Emotional intelligence: managerial fad or valid construct?

During the last few years there has been a massive level of interest in Emotional Intelligence (EQ), fuelled by Goleman's (1996) book. This article reviews the literature on the subject and attempts to pin-down and define this nebulous construct, using competency-based and personality factor (16PF and OPQ) scales. Using data gathered from 100 General Managers for a 7-year follow-up study, the reliability, and construct and predictive validity of three scales were investigated. An EQ scale based on 16 relevant competencies showed highly promising reliability and validity, and was shown to consist of six independent factors, each also reasonably reliable. The results also showed the relevance of two other competency-based scales - Intellectual Intelligence (IQ) and Managerial Intelligence (MQ) - which both predicted organisational advancement. Taken together, however, the three scales had even higher validity, accounting for 71% of the total variance on the Level Advancement variable. In contrast, the two EQ scales derived from the personality questionnaires did not show predictive validity, although the scale derived from the OPQ was significantly related to the EQ competencies scale. The overall results supported Martinez's (1997) view that EQ constructs can be measured more effectively by 'performance analysis' than by 'classic paper and pencil tests'. In addition they provide support for Goleman's proposition that the combination of EQ and IQ is a more powerful predictor of "success" than either measure alone