Scott breaks down the EQ-i 2.0 model's 15 emotional-intelligence competencies and argues that extreme scores in self-awareness, empathy, or optimism can backfire. Too much empathy suppresses necessary conflict; too much optimism creates unrealistic expectations. Balance matters more than raw EI scores.
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Hi, Scott here. Have you seen on LinkedIn and perhaps Facebook the points that relate to the higher your emotional intelligence, the better leader you will be? Well, this is something that's written about rather a lot on social media, in professional HR and leadership groups, as well as more generally with people attempting to sell courses of questionable value— many of them great value, some others— but this point of the higher your emotional intelligence, the better leader you'll be is not as straightforward as it may first seem. The model we're going to be looking at in this video is the EQI 2.0 model of emotional intelligence. It's the only scientifically validated emotional intelligence assessment in the world. There's more about that in another video, but what it consists of is 15 specific competencies. So, um, emotional intelligence is an umbrella term, uh, for a series of competencies, but if we look at high emotional intelligence, have a look at this. There are many positives, but there's also a potential downside to consider as well. So if the, uh, leader is highly self-aware, they notice what's going on up here. They don't go from normal functioning to angry. They go from normal functioning to frustrated, a little bit annoyed, then they begin to feel anger. That level of emotional self-awareness gives the brain and the person the opportunity to take time to think, what's happening here? Why is this happening? What does this mean? Is it the only meaning? He didn't deliver, she didn't deliver, so therefore I'm angry. No, it gives the brain an opportunity to think. So that's fantastic, isn't it? That's absolutely great. In terms of the potential downside for high range self-awareness, it can lead to a very busy brain, a very busy internal monologue. Now, I don't know about you, but if you've got a laptop or a computer and you have 15 different programs open, there'll come a point where there's so much memory being used by your system's hard drive that it thinks, I can't do anymore. So on my Mac, it shows the beach ball of doom. And all you need to do is switch off after closing down a number of programs that are taking lots of effort to run side by side. It's the same for the brain. The high-range self-awareness can lead to very busy voice where it's not restful sleep because the brain hasn't got time to go relax. It can be thinking about what to do next, what tomorrow's going to bring, the good, the not so good, how to deal with it either way. So high-range self-awareness, if it's not managed, if this high-range self-awareness is overused and not balanced, it can cause problems also in terms of emotional well-being and mental health. 2. Also, if you look at a leader or manager that is highly empathic. Now, empathy is the ability to step out of your own world as you see it, step into somebody else's, understand their experience, their values, how they see a situation, then clarify understanding and then step back out and take appropriate action if required, make an appropriate decision if required, or make an appropriate communication That is balanced empathy. High-range empathy is the person may go into the other person's world but forget to step back out before taking appropriate action if required, communication, or making an appropriate decision. High-range empathy, the individual is very likely to be focused on harmonious relationships and the many benefits that harmony in a relationship can bring. The potential downside to this high-range result and its implications is the Crucial conversations that deserve to happen may not happen at all, or be quite wishy-washy and vague because the person values harmony, and even the slightest disharmony in a relationship may begin to feel like conflict. Who wants conflict? Not many. So just bear in mind that the empathy and self-awareness are wonderful things, but they deserve to have balance, and the high-range results can cause, uh, issues. They hinder rather than help a leader or the team to perform at or near its best consistently. Let's look at one final one. We won't go through them all, but high-range optimism. Who doesn't want a leader that's optimistic? Not many, if any. But balanced optimism is what is the most valuable. What can be realistically achieved? What can be planned to ensure it is achieved? What roadblocks or obstacles may occur that we can address and completely remove the obstacle, or at least mitigate the risk of the obstacle? Before we get going. Great, isn't it? That's balanced optimism. High-range optimism can be, at moments, especially at the outset of a new project or initiative, it can be, or during times of change, inspiring, engaging, and meaningful because people think, I'm following that leader. She or he knows what they're talking about. They're really committed. They sound really committed. And this I'm going to follow it. Now, the potential downside there, especially during a time of change, for example, if there's layoffs or a massive change, a restructure, that optimism may fall flat on its face. Where, come on, we're all in this together, that can be very dangerous. This is all gonna— it's all gonna work out fine. You sure about that? If they're not sure but they still say it, it's unrealistic optimism. A crazy deadline. Well, the customer really wants it by then, and I've told them it can be done, so let's pull out all the stops. There are no stops. There's just blatantly flawed thinking in terms of what can be achieved. Come on, we can do this. You know, the cheerleading kind of leadership has to be backed up with prudent planning and oversight and communication too. So you see, what we're not wanting to do is to be down in the dumps about being emotionally intelligent. There are real many benefits to high-range emotional intelligence, it's also really important to consider the potential downside as well. Those are just a few examples of where high-range emotional intelligence results can cause more issues than deliver value for the organisation. So my message to you is trust but verify. If you're looking to become qualified in emotional intelligence or do emotional intelligence training, if they're not telling you these things, they don't understand the subject. They may have read a book that's 20 years out of date or a more recent book that isn't validated, but just be aware that high-range emotional intelligence isn't always the best place to start or remain. Okay, if you'd like to learn more about emotional intelligence, there is a link in the description below, and you're also welcome to subscribe to this channel too if you want to continue learning.
