Theory and Practice

Emotional Intelligence has been gaining some traction in business literature as of recent. Authors such as Daniel Goleman have written extensively on the topic. Nonetheless, famous texts such as “how to win friends and influence people” published as early as 1936 by Dale Carnegie encapsulated many of the themes described and outlined in Goleman’s recent studies.

Emotional intelligence is born largely in the neurotransmitters of the brains limbic system. Governing feelings, impulses and drives. The neocortex governs analytical and technical ability (concepts and logic).

Which experiences in your personal and public life do you feel have contributed to your growth in this subject? Do you feel you lack or excel when it comes to emotional intelligence? Can emotional intelligence be learned?

All of the above are questions which one may ask. The essay below will look into the theory of each competency which form a part of emotional intelligence in general. I will then use specific examples from my experience in order to construct a “emotional mosaic” of my career to date. Hopefully, such an approach will appeal to your limbic system and help us navigate through our experiences within the workplace.

Dale Carnigie’s work “how to win friends and influence people” touches upon how we as individuals need to show “genuine interest” for people’s stories. Having “genuine interest” for individuals who you work with is not something which can be measured tangibly. Nor will a workshop that emphasis on understanding the “concept of emotional intelligence” improve high emotional intelligence. These programmes incorporate a neocortical approach. Programmes which focus on the limbic system also need to be commercial viable.

The five components of emotional intelligence in the workplace

Self – Awareness  – The ability to recognize and understand your moods, emotions and drives, as well as their effect on others

Benefits : Self-confidence, realistic self-assessment, self-deprecating sense of humour (shows  a “human side” to their group).

Self – Regulation : The ability to control or redirect disruptive impulses and moods. The propensity to suspend judgement. To think before acting.

Benefits: Trustworthiness and integrity. Comfort with ambiguity. Openness to change

Motivation : A passion to work for reasons that go beyond money or status. A propensity to pursue goals with energy and persistence

Benefits : Strong drive to achieve. Optimism. Organizational commitment.

Empathy : The ability to understand the emotional makeup of other people. Skill in treating people according to their emotional reactions.

Benefits : Expertise in building and retaining talent. Cross-cultural sensitivity. Service to clients and customers.

Social Skill: Proficiency in managing relationships and building networks. An ability to find common ground and build rapport

Benefits: effectiveness in leading change, Persuasiveness

The Goldman’s experience – Social Skill and Self awareness

The diagram shows the typical trade life cycle. Processes can be learned, memorised and implemented. Process are in fact vital in middle office operational settings. However, from my experience it is incredibly important to make decisions for the betterment of your colleagues and organisation. These decisions become good decisions when they are taken by individuals with high EQ ( Emotional Quotient) who are available to be aware of all the happenings around them regarding their company and colleagues.  My role was in fixed income allocations. I would ensure all trades were settled and allocated to the correct funds. This would mean that I needed to liaise constantly with the front office to rectify any issues (un-booked trades, incorrectly allocated trades)

In general, the role of middle office operatives includes a mix of technical and other social skills

• Speaking to clients while paying attention to their time zone, location and specific moods
• Communicating to front office and informing them if trades have settled
• Initiating conversations within the team (failed trades specialist, software technicians

At Goldman Sachs London I was blessed enough to work with an extremely multi-cultural team of people. We all had different backgrounds (social and educational) and each of us would have a specific role within operations. One insight with regards to this experience was the ability to see how speaking to individuals across the world in an operations role led me to build a mind map and a personalised approach to each client and staff member.

 For example, 9pm in our London office would mean that it was 1pm in our San Francisco offices. Naturally, after a long day many of us in the middle office environment would have experienced a prolonged secretion of cortisol (stress hormone) while our colleagues in San Francisco were just getting into the midday period. Recognising each other’s moods and at the same time cooperating to fix problems together was an important part of our job. This could be seen as having empathy. Having the skill in treating people according to their emotional reactions.

While covering two time zones each day I would speak to clients from across the world. Each had their own perception on what was urgent, however, it was vital for me to manage expectations and keep these clients informed as well as the front office staff who relied on such clients. Self-awareness in this role was extremely important. The ability to recognise what one can and cannot do. Knowing one’s emotions, drives, values, weaknesses and also capacity. Candour (frankness and openness) was encouraged in this role. Leaders were constantly required to make judgement calls that require a candid assessment of capabilities which include their own and others. As a team we would work together constantly.

Team members were not discouraged for being open about their capacity. At times certain teammates would express to the whole team that they needed urgent assistance with allocating certain trade. Colleagues would then work together to assist with the allocations process, easing the burden from other colleagues.  Some executives mistake candour for “wimpiness” and “not being tough enough” to lead others. Nonetheless, candour will be appreciated by those who would rather have the facts on the grounds presented to them as earliest as possible to make judgement calls which are based off transparency.  

