Unit 1 Emotional and Social Intelligence

Overview

Since time began in the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had to manage the conflict that existed: should we eat the forbidden fruit or not? Through the centuries to the current day, we are still learning how best to manage conflicts. Our first step is to understand oneself, our emotions, how we operate as human beings and to understand why we do what we do. This takes us to our emotional and social intelligence.

In terms of its impact, Emotional Intelligence is “the single biggest predictor of performance in the workplace and the strongest driver of leadership and personal excellence” (Bradberry, 2014, para. 3).

Theories of Emotional Intelligence gained popularity in the 1990s, at which time Salovey and Mayer (1990) described it as “the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and action” (as cited in Velisavljevic, 2015, Definition section, para. 1).

Essentially, this definition places emotions at the center of everything that we do.

Salovey and Mayer (1997) later expanded their definition, noting that Emotional Intelligence involves:

  • the ability to perceive accurately, appraise, and express emotion;
  • the ability to access and/or generate feelings when they facilitate thought;
  • the ability to understand emotion and emotional knowledge; and
  • the ability to regulate emotions to promote emotional and intellectual growth. (As cited in Velisavljevic, 2015, Definition section, para. 5)

This expanded definition essentially links Emotional Intelligence to our ability to perceive, express, and regulate ourselves and to empathize with others.

When considering Emotional Intelligence, it is helpful to look at the work of Daniel Goleman (2004) who expanded upon Salovey and Mayer’s earlier findings.

Goleman (2004) added five key competencies that drive Emotional Intelligence:

  • self-awareness,
  • self-regulation,
  • motivation,
  • empathy, and
  • social skills (p. 88).

Goleman describes self-awareness as “the ability to recognize and understand your moods, emotions, and drives, as well as their effect on others” (p. 88)—in other words, our ability to truly understand ourselves.

Self-regulation is defined as “the ability to control or redirect disruptive impulses and moods” (Goleman 2004, p. 88), and how well we control our emotions and feelings is at the heart of self-regulation.

Motivation is defined as “a passion to work for reasons that go beyond money or status” (Goleman, 2004, p. 88).

With regards to motivation, Goleman (2004) also highlights the importance of persistence and resilience.

Finally, Goleman (2004) defines empathy as “the ability to understand the emotional makeup of other people” (p. 88), and social skills as “proficiency in managing relationships and building networks. An ability to find common ground and build rapport” (p. 88).

Topics

This unit is divided into the following topics:

  1. Understanding Emotional Intelligence
  2. Understanding Self and Others

Learning Outcomes

When you have completed this unit, you should be able to:

  • Explain Emotional Intelligence and its impact on responses to conflict & leadership
  • Identify the interconnectedness among SDT, Ethical Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, & Servant Leadership

Activity Checklist

Here is a checklist of learning activities you will benefit from in completing this unit. You may find it useful for planning your work.

  • Create Course Learning Pods: Follow instructions from your course facilitator or instructor to form small groups of 3-4 people to discuss course content throughout Units 1-5
  • Article Discussion: Read the article, “5 Key Emotional Intelligence Skills” and discuss & reflect the following questions with your learning pod.
  • TED TALK Analysis: Listen to the TED Talk by Dr. Daniel Goleman on “Compassion”. Follow the instructions following as you discuss, share and reflect.
  • Animated Video Clips Review and Analysis : Look at the two short video clips: a)’Developing Emotional Intelligence” by MindTools production & b) Animated Video on “Empathy” by Dr. Brene Brown. Discuss with your learning pod.
  • Self Assessment: Take the self-assessment offered free by MindTools by responding to the 15 statements. Study and reflect on the immediate results that will be provided for you. Share with your learning pod.
  • Article Analysis: Read the article ’Self and Identity” by Dan P. McAdams (2022). Answer the questions in the section and share results in your learning pod.
  • Article Analysis: Discuss with your learning pod and write your first forum based on the given prompt.

