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3 CHAPTER 3:REVIEW OF LITERATURE
3.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents a review of relevant literature. It starts with providing an
overview of genesis and development of the concept of Emotional Intelligence (EI).
This is followed by the relationship between EI and effective leadership. It also
covers the salient features of Military Leadership. Review of literature brings out a
significant relationship of Emotional Intelligence with elements of Military
Leadership. Finally the Officer Like Qualities which forms the basis of selection for
military officers in India has been compared with the EI competency framework.
3.2 EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
EI has its roots in the concept of "social intelligence," first identified by E.L.
Thorndike in 1920. Thorndike defined social intelligence as "the ability to understand
and manage men and women, boys and girls - to act wisely in human relations".
Howard Gardner, a psychologist at the Harvard School of Education who carried out
intensive research includes inter- and intrapersonal intelligences as ‘personal and
social intelligences’ in his theory of multiple intelligences (Gardener 1983).
The credit for first usage of the term ‘Emotional Intelligence’ goes to Wayne Leone
Payne. He used it in his doctoral thesis. ‘A study of emotion: developing emotional
intelligence; self-integration; relating to fear, pain and desire’ in 1985 (Payne 1985).
He presented evidence that the mass suppression of emotion throughout the
civilized world has stifled our growth emotionally, leading us down a path of
emotional ignorance. He brought out that many social problems are the direct result
of emotional ignorance, for example depression, addiction, illness, suicide etc..He
tried to develop a rigorous theoretical and philosophical framework about the
nature of emotion and the important function it serves in our lives.
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Reuven Bar-On (1988) developed perhaps the first instrument to assess EI in terms
of a measure of well being. In his doctoral dissertation he used the term ‘Emotional
Quotient’ (EQ). Later on he developed the ‘Emotional Quotient Inventory’ (EQ-I),
(Bar-On 1997). Nowadays EQ and EI are treated at par and practically mean the
same.
In 1990 Peter Salovey (Yale) and John Mayer (University of New Hampshire),
published the seminal article ‘Emotional Intelligence’(Salovey 1990). It is considered
the most influential statement of EI theory in its current form. They were trying to
develop a way of scientifically measuring the difference between people's ability in
the area of emotions. They found that some people were better than others at
things like identifying their own feelings, identifying the feelings of others, and
solving problems involving emotional issues. They developed tests which attempt to
measure our emotional intelligence.
However, the person most commonly associated with the term “Emotional
Intelligence” is actually a New York writer named Daniel Goleman. His book
‘Emotional Intelligence’ published in 1995, became an international best seller.
According to Goleman (1995), academic intelligence has little to do with emotional
life. The brightest among us can founder on the shoals of unbridled passions and
unruly impulses; people with high IQs can be stunningly poor pilots of their private
lives. One of psychology’s open secrets is the relative inability of grades, IQ, or SAT
scores, despite their popular mystique, to predict unerringly who will succeed in life.
There are widespread exceptions to the rule that IQ predicts success-many more
exceptions than cases that fit the rule. At best, IQ contributes about 20 percent to
the factors that determine life success, which leaves 80 percent to other forces.
Goleman goes on to state that his concern is with the key set of “other
characteristics,” emotional intelligence: abilities such as being able to motivate
oneself and persist in the face of frustrations; to control impulse and delay
gratification; to regulate one’s moods and keep distress from swamping the ability to
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think; to empathize and to hope. Unlike IQ, with its nearly one hundred year history
of research, emotional intelligence is a new concept. No one can yet say exactly how
much of the variability from person to person in life’s course it accounts for. But
what data exists suggest it can be as powerful, and at times more powerful, than IQ.
While there are some who argue that IQ cannot be changed much by experience or
education, crucial emotional competencies can indeed be learned and improved
upon if one focuses on them. While childhood is a critical time to develop these
qualities, it can be nurtured and strengthened throughout adulthood. Developing
these qualities would benefit to our work, relationships and health.