Self-Regulation Theory:

1. Stimuli are presented (i.e., something happens that provokes a reaction, whether it’s a thought, something another person said, receiving significant news, etc.);
2. The individual makes sense of the stimuli, both cognitively (understanding it) and emotionally (feeling it);
3. The sense-making leads the individual to choose coping responses (i.e., what the person does to influence their feelings about the stimuli or the actions they take to address the stimuli)
4. The sense-making and coping responses determine the outcomes (i.e., the individual’s overall response and how he/she chooses to behave);
5. The individual evaluates there coping responses and in light of these outcomes and determines whether to continue using the same coping responses or to alter there formula.

Self-regulation in any role is extremely important. An individual who could keep their emotions in check can resist impulsive behaviours. The model above helps us understand self-regulation better. An example of how this played out in my experience would be from the below.

On average we would receive 400 emails throughout our whole shift. Most of the tasks set out in the emails wouldn’t require significant time to action out. The separation of our immediate impulses and long-term desires (or in this case daily targets) was required of us as operational analysts. Each client mattered and each trade would have to get allocated. Nonetheless, naturally some trades were prioritized in terms of importance. While covering two time zones our team (based in London) was awaiting for the markets in New York to open (9am EST time). Due to technical difficulties certain trades were not settled in the morning and a huge wave of requests came in at 2pm GMT time.

Cognitively, the team lead understood that the workload was extremely high and had flowed into the systems during the afternoon. Emotionally, he understood this would effect his team heavily as it had been a difficult week. The team lead knew based off understanding his team and how they worked that it would be best to call a quick five-minute talk. He explained to his team that he appreciated all their efforts during the whole week

The leader of the team took the following efforts. He pulled together the team together in a huddle and spoke to them and informed them of the strategy for that afternoon. Based off similar experiences and taking the time to understand his team the team lead was able to process stimuli and action out a plan based off such stimuli. Evaluating his decision after the event happened the team lead was able to tweak his approach. Nonetheless, overall his connection to the team assisted him when his team was presented with a immediate problem.

Motivation – Self Determination Theory

“Perhaps no single phenomenon reflects the positive potential of human nature as much as intrinsic motivation, the inherent tendency to seek out novelty and challenges, to extend and exercise one’s capacities, to explore, and to learn” (Ryan & Deci, 2000, p. 3).

Pursuing goals within the workplace and outside the workplace with energy and persistence is a sought-out skill. To display an unflagging energy towards tasks at hand while at the same time remaining inquisitive is a hallmark of individuals with a high EQ.  Nonetheless, this chapter will look at self determination theory and how different motivation types (extrinsic vs intrinsic motivation) are drawn upon by individuals in the workplace. I will then proceed to include a few personal examples.

Traditionally psychologists have looked at motivation as something which differs in amount. It is either being motivated or lack thereof. The quality of motivation is extremely important. A good example of this would be in a work setting whereby two colleagues are given a report. One person reads the report by memorising the content, while the other individual aims to read the report and looking at the themes of the report and looks at the report in a conceptual way (attempting to understand the big picture). The quality of their learning was extremely different and we cannot explain this by measuring the “amount of motivation” each individual has.  

Different types of motivation exist as seen in the diagram above. Intrinsic motivation is usually categorized as motivations based on internal motivations such as joy and your interests. Extrinsic motivation arises from the expectation of punishment or reward (carrot and stick) These external incentives could be praise, monetary incentive among other factors.  Some examples of the extrinsic motivation can be seen below.

1. External regulation

A parent takes their child to a piano lesson. The child is not so fond of the piano lesson nonetheless, they went as they were pressured by their parents to go.

• Introjected regulation

Your colleague has just landed a new position at a particular company and has organised a get together. You do not feel mentally in the right mind state to socialise due to other factors. Nonetheless, you push yourself to attend the event as you would feel guilty if you did not meet him.

• Identified regulation

You are dealing with a task which you may feel uncomfortable with you however, you know the reward of completing that task would benefit you. While you may not enjoy the task, the reward kept you motivated

• Integrated regulation

Brushing your teeth, counting your calories. These are tasks which may not provide you with pleasure however, these tasks are important to an individual and self-inflicted.

How can we create the conditions within which people will motivate themselves? Autonomy support. When you are an autonomous motivated, your behaviour will be more creative. Your performance will be better and you will be able to think outside the box.

By providing autonomy support leaders can help create the conditions in which people will motivate themselves. This can be done by asking the individuals, what is their perspective is to understand what their internal frame of reference is.  Providing individuals with a choice also helps people achieve their goals regarding a heightened level intrinsic motivation.

Quality of Motivation – Autonomous motivation vs Controlled motivation

Self-determination theory (SDT) as mentioned at the start of this chapter does not focus solely on the amount of motivation but also considers its quality. Below I will explain a specific example of autonomous motivation in the workplace. We can then begin to paint a picture of why autonomous motivation is higher in terms of quality output compared to controlled motivation.