Note that the learning activities in this course are ungraded, unless specified. They are designed to help you succeed in your assessments in this course, so you are strongly encouraged to complete them.

Assessment

  • Discussion Forum 1 (5% )

Resources

Here are the resources you will need to complete this unit.

  • Explicating the Synergies of Self-Determination Theory, Ethical Leadership, Servant Leadership, and Emotional Intelligence by Lumpkin, A., & Achen, R. M. (2018). Journal of Leadership Studies
  • Other online resources will be provided in the unit.

1.1 Understanding Emotional Intelligence

In terms of its impact, Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is “the single biggest predictor of performance in the workplace and the strongest driver of leadership and personal excellence” (Bradberry, 2014, para. 3). You can be smart enough to have a 4.0+ GPA in your academic endeavours but it will not predict your ability to lead well. Emotionally intelligent people understand themselves and they understand people.

Activity: Create Course Learning Pods

Throughout the course, you will meet in dedicated learning pods to discuss course content. This is an opportunity to engage in collaborative dialogue, ask questions about difficult concepts, and recreate elements of team leadership and conflict negotiation.

During each unit, your learning pod will discuss key ideas and concepts from dedicated topics. Throughout the course, students will post four reflections in Moodle forums. These posts should integrate readings and resources from the unit, new understandings from learning pod discussions, and specific plans for personal application of team leadership principles. Be sure to end your post with a lingering question to advance the discussion and respond to at least two posts by your peers.

At the beginning of Unit 1, your course facilitator or instructor will help you create learning pods of 3-4 people. You will remain in the same learning pod for the duration of the course. At your first meeting, get to know your colleagues and set guidelines for scheduling future meetings, communicating with team members, and expectations for participation and engagement.

Activity: Article Discussion

Read the article, “5 Key Emotional Intelligence Skills” and discuss & reflect the following questions with your learning pod:

  • How do you improve your emotional intelligence skills
  • What emotional intelligence skills are important in managing conflicts
  • How are emotional intelligence skills connected to interpersonal skills?

Note that the learning activities in this course are ungraded, unless specified. They are designed to help you succeed in your assessments in this course, so you are strongly encouraged to complete them.

Activity: TED TALK Analysis

Watch TED TALK by Daniel Goleman on “Compassion” where he asks why we aren’t more compassionate more of the time.

After watching the video:

  • Discuss with your learning pod the various applications and illustrations that were shared by Dr. Goleman.

  • How can you grow in compassion?

  • What other biblical examples are there that are similar to Dr. Goleman’s illustrations?

Activity: Animated Video Clips Review and Analysis

Watch the following short MindTools Video on Developing Emotional Intelligence and the animated video clip on “Empathy” by Dr. Brenne Brown. Then, discuss and reflect on what was shared in both videos and what practical ways you can increase your emotional intelligence through empathy.

1.2 Understanding Self and Others

In the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, the ancient Greeks inscribed the words: “Know thyself.” For at least 2,500 years, and probably longer, human beings have pondered the meaning of the ancient aphorism. Over the past century, psychological scientists have joined the effort. They have formulated many theories and tested countless hypotheses that speak to the central question of human selfhood: How does a person know who he or she is? (McAdams, 2022).

Emotional intelligence is the capacity to use the knowledge our emotions supply to respond wisely despite the problems we experience on a daily basis (Lemisiou, 2018). As a result, emotionally intelligent people are self-aware persons who can understand and control their emotions and actions in order to demonstrate greater empathy for others. For effective leadership and success, emotional intelligence is essential. Social intelligence is the ability to understand oneself and how other people feel. In other words, it is a skill that enables one to build and navigate social relationships successfully.

