How Intelligent Are Ireland's Leaders?
Everyone has their own, private opinion on the intelligence or otherwise of Ireland's leaders, from business to healthcare and politics to education. We have come to associate intelligence with the "IQ" or intelligence quotient system of measurement. However, psychologists now believe that being a good leader has more to do with a measurement called EQi than IQ. EQi can also be measured using a scientific testing system which is now available in Ireland through the Leadership Cube, run by Dorrie Mitchell and Aurelie Silverlock through their company, Integrated Leadership Coaching.
They explain that with EQi we're not talking about a qualification that gets you membership of MENSA; arguably, most of Ireland's leaders would probably score reasonably highly when it comes to an IQ test, but would they do so well when their EQi was measured? - EQi stands for emotional intelligence quotient.
"Being emotionally intelligent does not make you the ultimate "Mr Nice Guy", nor does it make you everybody's best friend, nor does it mean that you're not afraid to shed a few tears," says Dorrie Mitchell. "Emotional intelligence concerns how a person understands and manages their own emotions and those of other people" - and it also includes how they manage that demon of the workplace, stress.
When the European Union estimates that work related stress affects at least 40 million workers in its member states and costs the EU at least €20 billion annually, the only conclusion can be that organisations must move their "soft skills" training, including stress management, higher up their agendas.
Testing and developing emotional intelligence (EI) in individuals, teams and organisations is now a firmly established part of recruitment and training programmes in the United States and Australasia and is beginning to gain recognition in Europe along with other personal development techniques such as NLP (neuro-linguistic programming - the serious side of Paul McKenna's business). A growing body of academic research is proving the correlation between the EI of employees at all levels and business and financial performance (case studies abound in the pages of business and leadership journals). Companies such as American Express, Johnson & Johnson and Fosters have realised that EI is at least as important as IQ for success in business and in life in general. Amex has used EI techniques for over ten years to improve sales performance and claims a return on investment amounting to millions of dollars.
EI is not just recognised in the "touchy feely" domain of human resources, however; leading executives have also embraced its importance in their success.
Jack Welch, former Chairman and CEO of General Electric, wrote in the Wall Street Journal in January 2004 that "my experience says it [emotional intelligence] is actually more important in the making of a leader. You just can't ignore it."
Crucially in a business context, when training expenditure is evaluated and measured against the bottom line, EI may be tested scientifically and specific areas for development highlighted. Dorrie Mitchell and Aurelie Silverlock, test executives at all levels for emotional intelligence using the BarOn EQi testing system. The test, however, is only part of the leadership development programme they have developed and termed The Leadership Cube. Taking the results of the tests, a programme of development is built for the individual or the team involving techniques (including NLP) to effect change on many different levels.
The Leadership Cube may be used at any stage in an employee's career to effect change. One key area where Dorrie and Aurelie see it being of immense use is in the selection process:
"In 2005, the CIPD [Chartered Institute of Personnel Directors] released a survey that identified the average costs of labour turnover as €7,500 per employee and €11,800 for managers. Selecting the wrong person can be a very costly mistake. The Leadership Cube gives guidance in assessing whether a person is right for the company and the particular position. It provides an assessment but also indicates potential for development," says Aurelie.
We are always hearing about a crisis of governance. The concept of emotional intelligence maybe a newcomer to Ireland but it surely demands to be taken seriously. Wouldn't it be fascinating to discover the EQi of Ireland's top leaders?