Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence Learning Application Research Paper

Shawn Gust

College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University

Management 301 Organizational Behavior

Introduction

After completing the “What’s My Emotional Intelligence” assessment and exploring the concepts from Chapter 8 I have realized there is much value to be gained from researching the development of emotional intelligent and its influence on the function of organizations. This research paper will develop a full understanding of emotional intelligence by providing a complete definition of the term; present research findings, offer criticisms as to why emotional intelligence has not been widely accepted as a study, and analyze the value of emotional intelligence to leaders and managers. Also, this research paper will provide a reflection that analyzes and interprets the results of the “What’s My Emotional Intelligence Assessment” while developing ways to leverage emotional intelligence in business.

Definition of Emotional Intelligence

The most basic definition of emotional intelligence is, “The ability to detect and to manage emotional cues and information”. (Judge, 2009) The author of our textbook takes this a step further by defining emotional intelligence as a person’s ability to: “(1) be self-aware, (2) detect emotions in others, and (3) manage emotional cues and information”. (Judge, 2009) The preceding definitions provide a broad context for understanding the term emotional intelligence, but the following definition from class lecture provides an in-depth definition: “An array of personal management and social skills that allow an individual to succeed personally and in the workplace”. (Kelley-Bowman, 2009) Although both definitions are rather broad, they consist of various socio-emotional skills and traits which are pertinent to best defining the term emotional intelligence.

According to our in-class exercises, emotional intelligence consists of five interrelated attributes:...