Emotional Intelligence-Salovey & Mayer Model

Many supervisors achieve their management position because they have shown great technical skill or/and have significant experience working within a company.  As these are characteristics you would like to see in a manager the success of someone in a management role goes beyond technical skills and experience.  There are numerous other attributes that an individual needs to be an effective manager.  One of these other attributes is emotional intelligence which is a set of skills that enable a person to skillfully manage interactions with others where emotion is involved.


From the above definition I think it is fair to say that in order to be a great manager or leader a certain level of emotional intelligence needs to be held in order to run an effective team.  Become a better leader and manager by knowing the different models of emotional intelligence and how yours.


Below is the first post of 4 on emotional intelligence.  In this post I will review the model developed by Peter Salovey and Jack Mayer.  


Salovey and Mayer’s model

Three main models of emotional intelligence exist.  Lets first start with with the men who coined the term "emotional intelligence.  Peter Salovey and Jack Mayer created the term "emotional intelligence" a.k.a "EQ" to describe a specific set of abilities that can be used when faced with a situation involving confrontation or disagreement.  They best described emotional intelligence as:

"The ability to to perceive emotion, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional meanings and to reflectively regulate emotions in ways that promote emotional and intellectual growth"

These gentleman believed that emotional intelligence was a cognitive ability and is composed of two areas: experimental (ability to perceive, respond, and manipulate emotional information without necessarily understanding it)  and strategic (ability to understand and manage emotions without necessarily perceiving feelings well or fully experiencing them)

From here these two areas are broken down into four branches.  The first branch is emotional perception, which is the ability to be self-aware of emotions and to express emotions and emotional needs accurately to others.  It also includes the ability to distinguish between honest and dishonest emotion.  The second branch, emotional assimilation is the ability to distinguish among the different emotions one is feeling and to identify those that are influencing their thought processes.  The third branch, emotional understanding, is the ability to understand complex emotions (such as feeling two emotions at once) and the ability to recognize transitions from one to the other. Lastly, the fourth branch, emotion management, is the ability to connect or disconnect from an emotion depending on its usefulness in a given situation.

To test your emotional intelligence take the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test to see where you stand and where your strengths and areas of growth lie.  In my next post I will review Dr. Reuven Bar-On model of emotional intelligence.


References:

A Review of the Emotional Intelligence Literature and Implications for Corrections, Yvonne Stys & Shelley L. Brown, Research Branch Correctional Service of Canada
Mohawk College's Performance Management Participant Guide

Goal Setting Process

In an earlier post I had discussed the S.M.A.R.T acronym for goal setting.  Using this acronym will help make sure that your goals are specific, measurable. achievable, relevant and have a time frame.  Now I will go into greater depth and discuss the goal setting process.

Step 1: Determine the Purpose
Goals are achievement oriented so the first thing to do is determine the achievement that is targeted.  The choices fall into two categories.
     Goals that have a direct relationship with a business objective
     Goals that are related to an employee's personal development

Goals that have a direct relationship with a business objective will be a extrinsic measure as the outcome is determined by someone other than the employee.  So specific measurable targets will be set for the employee that align with the business objectives and if achieved can result in financial rewards.   For goals that are related on achievement of a personal objectives it is expected that the employee will demonstrate new or increased competence with his/her behaviors.  Intrinsically driven goals are harder to measure as its more subjective rather than an objective measure.


Step 2: Developed a Detailed Outline
This is the step when you would use the S.M.A.R.T acronym to start developing goals.  Remember to get employee input during this process as this will gain their commitment and loyalty in achieving the goals.

Step 3: Communicate to the Employee: Plan the Meeting to Set Goals 
The purpose of the meeting is to review the goals with the employee and give them the opportunity to comment.  Given them advance notice of the meeting and the goals to be reviewed will allow them to think about their goals and prepare ahead of time.  If the employee is not included in the goal setting process than they may be less committed to the goals which could lead to less drive.  


Step 4: Meet with the Employee


One of the most important steps in the goal setting process is gaining employee commitment to the established goals.  Without their input to the development of goals they will not have the drive necessary to achieve them because they may feel that they are unrealistic based upon being achievable or/and time frame.

Step 5: Record the Final Agreement 
Recording the agreed upon goals is important to avoid any misunderstanding in the future.  It also serves as a reference point when developing goals in the future.  Lastly, when it comes time for their performance review the goals can be used to measure the employee's performance objectively, which will be needed when deciding compensation.

Good luck with these guidelines and I hope they are of use when setting goals for your employees.

The Evolution of the Motivation Theory

As managers we can prepare our employees the best we can by articulating goals and objectives.  However, this will not do you nay good if the employee is not motivated.  If we look at what motivation is it is the forces within a person that drives direction, intensity and persistence to accomplish "voluntary" behavior.  It is no secret how important motivation is and the views on motivation have grown and developed over time much like anything else.  Below is a look back at some earlier motivational theories.