Daniel Goleman proposes five fundamental competencies of emotional and social intelligence: social awareness, relationship management, self-regulation, and self-awareness (Lemisiou, 2018). Self-awareness is defined as the ability to perceive one’s strengths and flaws, as well as to comprehend and control one’s emotions (Lemisiou, 2018). Understanding your objectives, personal values, fear, constraints, and beliefs are also important (Lemisiou, 2018). Even when external forces challenge their function, a self-aware leader determines what is crucial to them and responds efficiently to avoid acting uncontrollably without first assessing the situation. Self-management or self-control is the ability to maintain one’s disruptive impulses and emotions under hostile or stressful conditions. A leader who practices self-management focuses on accomplishing the tasks at hand despite any stressful situation.

On the other hand, self-awareness is an emotional and social intelligence competency that involves empathy (Lemisiou, 2018). Empathy is the ability to sense another person’s emotions and feelings and understand or take an active interest in how they will impact the concern or situation (Lemisiou, 2018). Relationship management entails positively guiding or handling other people’s emotions (Lemisiou, 2018).

Activity: Self Assessment

After you have watched the MindTools video in previous Activity: “Animated Video Clips Review and Analysis”, this FREE Mindtools Emotional Intelligence Assessement will further help you to understand how you can grow your emotional intelligence skills. As you evaluate the 15 statements, remember to evaluate as you actually are, rather than as you think you should be.

After studying and reflecting on your results, discuss with your learning pods practical ways you plan on increasing your emotional intelligence skills.

Activity: Article Analysis

Read the article “Self and Identity” by Dan P. McAdams (2022).

Questions to Consider

  • Back in the 1950s, Erik Erikson argued that many adolescents and young adults experience a tumultuous identity crisis. Do you think this is true today? What might an identity crisis look and feel like? And, how might it be resolved?

  • Many people believe that they have a true self buried inside of them. From this perspective, the development of self is about discovering a psychological truth deep inside. Do you believe this to be true? How does thinking about the self as an actor, agent, and author bear on this question?

  • By the time they reach adulthood, does everybody have a narrative identity? Do some people simply never develop a story for their life?

  • To what extent can we control the self? Are some features of selfhood easier to control than others?

  • What cultural differences may be observed in the construction of the self? How might gender, ethnicity, and class impact the development of the self as actor, as agent, and as author?

Discuss your answers with your learning pod this week. Note that your first Forum will be based on the above discussion

Activity: Article Analysis

Read the article

Read the article “Explicating the Synergies of Self-Determination Theory, Ethical Leadership, Servant Leadership, and Emotional Intelligence”

  • Discuss your findings with your learning pod
  • How Self-Determination Theory, Ethical Leadership, Servant Leadership, and Emotional Intelligence are all connected?

Unit 1 Summary

In this first unit, you have had the opportunity to learn about the importance of emotional intelligence and unlike your intelligence quotient (IQ), you can grow and develop your emotional intelligence (EQ). You learned how emotional intelligence affects your entire being, and it all begins in knowing yourself and understanding its impact on responses to conflict & leadership.

You learned how the five key competencies (self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills) drive Emotional Intelligence. You explored how Self-Determination Theory, Ethical Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, & Servant Leadership were all interconnected.

Assessment

Please locale under the “Assessment” tab all information including instructions, rubrics, forums, and dropboxes for the following assignments.

Video Introduction

Record a video where you briefly share about yourself and how you approach conflict and how you respond to conflict.

Length: One to two minutes in length.

Discussion Forum 1

After completing this unit, including the learning activities, you are asked to write a forum post based on the selected readings/class discussions, including a lingering question to further the dialogue & respond to two of your colleagues.

All information, including instructions, rubrics, forums, and dropboxes, are located under the “Assessment” tab.

Checking your Learning

Before you move on to the next unit, you may want to check to make sure that you are able to:

  • Explain Emotional Intelligence and its impact on responses to conflict & leadership

  • See the interconnectedness among Self-Determination Theory, Ethical Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, & Servant Leadership.

References

Bradberry, T. (2014, January 9). Emotional intelligence—EQ. Forbes.