3.2.1 Intelligence Quotient (IQ) vs Emotional Intelligence (EI)
Dalip Singh (2001) states that, for long, it had been believed that success at the
workplace depends on your level of intelligence or intelligence quotient(IQ) as
reflected in your academic achievements, exams passed, marks obtained etc. In
other words, your intellectual credentials: doing well in school, holding an
engineering degree, or obtaining high scores on an IQ test. All these are instances of
intelligence of the academic variety. But how bright are you outside the classroom,
faced with life’s difficult moments? Here, you need a different kind of
resourcefulness, termed as emotional intelligence (EI), which is a different way of
being smart. He goes on to say that you may have wondered how seemingly ordinary
people build their way to success. He gives examples of college drop-out Bill Gates
(of Microsoft fame), M.S.Oberoi who rose from the position of a clerk to build a vast
empire of luxury hotels all over the world. He questions, “Have you ever paused to
think how a low-scoring classmate of yours managed to move higher than you in the
corporate ladder? Or what is the reason that the smartest people are not always the
wealthiest, and why are some people instantly liked upon introduction, while others
are distrusted? He states that emotional intelligence is what gives a person a
competitive edge.
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3.2.2 Models of Emotional Intelligence
Models of emotional intelligence have been developed on three aspects that is,
ability, traits and combination of ability and traits called as mixed model of
emotional intelligence. Ability model of emotional intelligence described emotional
intelligence as the “ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions,
to discriminate among them, and to use the information to guide one’s thinking and
actions. Traits model of emotional intelligence viewed emotional intelligence and
included non-cognitive competencies such as self-esteem, self-actualization, general
mood, and general well-being. As would be expected, measures based on trait
approaches to emotional intelligence do not correlate highly with measures of
intelligence. However, they strongly correlate with personality measures, leading
researchers to refer to this approach as emotional intelligence -as-personality. Mixed
Model of emotional intelligence is a combination of ability model and traits model of
emotional intelligence. The mixed model denotes the idea that emotional
intelligence assesses aspects of personality and cognitive intelligence in addition to
the emotional intelligence.
In the recent past a number of different conceptualizations of EI have appeared
which have been creating an interesting mixture of confusion, controversy and
opportunity regarding the best approach to defining and measuring this construct.
There are currently three major conceptual models which have gained worldwide
acceptance:
– The Mayer-Salovey model which defines this construct as the ability to
perceive, understand, manage and use emotions to facilitate thinking,
measured by an ability-based measure. Here EI is conceived within a model
of intelligence and is cognitive in focus. This is an ability model.
– The Bar-On model which describes a cross-section of interrelated emotional
and social competencies, skills and facilitators that impact intelligent
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behavior, measured by self-report. Here EI is explained on the basis of
personality theory. This is a mixed model.
– The Goleman model (2001) which views this construct as a wide array of
competencies and skills that drive managerial performance, measured by
multi-rater assessment. It is based on the theory of performance. This is a
mixed model.
3.2.2.1. Mayer-Salovey Model
Mayer-Salovey (1997) defined emotional intelligence as the ability to perceive
accurately, appraise, and express emotion; the ability to access and/or generate
feelings when they facilitate thought; the ability to understand emotion and
emotional knowledge; and the ability to regulate emotions to promote emotional
and intellectual growth. Four sets of mental abilities are proposed in this model. The
first set “Perception, Appraisal and Expression of Emotion” allows an individual to
identify and express emotions in self and others.
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Fig 3.1 : Mayer Salovey Model
The second set “Emotional Facilitation of Thinking” allows an individual to use
emotions to facilitate thinking and to recognize respective consequences of different
emotional responses. The third set “Employing Emotional Knowledge” concerns with
the ability to understand, label and acknowledge the emotions and to use emotional
knowledge. The fourth set “Reflective regulation of emotion” deals with the ability
to manage and adjust the emotional response to support the situational
requirements.
3.2.2.2. Bar – On Model
Darwin’s early work on the importance of emotional expression for survival and
adaptation has influenced the ongoing development of the Bar-On model, which
both stresses the importance of emotional expression and views the outcome of
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emotionally and socially intelligent behavior in Darwinian terms of effective
adaptation. Bar-On’s model of emotional intelligence (Bar-on 1997) is fundamentally
based on the personality characteristics. Five broad areas of emotional intelligence
are proposed in this model:
Fig 3.2: Bar-On Model
Intrapersonal Skills refers to self-awareness and self expression. Interpersonal Skills
refers to Social awareness and interpersonal relationship. Adaptability EQ refers to
change management. Stress Management refers to emotional management and
regulation. General Mood is the ability to be optimistic and positive as well as to
enjoy life. This contributes to emotional energy and self motivation.
