Assessing Emotional Intelligence

The purpose of this booklet is to help you improve your leadership skills by focusing on emotional competencies that affect success in the workplace and in the world at large. Before you can identify what you need to improve, however, you must know where you are now. This chapter will help you assess your Emotional Intelligence and then target areas where it can be strengthened. It concludes with several practical suggestions.

The checklists that follow have been used quite successfully with leaders who are engaged in the developmental processes of coaching and training in order to improve leadership. They are valuable personal tools for managers seeking to gain an understanding of their strengths and weaknesses in the area of Emotional Intelligence in order to chart a course for personal improvement and business success.

The EQ Self-Assessment Checklist is based on the six-facet model of Emotional Intelligence introduced in Chapter 1. It will point out to you those facets of Emotional Intelligence in which you have opportunity for improvement. Chapters 5 through 12 include “Suggestion…” sections with activities designed to strengthen specific areas.

Rate each of the following statements by using the rating scale below according to how true it is of you.

1
Virtually Never

5
Virtually Always

____ 1)	I am aware of the physical reactions (twinges, aches, sudden changes) that signal a “gut reaction.”
____ 2)	I readily admit mistakes and apologize.
____ 3)	I let go of problems, anger, or hurts from the past and I can move beyond these.
____ 4)	I generally have an accurate idea of how another person perceives me during a particular interaction.
____ 5)	I have several important things in my life that I am enthusiastic about, and I let it show.
____ 6)	I can easily meet and initiate conversation with new people when I have to.
____ 7)	I take a break or use another active method of increasing energy when I sense that my energy level is getting low.
____ 8)	I have little trouble taking prudent risks.
____ 9)	I “open up” with people appropriately— not too much but enough so that I don’t come across as cold and distant.
____ 10)	I can engage in an interaction with another person and pretty well size up that person’s mood based on nonverbal signals.
____ 11)	Others usually feel inspired and encouraged after talking to me.
____ 12)	I have no trouble making presentations in front of groups or conducting meetings.
____ 13)	I take time every day for quiet reflection.
____ 14)	I take the initiative and move ahead on tasks that need to be done.
____ 15)	I refrain from making up my mind on issues and expressing my opinion until I have all the facts.
____ 16)	I have a number of people I can turn to, and I ask for their help when I need it.
____ 17)	I try to find the positive in any given situation.
____ 18)	I can deal calmly, sensitively, and proactively with the emotional displays of others.
____ 19)	I can usually identify the emotion I am feeling at any given moment.
____ 20)	I am generally comfortable in new situations.
____ 21)	I neither bury my anger nor let it explode on others.
____ 22)	I can show empathy and match my feelings with those of another person in an interaction.
____ 23)	I can keep going on a big project, despite obstacles.
____ 24)	I am respected and liked by others, even when they don’t agree with me.
____ 25)	I am clear about my own goals and values.
____ 26)	I express my views honestly and thoughtfully, without being pushy.
____ 27)	I am good at managing my moods, and I seldom bring negative emotions to work.
____ 28)	I focus my full attention on another person when I listen to him or her.
____ 29)	I believe the work I do day-to-day has meaning and value to society.
____ 30)	I can effectively persuade others to adopt my point of view without coercing them.

Your score on each of the six facets will fall somewhere between 5 and 25 points. Circle any facet where your score was below 20: this indicates an area that you can improve. Read the rest of this book and resolve especially to practice the ideas listed in the chapter devoted to it. Your overall Emotional Intelligence will improve as you work on that particular area.

Other opportunities for improvement can be found in any individual question from the checklist on which you scored a 4 or below. Circle those questions; a rating of 3 is average, but if you have Emotional Intelligence, you are above average. So you need to target that area for improvement and turn it into a specific goal.

Effective leaders are generally high in all six areas. If you want your career and your relationships to soar, think of this booklet as a workbook, and make a commitment to do something to improve your weaknesses each day. Ideas for improvement in personal/self areas can be found in The Role of Self-Awareness in Emotional Intelligence, The Role of Self-Confidence in Emotional Intelligence, and The Role of Self-Control in Emotional Intelligence.

