Emotional Intelligence

Daniel Goleman (1995) outlines five skills involved in emotional intelligence:

• being aware of one’s emotions
• managing those emotions
• motivating oneself
• empathizing
• relating well with others in a group

He explains that these skills can be learned just like other skills. Research supports Daniel Goleman’s idea that emotional Intelligence can be taught. People can change their emotional intelligence levels by developing specific skills and tools to manage their positive and negative emotions, handle difficulties and frustrations calmly without being defeated by them, direct motivation in a positive way and relate to others in a supportive manner. These skills can be developed through modelling, direct instruction and coaching.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to monitor one’s own and other people’s emotions, to discriminate between different emotions and label them appropriately, and to use emotional information to guide thinking and behaviour.^[1]

• The ability model, developed by Peter Salovey and John Mayer, focuses on the individual’s ability to process emotional information and use it to navigate the social environment.^[2]
• The trait model as developed by Konstantin Vasily Petrides, “encompasses behavioral dispositions and self- perceived abilities and is measured through self -report”.^[3]
• The mixed model is a combination of both ability and trait EI. It defines EI as an array of skills and characteristics that drive leadership performance, as proposed by Daniel Goleman.^[4]

Studies have shown that people with high EI have greater mental health, exemplary job performance, and more potent leadership skills. Markers of EI and methods of developing it have become more widely coveted in the past few decades. In addition, studies have begun to provide evidence to help characterize the neural mechanisms of emotional intelligence.