3.2.2.3. Daniel Goleman Model
Goleman (2001) has examined EI through the exploration of “Emotional
Competence”. Emotional Competence describes the personal and social skills that
lead to superior performance in the world of work. Hence it is also called the Theory
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of Performance. He defines EI as the ability to recognize and regulate emotions in
ourselves and in others.
He summarizes the characteristics of the emotional competecies in the following
manner:
(a) Independent. Each makes a unique contribution to job performance.
(b) Interdependent. Each draws to some extent on certain others,
with many strong interactions.
(c) Hierarchical. The emotional intelligence capacities build upon one
another. For example, self-awareness is crucial for self-regulation and
empathy; self-regulation and self-awareness contribute to motivation; all the
first four are at work in social skills.
(d) Necessary, but Not Sufficient. Having underlying
emotional intelligence ability does not guarantee people will develop or
display the associated competencies, such as collaboration or leadership.
Factors such as the climate of an organization or a person’s interest in his or
her job will also determine whether the competence manifests itself.
(e) Generic. The general list is to some extent applicable to all jobs.
However, different jobs make different competence demands.
3.2.2.3.1 Amplification of Emotional Competencies
Goleman’s EI framework consists of Emotion in Self and Others further divided into
Recognition and Regulation of emotions. This results in four domains of cognitive
abilities. Twenty EI Competencies nest within these four domains (clusters of
competencies)
I Self – awareness. This quality is knowing one’s internal states,
preferences, resources, and intuitions, which is the vital foundation skill for the
following three emotional competencies:
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(a) Emotional Awareness. The recognition of how our emotions
affect our performance, and the ability to use our values to guide decision
making.
(b) Accurate Self-assessment. The ability to know one’s inner
resources, abilities and limits.
(c) Self – confidence. A strong sense of one’s self-worth and
capabilities.
Fig 3.3: Goleman’s Framework of EI
Self-Awareness
Emotional Self-awareness
Accurate Self-assessment
Self Confidence
Social-Awareness
Empathy
Service Orientation
Organizational awareness
Self-Management
Emotional Self-control
Trustworthiness
Conscientiousness
Adaptability
Achievement drive
Initiative
Relationship Management
Developing others
Influence
Communication
Conflict management
Visionary Leadership
Catalyzing change
Building bonds
Teamwork & Collaboration
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II Self-Management It refers to the ability of managing one’s internal states,
impulses and resources. This is managing impulse as well as distressing feelings. This
depends on the working of the emotional centres in tandem with the brain’s
executive centres in the prefrontal areas. These two primary skills, i.e. handling
impulse and dealing with upsets are at the core of the following six emotional
competencies:
(a) Emotional Self-Control Keeping disruptive emotions and
impulses in check
(b) Trustworthiness Maintaining standards of honesty and integrity.
(c) Conscientiousness Taking responsibility for personal performance.
(d) Adaptability Flexibility in handling change.
(e) Achievement Drive Striving to improve or meet a standard of
excellence.
(f) Initiative Readiness to act on opportunities. Those with initiative
act before being forced to by external events. This often means taking
anticipatory action to avoid problems before they happen, or taking
advantage of opportunities before they are visible to anyone else.
III Social Awareness It refers to awareness of the environment and flow of
emotions. This consists of three competencies:
(a) Empathy Awareness of other’s feelings, needs, and concerns is
empathy. Sensing what others feel without their saying so captures the
essence of empathy.
(b) Service Orientation Anticipating, recognizing and meeting other’s
needs.
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(c) Organizational Awareness Reading a group’s emotional currents
and power relationships. This is the ability to read social and political
currents.:
IV Relationship Management It refers to adeptness at inducing desirable
responses from others. This consists of eight competencies:
(a) Developing others Sensing others developmental needs and
bolstering their abilities.
(b) Influence Wielding effective tactics for persuasion.