In the 1800's a concept called "scientific management" was developed by an American engineer by the name of Frederick Taylor.  The belief with this system was that the best way to accomplish a job should be determined so it can be repeated by all employees who do that job.  So this theory assumed that there was only one way to complete the job as fast as possible and therefore all employees needed to follow the same protocol.  

In the 1960's a gentleman by the name of Douglas McGregor created two theories on motivation.  First, he created Theory X, which suggests that people are prone to being lazy and cannot be trusted to work hard unless under direct supervision.  He later came of with another theory that went against his first opinion on motivation.  With this theory he called it Theory Y and it suggested under the right conditions people are are willing to work hard, accept responsibility and can be self directed to meet workplace expectations.  

Abraham Maslow suggested that people were motivated to behave in response to satisfying hierarchy of needs.

     Physiological needs 

     The need for safety and security

     The need for love and belonging

     The need for self-esteem

     The need for self-actualization 

Maslow's Theory helps explain what drives behavior however has been criticized because of the assumptions that the needs follow a specific hierarchy.   

The Expectancy Theory created by Victor Vroom of the Yale School of Management, assumes that people make conscious choices based upon expected outcomes.  These choices are impacted by knowledge, skill, experience and personality.  The intrinsic and extrinsic rewards associated with particular choices also shapes the employee's decision.

The importance of motivation has been known for a long time however it took time to find out how best to use motivation to engage and maximize their performance.  If you have selected the right person, set expectations and have created a motivating environment you will have an engaged employee who is committed to the organization.     

As managers we have to trust that our team are the right fit for their roles and that we have made expectations clear for each employee.  It is our responsibility as managers to ensure we create a motivating environment where the employee is able to align their internal drives with the expectations of the organization. 

  

Is Your Company's Performance Management System Broken?

I am sure the majority of companies have some sort of performance management process in place.  So typically  its not do you have a system in place but is your system effective.  To find this answer lets first look at what is a performance management system.

A Performance Management System provides structure and processes to the activities and interactions between a supervisor and an employee.  Which relates to the achievement of goals and expectations.  Below are examples of what makes for an effective and productive performance management system.
     Employee Input/self-assessment
     Completed on a regular basis
     Performance tied into reward system
     Manager Buy In
     Relevant to employee's job responsibilities

To help see if your company's performance management system is adequate ask yourself the following questions.
    Are employee's performance improving on a regular basis?
    Do employee's talents and skills match their role in the organization?
    Are employees engaged?
    Is the training employees receive preparing them for their responsibilities?
    Is employee performance related to compensation and recognition?

I hope this offers you the frame work to get started and start shaping your company's Performance Management System if it needs fixing.

"Whatever you are, be a good one" - Abraham Lincoln


   


   

Goal Setting

As a manager you are responsible for developing your employees and helping them strive towards reaching their full potential.  A major part of this development process is goal setting.  When goal setting their are several models that you can use to ensure that the goals are practical for your employees growth.  In this blog I will talk about the acronym S.M.A.R.T., which, is a simple and effective way to approach goal setting.  You can use this method in the following way:

Specific- Goals need to be specific.  Establishing specific development goals can be hard but think of the desired behavior and how it can be measured.  I find setting ranges rather than specific targets because a employee may fall just short of a specific target and view it as a failure.  However, by setting reasonable ranges you can ensure the employee builds confidence and succeeds when they attain it.  For example, you you want an employee to meet a specific sales target of 8% you can set a range of 6-12% is their goal.  

Measurable- If your employees goals are not measurable it can cause disagreements and resentment come performance review time.  Setting a general goal of "increasing sales" will not be very motivating to the employee nor will it significantly support company objectives.  So ask yourself  "Can I measure how much or how little the employee met the stated personal objective?" If the answer is "no" than its time to start reviewing goals and setting new ones.  

Achievable- Goals need to be reasonable but challenging.  However, if unrealistic goals are set the employee will feel like they have been set up for failure and will unlikely try to achieve the desired outcomes.  This is where setting ranges can be helpful as they allow you flexibility in the goal where if they are slightly below the expected outcome the employee does not feel bad and get discouraged.  

Relevant- Goals need to support the company's/project's objective.  Ensuring both management and the employee are familiar with the business model will help with creating relevant goals. 

Time Framed- Setting goals with a reasonable time frame will provide clarity to the goal for the employee.  Setting a specific target date will help hold the employee accountable and provide a little positive pressure.  

Remember goals are important for employee growth.  Disregarding goals will only make your employees stagnant and will lead to a workplace culture of mediocre.

Good luck and get to it!