Other people have much to teach us about ourselves. Examining our own behavior is crucial, but while most of us know our own strengths and weaknesses reasonably well, there are countless little things of which we are often unaware. The way other people perceive us has a great deal to do with how effective we are in any interaction, and we can’t know for sure how we are coming across unless we ask for feedback. Hearing the observations of others with whom we interact will increase our self-awareness. The checklist on page 10 will assist you in obtaining feedback.

The Leadership Assessment Checklist is also a good source of information for personal growth. It is often helpful to compare the way we rate ourselves and the way others rate us on the very same items, but other people can only indirectly assess our “Self” competencies. They can, however, judge us fairly accurately in terms of social and leadership skills. The questions on the list that follows are different from the Self-Assessment Checklist: the Leadership Assessment Checklist pertains to such EQ competencies as empathy, motivation, optimism, and social competency, as well as leadership and team-building skills such as employee empowerment, feedback, and conflict-resolution, described in The Role of Empathy in Emotional Intelligence, Motivation and Emotional Intelligence, and Social Competency and Emotional Intelligence, and especially in Promoting Emotional Intelligence in Others: Developing an Employee and Putting Emotional Intelligence to Work: The Team. Give copies of the checklist to peers and associates, employees, friends, supervisors, your mentor, and to anyone else who can provide a snapshot of your behavior to help increase your self-awareness. Make sure they have a place to return this easily and anonymously, and give them a deadline date.

Please rate ____________________________ (insert your name) on each of the following statements by using the rating scale below.

1
Virtually Never

5
Virtually Always

____ 1)	Stands behind employees, backing their decisions and advocating for them to higher management.
____ 2)	Knows how to delegate tasks but remains available for consultation.
____ 3)	Takes disciplinary action promptly and fairly, without being overly harsh or demeaning.
____ 4)	Sets high performance standards for self and subordinates.
____ 5)	As soon as he/she is aware of a problem, sits down with a subordinate who has not met expectations, coaches them, and works with them to perform better.
____ 6)	Provides frequent feedback to employees on how they are doing their job.
____ 7)	Uses more praise and positive feedback than negative feedback.
____ 8)	Refrains from letting some employees get away with less effort than others.
____ 9)	Can persuade others to adopt his/her point of view without coercion.
____ 10)	Makes positive use of conflict by encouraging discussion of differing points of view.
____ 11)	Keeps employees informed at all times about things that might affect them.
____ 12)	Takes the long-term view, without getting too focused on strictly short-term results.
____ 13)	Listens well and shows empathy and concern when I have a problem.
____ 14)	Has an open-door policy and makes himself/herself available to the staff when needed.
____ 15)	Refuses to tolerate bigotry or narrow-mindedness among the staff.
____ 16)	Helps employees discover their own solutions, without automatically providing answers.
____ 17)	Keeps conflict among employees from festering or getting out of control, and instead works to reach a common understanding.
____ 18)	Tries to be patient with staff when implementing a change, knowing that there is an adjustment period.
____ 19)	Actively looks for ways to challenge and develop all workers.
____ 20)	“Opens up” to others appropriately—not too much, but enough to assure them that he/she is not cold and distant.

Calculate an average score on each question by averaging all responses on each of the 20 questions. For example, if you received five completed checklists, calculate an average for the five on Question 1, Question 2, etc. Pay particular attention to any question with a rating of less than 4.0. The further it is under 4, the greater the need for work in that area. Make this a personal developmental goal for your own career.

In addition, examine individual questions from individual raters where you scored lower than 4. Perhaps some people believe that you do need work in that area. Again, this is helpful information and guides you as you develop personal goals.

Based on the assessment you performed on yourself and the feedback you obtained from others, what three goals would you most like to concentrate on for your personal and professional leadership development as they pertain to Emotional Intelligence? Write those on the following page.