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Selecting Emotionally Intelligent Leaders for a Competitive Advantage
August 05, 2009
By Diana Durek and Shawna Sheldon
"Sully" Sullenberger needed a lot more than outstanding flying skills to land Flight 1549 safely on the Hudson River. He had high-stress tolerance, methodical problem-solving skills, flexibility, teamwork proficiency, and the calm optimism to know a crash was avoidable. In short, he had high Emotional Intelligence (EI).
Whether a company is recruiting pilots, salespeople, computer programmers, or senior leaders, the most commonly considered performance gauges—intelligence, education, experience, and personality—do not guarantee a good hiring decision. Rather, a large body of international research in the social sciences reveals EI is a critical determinant of success for individuals and the organizations they serve.
The current economy has widened the funnel for every job opening, which stretches organizational hiring resources. With only five to ten seconds to read each resume, recruiters can't afford to make the costly mistake of hiring the wrong person or letting an ideal candidate get away. The solution is to integrate an EI assessment with other selection tools.
Establish a benchmark
Distinct from cognitive intelligence, EI accounts for one's "street smarts"—specifically the ability to unravel social complexities by perceiving, generating, and managing emotions in ourselves and others. Emotionally intelligent people communicate effectively, form strong relationships, and develop powerful coping strategies. According to Harvard and University of California researchers, EI accounts for at least 40 percent of the variance between high-performing and low-performing teams. In the leadership ranks, executives with high EI possess the social and emotional skills necessary to motivate and inspire subordinates, manage them with understanding, and respect and resolve conflicts as they arise.
Research also shows the specific EI strengths needed to be successful vary from role to role. To be a top performer in a sales position, for example, requires a different set of EI strengths than would be needed for success in a teaching position. Benchmarking by role offers an effective means of identifying a specific set of needs against which candidates can be measured. Used in conjunction with existing evaluation criteria (experience, qualifications, interview results, etc.), properly interpreted EI test scores provide high predictability. People can be better aligned with jobs, and succession can be planned with greater clarity. In 2006, a global Fortune 100 financial services provider designed a candidate selection system that reliably identified future top performers among claims trainees. By isolating the key EI traits of the company's existing star performers, the organization created a profile for evaluating which trainees possessed the EI skills requisite for star performance.
Spend recruiting resources wisely
An EI assessment administered to job candidates can significantly shorten the shortlist—without the need to read every resume. During the automated application process, applicants answer a list of EI questions and the results are charted to identify the candidates who are most likely to succeed. Two candidates may look the same based on educational background, technical skills, and experience, and only an EI assessment can provide insight into each person's emotional and social skills as they relate to the job and mesh with the existing culture. Interviewers can then spend their time more wisely zeroing in on specific areas of concern.
EI assessments also help level the playing field in hiring because the same questions are administered in the same order to every candidate, making selection less subjective. However, just as a decision would not be based on resumes alone, EI assessment results should never be the sole criterion for hiring. EI may be the most important predictor of achievement, but it certainly is not the only one.
EI assessments are easy to administer and eminently cost-effective considering the astronomical costs of bad hiring. Their rich output shows an individual's opportunities for improvement and suggests strategies for creating a development plan. With targeted training and coaching, internal candidates can be developed for promotion, saving the organization the time and expense to hire new personnel.
Hire for the long term
EI drives workplace performance like no other determinant. According to academic research, one-quarter to nearly one-half of job success is attributable to EI, while IQ only accounts for one-fifth to as little as 1 percent. Companies that use EI assessments to assess how candidates stack up against the standards of star performers and how they fit with team and organizational culture can be much more confident in their hiring decisions. EI assessment tools deliver better functioning individuals and organizations, significant cost savings and a clear competitive advantage.
Several years before the "Miracle on the Hudson," Air Canada recognized the importance of EI for pilots. The company hired about 650 pilots using EI assessment tools as one of the criteria. Applicants who lacked the requisite technical skills and experience were not considered, but what distinguished the finalists was high EI.
"Incorporating an EI assessment into Air Canada's pilot selection process enabled our company to identify candidates who possess not only advanced technical skills but also the necessary emotional and social competencies predictive of long-term success as an Air Canada pilot," says Captain David Legge, senior vice-president, Flight Operations.
EI assessment for leadership development
Research shows that 50 percent of leaders detract from their organizations. Leaders need to be able to motivate and inspire people to implement strategy, and that ability in large part hinges on EI. Fortunately, EI can be developed.
When 700 leaders at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu named EI as one of the top five leadership traits they needed to enhance, the company began using EI assessment and coaching to teach advanced leadership skills. Deloitte integrated an EI assessment tool into an organization-wide excellence program for senior managers; developed an EI action plan to help participants understand emotional competencies and align them with the organization's global 2010 decade strategic plan; and established a certification program to let internal stakeholders measure and develop EI skills. According to Eileen Rogers, global director of Deloitte's Leadership Excellence Programs, the effort enhanced retention, delivered higher levels of job achievement, helped build stronger relationships with clients, colleagues, and teams, and facilitated successful execution of strategic imperatives.
Diana Durek and Shawna Sheldon are senior advisors with MHS, a global developer and publisher of psychometric tests that offers scientifically validated measures of Emotional Intelligence.
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