(c) Communication Listening openly and sending convincing
messages. Listening well, the key to empathy is also crucial to competence in
communication. Listening skills – asking astute questions, being open-minded
and understanding, not interrupting, seeking suggestions - account for about
a third of people’s evaluations of whether someone they work with is an
effective communicator.
(d) Conflict Management Negotiating and resolving
disagreements. One talent of those skilled at conflict resolution is spotting
trouble as it is brewing and taking steps, with diplomacy and tact, to calm
those involved.
(e) Visionary Leadership Inspiring and guiding individuals and
groups.
(f) Catalyzing Change Initiating and/or managing change.
(g) Building Bonds Nurturing instrumental relationships or as some
refer to as ‘networking’ is an important competence. The benefits of such
relationships are tremendous.
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(h) Teamwork and Collaboration Creating group synergy in
pursuing collective goals, which is team work or team spirit is of utmost
importance. In the military, this task is vested upon the officers who by virtue
of their rank become leaders at various levels.
It is opined that Goleman’s Emotional Competence Framework given above and the
amplifications given in the paras thereafter is comprehensive and appropriate to this
study. Goleman’s findings are based on his own extensive research and the workings
of renowned Emotional Intelligence theorists such as Thorndike, Mayer, Salovey and
Gardner. Hence, Goleman’s Emotional Competence Framework will be taken as the
working framework for this research.
3.3 EI AND LEADERSHIP
A review of the literature on the relationship between emotional intelligence and
leadership behavior discloses a number of empirical studies have been conducted on
this relationship. Goleman,(1998a, 1998b) argued that it is competence in emotional
intelligence that distinguishes top performers in leadership. It is the level of a
leader’s understanding of the powerful role emotions play in the workplace that
separates the best leaders from the rest. The higher one goes in an organization,
technical skills and cognitive ability become less important while emotional
intelligence becomes increasingly so. Leaders that demonstrate more emotional
intelligence than their peers outperform and advance quicker in their careers.
George (2000) deems not only are feelings an integral part of leadership, it is the
multiplicity of mood and emotion that influences leadership effectiveness. Leaders
are obviously human beings with the full range of emotions potentially available to
them. He further proposed that emotional intelligence may contribute to leaders’
foresight in their organization by using their emotions to boost their thought process
regarding internal challenges and opportunities. Leaders will be better equipped to
use positive emotions to facilitate improvements and influence followers so that
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they are receptive to change and supportive of the leader. In addition, leaders high
in emotional intelligence will have the ability to manage their emotions and
followers so that followers are secure and optimistic about where they are going and
their personal contribution to the organization. Individuals with strong emotional
intelligence skills assert higher levels of transformational leadership proficiency,
consequently leading to higher performance.
Higgs (2003) studied possible linkages between emotional intelligence and
leadership by developing a framework to uncover a potential relationship between
the concepts of both. Leadership has been seen as an amalgamation of personal
characteristics and areas of competence. Regression analysis showed a relationship
with elements of emotional intelligence and leadership, specifically; cognitive
abilities and knowledge were related positively to strategic leadership, intellectual
leadership, and political leadership. Leaders lead through a combination of logical
decision-making and feeling. Depending upon the situation, it may require more
emotional intelligence and less logical decision-making or vice versa. Barbuto and
Barbuto & Burbach (2006) tested the relationship between emotional intelligence
and transformational leadership, and found evidence consistent with previous
studies that demonstrated positive considerable relationships between the two.
Based on a review of the literature, it has been argued that emotional intelligence is
necessary for measuring, selecting, and developing managers. It is assumed that the
rudiments of emotional intelligence are among the important attributes required for
effective leaders. It also is assumed that emotional intelligence is related to actual
leadership performance. Vrba (2007) rated 60 front line managers at a South African
insurance company, examining the relationship between emotional intelligence skills
and leadership behavior. Correlation analysis revealed a significant relationship
between emotional intelligence skills and all the outcomes of leadership.
Moods and emotions (feelings) are a fundamental factor in the leadership process.
The ability to recognize and deal with these feelings in oneself and others plays a
major part in successful leadership within an organization. Besides predicting an
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individual’s success in organization, EI impacts the overall performance of the
organization. Emotionally intelligent leadership is the key to creating a working
climate that nurtures employees and encourages them to give their best.
