Human Resources: Minding Your Ps and Qs
In today’s environment, our managers and employees need to be smart enough (IQ) to understand, learn to use, and promote the new technology; they need the right personality to fit the team; and they need emotional intelligence (EQ) to adapt to the...
Reuven Bar-On who developed the BarOn EQ-i defines emotional intelligence as an array of non-cognitive capabilities, competencies, and skills that influence one’s ability to succeed in coping with environmental demands and pressures. The following is the summary of the areas evaluated by the BarOn EQ-i:
1. Intrapersonal (Dealing with You/How you feel about You)
- Self-Regard is the ability to respect and accept oneself as basically good and liking the way one is.
- Emotional Self-Awareness is the ability to recognize one’s feelings, to know what one is feeling and why, and to know what caused the feelings.
- Assertiveness is the ability to openly express feelings, beliefs, and thoughts and defend one’s rights in a non-destructive manner.
- Independence is the ability to be self-directed and self-controlled in one’s thinking and actions and to be free of emotional dependency, and to be self-reliant in planning and making important decisions.
- Self-Actualization pertains to the ability to realize one’s potential capacities and the striving to realize one’s full potential in life.
2. Interpersonal (Interacting with Others/How You Feel about Others)
- Empathy is the ability to be aware of, to understand, and to appreciate the feelings of others. Being sensitive to what, how, and why people feel the way they do. Being able to “emotionally read” others.
- Social Responsibility is the ability to demonstrate oneself as a cooperative, contributing, and constructive member of one’s social group. This involves acting in a responsible manner, even though one may not benefit personally.
- Interpersonal Relationship skill involves the ability to establish and maintain mutually satisfying relationships that are characterized by intimacy and giving and receiving of affection. Mutual satisfaction includes meaningful social interactions that are rewarding and enjoyable.
3. Adaptability (Interacting with the Environment/Feelings about Reality)
- Problem Solving is the ability to identify and define problems as well as to generate and implement potentially effective solutions. This skill is linked to a desire to do one’s best and to confront problems rather than avoiding them. It deals with 1) sensing a problem and feeling confident and motivated to deal with it effectively, 2) defining and formulating the problem as clearly as possible, 3) generating as many solutions as possible, and 4) weighing the pros and cons and making a decision to implement one of the solutions.
- Reality Testing is the ability to assess the correspondence between what is experienced and what actually exists. It involves a search for existing evidence to support, confirm, and justify one’s feelings, perceptions, and thoughts and accurately sizing up a situation.
4. Stress Management (Dealing with Stress)
- Stress Tolerance is the ability to withstand adverse events and stressful situations without “falling apart” by actively and positively coping with stress. It is the ability to weather difficult situations without getting overwhelmed. This ability is based on 1) a capacity for choosing a course of action to cope with stress, 2) an optimistic disposition towards new experiences and change in general and towards one’s ability to deal positively with it, and 3) a feeling that one can control or influence the stressful situation/keeping calm/controlling the situation.
- Impulse Control is the ability to resist or delay an impulse, drive, or temptation to act. It involves being composed and controlling aggression, controlling hostility, and irresponsible behavior.
5. General Mood
- Optimism is the ability to look at the brighter side of life and maintain a positive attitude even in the face of adversity.
- Happiness is the ability to feel satisfied with one’s life, to enjoy oneself, and to have fun. It combines self-satisfaction, general contentment, and the ability to enjoy life. Happy people are able to “let their hair down and have fun”.
As we work with companies to find, develop, and retain top performers, we urge the use of the Wonderlic Personnel Test (WPT) to determine IQ. We recommend the use of the Thomas Personal Profile System to determine the behavioral fit. For key management and sales roles, we also highly recommend the BarOn EQ-i. In today’s environment, our managers and employees need to be smart enough to understand, learn to use, and promote the new technology; they need the right personality to fit the team; and they need emotional intelligence to adapt to the environment.