While working for Deloitte, I came across many different approaches when it came to studying tax regulation and law. I could make a clear distinction between those who approached the law from a conceptual standpoint and those who approached learning tax law through the prism of memorisation. In my experience I would always attempt to learn the law by looking at the bigger picture. I would attempt to look at certain nuances especially when it came to definitions within the tax law and regulation.

For example, in a training session I offered to my colleagues I specifically touched upon the lack of clarity with a specific article in the KSA implementing regulations. Article 33 of the KSA implementing regulations looked at the exceptions to the zero-rate tax treatment in the KSA tax law.

Nonetheless, at the time of presenting one of the exceptions was not clear enough. What did “direct benefit” in the context of this article mean? What could we refer to in order to understand this article? I highlighted this to the team and explained that we needed to go further by looking at specific guidelines where certain terms from the article were discussed in further detail. Ultimately this helped contextualise the original reading of the VAT law. 

Conclusively, such exercise helped identify ambiguities that may have been missed through route memorization. By reading the law and looking at it conceptually (how the article fits in the bigger picture) we were able to problem solve much easier. Such an exercise wouldn’t have been possible through the former type of learning (route-memorization). The type of motivation used in this task was autonomous in nature as opposed to controlled.  The yearn to understand the law through such a prism was present.

Empathy – Developing others

Empathy is a key quality for leaders. However, empathy like many other components of emotional intelligence is difficult to quantify and measure.  Nonetheless, it is extremely important competency to have in the workplace. Organizing groups, negotiating solutions, personal connections and social analysis are all important components of interpersonal intelligence. All of which would involve empathy as a skill set. Howard Gardner, a developmental psychologist based at Harvard touches upon these components.

Organizing groups – An essential skill of a leader, this involves initiating and coordinating the efforts of a network of people

Negotiating solutions – The talent of a negotiator, preventing conflicts and resolving those that flare up. Such individuals thrive in mediating disputes. Diplomacy, arbitration and/or as middlemen of takeovers.

Personal connections – Assisted by having empathy individuals who can connect with others are usually those who can recognise and respond fittingly to people’s feelings. The art of a relationship in a sense. We can see this skill already develop at childhood. Usually these are the children who are best at reading emotions from facial expressions

Social analysis – Individuals who have this skill generally are able to have an insight about people’s feelings, motives and concerns. Individuals who possess such skill can map out many social situations and contexts. Ranging from the micro level to the wider state level.

Cross cultural experiences also enhance an individuals EQ. Recognising methods of expression and taking part in daily life abroad help individuals realise the emotional make up of individuals around them and their reactions. The role of emotion used in language learning in addition to living abroad is also something to be noted. Learning a new language is about transformation of oneself, not just adding words/sounds and rules. When an individual combines language learning along with immersing oneself in foreign environment new neural pathways are created in the brain and the limbic system is stimulated.

How can these qualities and competencies which are a part of empathy help individuals in the workplace?  Well by understanding the emotional make up of your team you can assist in coaching/mentoring but also building relationships based on mutual benefit.

In all my previous experiences I have had a colleague who has turned into a friend. This is not something which was strategically planned to further a type of agenda rather, relationships which were built on mutual interests and experiences. The genuine element of such relationships ensured that they would withstand the test of time, physical distance among other factors. Having empathy does not mean one takes on all the emotions of another individual, rather it is a tool which helps us navigate through certain social situations.

In Deloitte, I worked extremely closely with my team and developed a friendship with a colleague who on paper was very different to me in terms of social behaviour. Nonetheless, we built a friendship based on mutual interests. This went beyond helping each other materially but also recognising each other and our personalities. In the workplace this assisted us and the team as we were able to approach tasks with rigour and problem solve effectively together. Problem solving in this context was heightened, a direct result of the empathy used to develop the friendship which initially started in the workplace. Such cooperation had a direct impact in improving workplace happiness and staff retention.

When we build teams, we need to fit our team around the individual’s strength. This is how we provide autonomy support to individuals, which will intern boost the feeling of autonomy each colleague has. Naturally, our colleagues will come from different backgrounds with their own respective emotional make up which is specific to the individual. Some may be introverted while others may be extroverted. By understanding their emotional make up we can tweak our approach and create an inclusive workplace and team. 

On average careers last over a period of a few decades. It is important that through one’s working life that we develop professionally but also personally. By taking such competencies of emotional intelligence into consideration along with the examples presented we can attempt to build our emotional quotient by engaging our limbic system. We now understand the theory, lets attempt to put this into practice for the betterment of ourselves and those around us.

Works Cited

Harvard Business Review – The Essentials

Emotional Intelligence – Why it can matter more than IQ (Daniel Goleman, 1996)

https://positivepsychology.com/self-regulation/. (n.d.).

Promoting Motivation, Health, and Excellence: Ed Deci at TEDx Flour City . (2012, August 14). [Video]. YouTube