Today, in the workplace, labor productivity, career success, and even the health of employees actually and to a greater extent depend on the level of emotional intelligence (EQ). Although it was previously believed that IQ (intelligence quotient) was primarily relevant in this context, i.e., cognitive intelligence, EQ replace it as a broader, integral coefficient. Emotional intelligence is a person’s ability to recognize, understand, and control own emotions and the emotions of other people, based on two broad competencies ‑ personal competency and social competency (Hasson 5-8). Emotional intelligence has become the core competency of a modern manager. One of the interesting works devoted to this urgent topic is the book Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves – cofounders of the widely known provider of emotional intelligence TalentSmart.
The book reveals the concepts of emotional intelligence, its components, and how a person can see each of them be developed in himself. The authors consider emotional intelligence first in the form of a “big picture,” and then as individual components (Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, and Relationship Management), offering readers a detailed ‘plan of action’ to increase their level of EQ. It can be assumed that the authors tried to create a kind of “study guide” on understanding the importance of EQ in modern life and the possibilities of increasing its level in order to achieve personal and professional success.
The book teaches the “creative” use of emotions and self-reflection in the field of own emotions and building effective personal relationships and interactions in the workplace and in business partnerships, based on understanding and managing others’ emotions (Bradberry and Greaves 135-177). The authors use many examples and stories “diluted” with humor to better understand their practical focus. The book is definitely useful for those who are concerned with raising career potential, trying to attract new customers and investors, and build a strong corporate culture for employees.
Nevertheless, it should be noted that the book is too “technologically-oriented” and does not contain academic information and polemics regarding the concept of EQ. Although the book is aimed at a wide audience, the inclusion of the history of the term “emotional intelligence” in the scientific sense, as well as currently available research in this area, would have a positive impact on the perception of the book. The authors cite interesting statistics, but these are statistics of business reports, not scientific research. As sources in the final chapter, ‑ A Look at the Latest Discoveries in Emotional Intelligence ‑ , the authors offer such periodicals as Harvard Business Review, and not, for example, Science Journal of Business and Management.
The main idea of the book is a message about the possibility and expediency for everybody of raising their EQ level by achieving an understanding of emotions and building a balance between the rational and emotional component of general competence or, in other words, social awareness. These are skills that help an individual to effectively manage relationships, and since everything in the workplace depends on building and maintaining relationships, employees with the highest level of EQ are better able to create a productive work environment (Bradberry and Greaves 17-19). These social skills include intuition, empathy, and social responsibility.
One cannot disagree with this conclusion since people with high EQ are able to cope with difficult situations and work effectively in a team. Such people act less impulsively and more thoughtfully, more easily accept changes, and grow with the company (Arora 43). Moreover, assessing own EQ requires constant application of self-knowledge skills. In turn, self-knowledge is the most valuable element of leadership, its foundation.
It is a catalyst for the development of vision, determination, ability to adapt, strategic thinking, charisma, that is, the whole traditional set of qualities and skills that make a manager a brilliant leader. Of course, for the modern military, EQ skills are extremely important, and the book is worthy of becoming a desktop for military leaders of all levels. This is especially important in the context of modern hybrid warfare, where managing emotions is one of the crucial competencies for a military.
The army leadership model, by virtue of its specificity, presupposes mainly an authoritarian leadership style. Nevertheless, despite the negative coloring of the command style of management, which it acquired “thanks to” leadership studies of recent decades, it can take its rightful place in the leadership arsenal of the military leader if he has high emotional intelligence. As noted above, in hybrid warfare, high EQ is one of the key competencies.
However, such competency is needed not only for command personnel but also for soldiers. The book under consideration can become the basis of a course of emotional intelligence, which I, as a military leader, can offer my subordinates, junior army personnel. Thanks to a clear “technology” and understandable methods for quick assessment of EQ, it can be assumed that such a course will be understandable to soldiers and can be successfully mastered by them. Of course, at the same time, it is necessary to focus practical examples for training specifically on the military environment, but the book of Bradberry and Greaves is quite capable of becoming a framework for the management activity of the modern military leader, including in terms of training and mentoring for subordinates.
Works Cited
Arora, Bhavana. “Importance of Emotional Intelligence in The Workplace.” International Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, vol. 4, iss. 4, 2017, pp. 43-45.
Bradberry, Travis and Jean Greaves. Emotional Intelligence 2.0. TalentSmart, 2009.
Hasson, Gill. Understanding Emotional Intelligence. Trans-Atlantic Publications, 2014.