3.4 MILITARY LEADERSHIP
The principles of leadership are universal to all organisations. However, subtle
difference and changes do occur while leading military minds. This primarily is
related to the ability, attributes and attitudes of the military mind. Leadership is the
most important factor in the sustenance and progress of an organisation. It is not
only that military officers are required to lead men in battle, but also are required to
put tremendous effort in preparing men for battle. Over the years many definitions
have evolved towards military leadership. Field Marshal Montgomery said,
“Leadership is the capacity and will to rally men and women to a common purpose
and the character which inspires confidence.” The basic ingredients brought out here
is further clarified by the definition given by Field Marshal Slim, “Leadership is the
projection of personality. It is the combination of persuasion, compulsion and
example that makes other people do what you want them to do”. General
Eisenhower observed, “Leadership is the knack of getting somebody to do something
you want done because he wants to do”. It is clear in these definitions that
overriding importance is given to behaviour of the leader.
Based on these a comprehensive explanation of military Leadership can be taken as,
it is the art of influencing and directing men in such a way as to obtain their willing
obedience, confidence, respect, loyal cooperation in order to accomplish the desired
results.
Gen KV Krishna Rao(2000) has provided a good understanding of the tenets of Indian
Military Leadership. Based on his study and experience, he worked out a definition
which adequately embraces all aspects of military leadership. He posits that
leadership is the ability to direct and inspire people to give off their best willingly, to
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achieve a goal irrespective of the hazards, efforts and sacrifices involved. This can be
treated as the most significant Indian definition of military leadership.
3.5 APPLICATION OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE CONCEPT ON
MILITARY LEADERSHIP
Within a military context, strong leadership is essential from the top levels of the
hierarchy down through to lower level personnel. Effective leadership, in particular
transformational and charismatic leadership, is inherently an emotional process.
Leadership behaviors are sources of affective events for followers; leaders can cause
hassles, negative incidents, or uplifts, positive incidents for followers. The
effectiveness of these leadership styles stems from the ability of the leader to use his
or her emotional intelligence skills to manage the emotions of his or her followers.
By managing follower emotions, leaders are able to arouse positive or negative
emotions in followers, and they can also arouse a sense of calm where required. This
ability to manage follower emotions can thus mean the difference between success
and failure or between life and death.
3.5.1 US Military
It seems that the US military started its studies and application of EI quite early.
According to Cherniss(1999), in 1998 the USAF deicided to test the EI level of its
recruiters. The USAF realized that “by using emotional intelligence to select the
recruiters, they increased their ability to predict successful recruiters by three fold”,
and through the recognition that EI is important to the potential of new recruiters,
the Air Force was able to realize a cost saving of three million dollars annually. This
was so significant that the General Accounting Office (GAO), sent a report to
Congress requesting the Secretary of Defence to order all branches of the military to
adopt the procedure of testing for EI in an effort to improve military recruiting.
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Trabun (2002) carried out a study comparing the measured emotional intelligence
ability to the evaluated leadership performance of 104 select male and female U.S.
Naval Academy midshipmen. He found some significant relationships between the
EIQ scores and leadership performance. He recommended that United States Naval
Academy (USNA) should give further consideration to the role that emotional
intelligence plays in leadership, and that its predictive value in assessing, developing,
and evaluating naval leaders be further explored. Discussions of an emotional
intelligence construct are currently part of the USNA leadership curriculum. These
discussions introduce the student to a concept of EI as it may be important to a
leader in dealing with superiors, peers, or subordinates, but is based almost
exclusively on the trait-based models portrayed in popular literature. It was
recommended that the curriculum be developed to include a discussion of emotional
intelligence as both a trait and ability-based construct, and that students be
presented with information and exercises that may allow them to develop and
exercise these abilities.
