Once seen as something avoided in making important life decisions, recent research and theories of emotional intelligence point to the interdependence of emotion and cognition in the decision-making process. Emotional intelligence as conceptualized by Mayer and Salovey consists of four interrelated abilities: (a) perceiving emotions, (b) using emotions to facilitate thoughts, (c) understanding emotions, and (d) managing emotions to enhance personal growth. It is hypothesized that such abilities facilitate the career decision-making process and lead to decisions that more fully satisfy career-related interests, values, and aspirations. Emotions experienced during this process have implications for the perception of risk related to specific career options, amount and kind of self-exploration individuals will engage in, and how information related to career choice will be processed. Also reviewed are issues of reliability and validity of the Multifactor Emotional Intelligence Scale and the implications of emotional intelligence for the career counseling process.
PurposeContinued research on the assessment and development of emotional and social intelligence competencies represents an opportunity to further both theoretical and applied applications of behavioral science to the management of human capital. While the field has continued to expand over the preceding decades, research has often trailed application, especially as it relates to cross‐cultural validity. The purpose of this introductory essay to this special issue of CCM serves to focus on cultural issues related to applied use of competencies in diverse cultures.Design/methodology/approachEmotional and social intelligence competencies are defined and an overview provided for the papers that will follow, with original research linking these constructs to performance in various occupations and cultures, as well as issues related to their development.FindingsEmotional and social intelligence competencies are found to represent a practical and theoretically coherent, reliable and valid approach to assessing and developing individuals in diverse cultures.Research limitations/implicationsAs an introductory essay, the paper lays the foundation for the following articles in this special issue.Originality/valueAlthough competencies are in widespread use around the world, issues related to cross‐cultural validation are seldom studied empirically. This introductory essay and subsequent articles will help clarify emotional and social competencies as a behavioral approach to applying emotional intelligence to the practical needs of organizations.
Purpose -The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, to add to the empirical literature related to the validity and practical utility of emotional, social, and cognitive competencies in the workplace. Second, using data from two different European samples, to demonstrate the methods for validating competency models for applied use. Third, to discuss the impact of role demands and culture on the manifestation of competencies most predictive of performance. Design/methodology/approach -The basic design used in both studies is to compare data from outstanding performers against data from typical or average performers in order to determine competencies which predict performance. The data presented here are based on operant assessment of competencies using critical incident interviews, which are then systematically coded using thematic analysis to yield behavioural evidence of specific competencies. Findings -The results indicate that, while some competencies such as achievement orientation and team leadership are consistently linked to performance in both studies, the correlation of other specific competencies with performance varies among the samples. Moreover, the relative importance of specific competencies in terms of the amount of variance in performance explained also varies across the two samples.Research limitations/implications -The criterion measures available, i.e. client ratings of performance, did not provide the continuous objective performance data that are generally considered preferable so as to provide a clearer picture of the value added by superior performance. A further limitation was that there was no opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of the various initiatives which were put in place to improve managers' competencies after their initial assessment. Originality/value -This is one of the few articles that explore the validity of competencies within the European Union across different organizations using a common competency framework and methodology. Both studies were originally initiated as applied consulting projects and the findings of the research applied to human resource practices within each organization. Although competencies are ubiquitous in today's global workplace, the number of published studies with data to support the validity of competency-modelling techniques has been limited. The current research adds to the growing literature in this area and adds to one's confidence in the ability of emotional, social and cognitive competencies to predict performance in a variety of settings and cultures.
Leadership development programs increasingly help participants engage in their career transitions. Therefore, these programs lead participants to establish not only development goals, which usually involve the improvement of a specific leadership competency, but also goals that relate to career advancement or to achieving a more general life aspiration. Assessing goal attainment, as a measure of program impact, may take years as goals vary greatly in terms of nature, timeframe, and domain. The purpose of this study was to overcome this challenge by providing a measure of goal progress as a necessary antecedent of goal attainment, and which we operationalize through a general scale of goal-directed behaviors. Subject-matter experts assessed the content validity of the measure. Factor analysis, using three samples, revealed four dimensions identified as Sharing Information, Seeking Information, Revising the Plan, and Enacting the Plan. This new scale allows data collection as early as a few months after setting the goals, which can provide practitioners with an earlier indication of program impact and facilitate future academic studies in this field.
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