Emotional Intelligence: An Overrated Predictor?
Emotional intelligence is presented sometimes as the decisive managerial skill, sometimes as a catch-all concept. What do studies actually measure?
What Meta-Analyses Tell Us
Dana Joseph and Daniel Newman (2010, Journal of Applied Psychology) show that emotional intelligence is associated with performance, but that the link weakens considerably once cognitive intelligence and personality traits are controlled for. Its unique contribution exists, but it is more modest than prevailing discourse suggests.
The Measurement Problem
Self-report questionnaires and ability tests do not measure the same thing and correlate weakly with one another. Ernest O'Boyle and his colleagues (2011, Journal of Organizational Behavior) show that results depend largely on the instrument chosen.
Where the Link Is Most Plausible
The associations are clearer in roles with substantial interpersonal demands — service, care, frontline management — than in technical roles. Context therefore moderates the usefulness of the concept. (our executive and employee training programmes)
What This Means for Training
The promise that emotional intelligence training will transform performance is not supported by the data. There is greater support for working on observable behaviours — recognising an emotion during an interview, adjusting a response.
A Practical Implication That Can Be Tested in Lausanne
In a workshop, have participants re-enact a difficult interview and code their responses: paraphrasing, naming the emotion, or evasion. Progress is measured through these behaviours, not through a questionnaire score. This is the method we apply with teams in Lausanne. To go further: explore the Emotional Intelligence training in Lausanne in the canton of Vaud, or browse our executive and employee training programmes in Switzerland.
In pictures: Emotional Intelligence in Lausanne
- emotional intelligence
- Lausanne
- research
- training lausanne