.

Major applications of EQ-i2.0®

Employee Development.
The EQ-i 2.0 measures the interaction between a person and the environment he/she operates in. Assessing and evaluating an individual’s emotional intelligence can help establish the need for targeted development programs and measures. This, in turn, can lead to dramatic increases in the person’s performance, interaction with others, and leadership potential. The development potentials the EQ-i 2.0 identifies, along with the targeted strategies it provides, make it a highly effective employee development tool.

Teams and Groups Development.
Regardless of whether a group works harmoniously with great collaboration and cohesion, or finds itself with conflicting opinions and strategies that can affect the balance of a group, EQ-i can be used when looking for deeper insights into a group’s strengths as well as areas where the group can be more e ective. Implications at an organisational level can be examined and strategies for action can further develop the group’s potential.

Recruitment and Retention.
The EQ-i 2.0 is versatile in workplace environments and can be used by employers — via HR and OD consultants, psychologists, or EQ-i 2.0 certified professionals — as a screening tool in hiring, leading to the selection of emotionally intelligent, emotionally healthy, and the most-likely successful employees.

Supplemented by other sources of information, such as interviews, the EQ-i 2.0 can make the recruitment and selection process more reliable and efficient. A sound recruiting process leads to higher retention rates and reduced turnover which can result in significant cost savings, improved employee effectiveness and increased morale.

Leadership.
“If you’re a leader and you want to mobilize your team, one of the first things you can do…is listen to them. Empathy is a critical skill to begin with for leaders because by listening to people and understanding where they’re coming from, you’ll have a better handle on how to motivate those people and what’s important to them…That’s the first step in your ability to influence people, and influencing people is a critical skill for leaders.” Dr. Steven Stein, CEO MHS

Coaching.
The EQ assessment tools enable coaches to better understand the emotional background of their clients in order to develop resonant relationships that involve the experience of hope, compassion and the arousal of meaning in their client’s life.

EQi tools help coaches to “Measure and Develop” their clients emotional intelligence in order to support them throughout their change process and in their journey of achieving their goals.

Identifying the current emotional state of a person and how that impacts the way they create and maintain relationships, the way they communicate, the way they make decisions and the way that manage stressful situations is key in achieving personal excellence.

Higher Education.
As a counselor working closely with students, it’s important to be able to leverage a tool that others insights into a student’s potential for academic success, can help in increasing retention within a chosen area of study, and aid in preparation for a future career path. While working with students andunderstanding their lifestyle, the Higher Education Report is helpful to counselors by providing awareness on a student’s emotional intelligence. To do so, three dynamic reports are available for their use: The Student Summary Report, The Student Comprehensive Report, and the Counselor’s Report.

Research: With almost 25% of fi rst-year students leaving before their sophomore year, post-secondary life and education can be challenging. Students often feel overwhelmed, lonely, isolated, and have di culty adjusting to the demands of college and university. Emotional intelligence is related to both grades and retention. Higher EI, specifi cally interpersonal and stress management skills, translate into better grades and increased persistence in post-secondary education.

HERI, 2012 /Keefer, Parker, & Wood, 2012/Richardson, Abraham, & Bond, 2012

Reliability and validity are important concepts to evaluate when selecting a psychological assessment for use in your business.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER FOR YOU?

While reliability and validity matter greatly from a scientific and statistical perspective, understanding how this translates into practical terms is crucial in order to effectively integrate the EQ-i 2.0 into your business. Knowing that the EQ-i 2.0 can reliably measure EI ensures that you can always count on the consistency of the tool. Further, knowing that the EQ-i 2.0 accurately measures EI, your development efforts will have meaningful impact on increasing EI and related outcomes (e.g., job performance, leadership competencies, intrapersonal skills, etc).

What follows is a simple and easy to understand summary of the reliability and validity evidence of the EQ-i 2.0®.

WHAT IS RELIABILITY?

The reliability of an assessment is often referred to as its consistency. That is, how consistent it is at measuring what it aims to measure. The two most important types of reliability for assessments are:

Internal Consistency. Refers to how well all the items of a certain scale measure the same idea
Test-Retest. Refers to how well the assessment can produce the same results over time for the same person.
Overall, the EQ-i 2.0 exhibits strong reliability, both in terms of internal consistency and test-retest This means that your clients’ scores will remain stable over time (unless development efforts are used to improve their scores) and that items measuring a certain subscale all tap into aspects of that subscale (e.g., all Empathy items are measuring the idea of Empathy).

WHAT IS VALIDITY?

Validity ensures the accuracy and usefulness of an assessment.

Although there are many different types of validity, they all focus on ensuring the assessment is measuring what it was designed to measure and whether it can predict important outcomes. However, it is important to understand that there is no single number to represent the validity of a test, it is assessed through the combination of several different types of validity evidence.

The EQ-i 2.0 was developed through an extensive process that ensured its content:

• Reflects the model and scope of EI

• Truly measures the concept of EI

• Has a structure that is dependable and applicable to a wide variety of contexts (e.g., development, coaching, leadership, etc.)

WHAT VALIDITY EVIDENCE IS THERE?

The EQ-i 2.0 was originally developed in North America but has been used in all regions of the world. The structure of the test, the consistency and accuracy of the items, and the results produced have been replicated across the globe and continues to enable a wide variety of cultures and languages to use the tool effectively to measure emotional intelligence.

Overall, the EQ-i 2.0 has extensive evidence supporting its external validity:

• It has been used to predict job performance

• EQ-i 2.0 skills can be used to predict and improve leadership competencies

• The underlying structure of the EQ-i 2.0 model holds up in different regions across the world

• The EQ-i 2.0 is based on a history of assessment research spanning decades

• The EQ-i 2.0 correlates with similar emotional and social measures (i.e., convergent validity) and has been shown to be unrelated to dissimilar constructs, like intelligence (i.e., discriminant validity)

The EQ-i 2.0 is now included in the Nineteenth Buros Mental Measurements Yearbook (MMY), published in 2014 and widely considered an important marker of proper test development. The inclusion of the EQ-i 2.0 in the Buros MMY and its positive review is an important milestone for the assessment and acknowledges the scientific rigour and effort that MHS has put into its development.