Emotional Intelligence (Attitude Counts)

Is an employee's attitude more important than his/her skills?  A study by Leadership IQ found that 46% of new hires are either fired or disciplined within their first 18 months.  And in a staggering 89% of those cases, the reason for the action isn't incompetence, but attitude; poor motivation, bad temperament, or emotional issues.  Sometimes it's not about ability - it's about attitude.  Depending on what you read, sometimes the employees with attitudes aren't aware that there is a problem - it's just their way.  Is there a communication issue?  Sometimes it's not what is said, but the manner in which it is said.  So, is it a style issue? 

Your new hire has excellent skills, training and education.  And yet, they are not successful.  Perhaps the missing part of this success equation (High IQ = significant academic performance, professional and personal success) is Emotional Intelligence.

In a 2011 survey, CareerBuilder found that 34% of hiring managers placed a greater emphasis on Emotional Intelligence (EI) when it came to hiring or promoting employees.  71% of hiring managers valued EI in an employee more than IQ.  59% would not hire someone with low Emotional Intelligence.

Emotional Intelligence is an individuals ability to perceive, control and evaluate emotions.  It is the area of cognitive ability involving traits and social skills that facilitate interpersonal behavior.  It brings compassion and humanity to work.  It affects how we manage our behavior, navigate social complexities or make personal decisions.  It is our ability to use awareness of emotions to stay flexible and positively direct behavior.

To ensure that your new hire has what it takes to be successful, it's important to incorporate testing for Emotional Intelligence during the interview process.  What's the benefit of hiring an employee who can't recognize how their behavior impacts (or alienates) their supervisor, co-workers or customers?  As a manager, you need to identify those candidates that have well-developed emotional and social skills and who understand how their words and actions influence their colleagues. Where possible, incorporate behavior testing in your interview process.  Take the time to identify:

• The candidates' self-awareness and ability to self-regulate; 
• Their ability to learn from mistakes; and, 
• Their ability to read other peoples emotions and understand the impact of their behavior on their colleagues.

In closing, what's your Emotional Intelligence?