Lieutenant Colonel Mark Michael McLeod (2004), carried out a Strategy Research
Project, at U.S. Army War College,titled, ‘Developing Intuitive Officers to
Revolutionize Transformation in the 21st Century Military’. He brought out that the
officer socialization process fails to develop sufficient numbers of strategic leaders
with the intuition and Emotional Intelligence (EI) necessary to head a changing 21st
Century force, jeopardizing future transformation. He proposed building a process to
grow intuitive leaders, those with the ability to synthesize elements of past
experience and apply them in novel situations, in an environment where social
controls foster shared values. It is in such a culture where EI leaders, those who can
manage their feelings and balance motives with ethical behavior, have the chance to
institutionalize transformation. The officer development system, including day-to-
day socialization, performance feedback, and promotion processes, largely ignores
strategic leadership skills like intuition and EI. As a result, effectiveness and efficiency
remain the primary success determinants for promotion. In order to achieve
revolutionary transformation in personnel, intuition and EI skills should be directly
incorporated into current socialization, training, and evaluation programs. The
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eventual goal is to change the military’s culture by creating a new on-the-job leader
development system which cultivates, develops, and promotes officers’ intuitive and
EI skills.
Major David S Abraham (2007)of the US Army says, “Applying emotional intelligence
theory to Army leader development and training is an idea whose time has come.
The costs of selecting and promoting leaders with poor emotional intelligence skills
are lost unit effectiveness and junior leader disenchantment.”
Lieutenant Colonel Gerald F Sewell (2009) compared the US Army leadership
requirements with the Goleman’s Emotional competencies model. The twelve Army
leader attributes align within Goleman’s domains with crossover into both personal
and social competence areas. Seven of the twelve attributes fit nicely into the
personal competence area as they deal specifically with the personal characteristics
of the individual leader and what a leader must be. The eight leader competencies fit
into both sides of the chart and each of the eight falls under the relationship
management domain as they involve establishing relationships and dealing with
others. The comparison demonstrates that the emotional aspects of leader
attributes and competencies correlate with the emotional intelligence competencies
of the Goleman model. Emotional intelligence is about understanding your own
emotions and those of others in order to be a more successful person. The leader
attributes and competencies assist leaders in becoming better leaders by
understanding themselves and others as well as their relationships to others as they
lead people and organizations. Sewell concluded that the US Army’s leader
development programs will do a great service to its leaders by placing increased
emphasis on the emotional intelligent aspects of leadership.
Mula (2013) brought out that an Army Research Institute study indicated that junior
leaders were leaving the U.S. Army at a high rate due to poor leadership, and senior
leaders had no method of identifying negative leaders. A correlational and
descriptive study was carried out to examine the relationship between emotional
intelligence and transformational leadership in U.S. Army National Guard leaders.
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Two theoretical bases framed this study: emotional intelligence and
transformational leadership. The U.S. Army National Guard leaders in the sample
were separated by age, gender, time in service, and pay grade. An online survey was
used to collect data using two validated instruments, one measuring emotional
intelligence and one measuring transformational leadership. The organization
chosen as the population for this study was a brigade-size element, selected for its
varied composition of units representing the combat and combat service support
functions of the U.S. Army. According to the study results, there was a strong
positive relationship between emotional intelligence and transformational
leadership. Identifying leadership styles that motivate subordinates without
unnecessarily inducing stress has benefitted the U.S. Army through the increasing
retention of junior leaders, improving operational readiness, and mitigating the
effect of toxic leaders.
3.5.2 Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces Leadership Institute published a paper “Emotional Intelligence
and Military Leadership” in March 2002. The purpose of this paper was to present a
review of emotional intelligence models and measures, and to make a conceptual
link between components that fall under the concept of emotional intelligence and
effective leadership behaviours. Leaders who possess the ability to manage /
regulate their emotions may be more apt to engage in self-sacrifice. A leader who
displays self-discipline and self-control may be more likely to delay gratification and
be more committed to his / her morals and values. Emotionally intelligent individuals
tend to manage emotions in oneself and others by regulating the expression of
negative emotions and enhancing the expression of positive emotions Leaders who
can manage emotions in others may be successful at instilling motivation and
enthusiasm in followers
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3.5.3 Australian Defence Forces
Australian Defence Doctrine Publication (2007) recognizes Emotional Intelligence as
an essential ingradient of leadership. The doctrine has defined leadership as the
process of influencing others in order to gain their willing consent in the ethical
pursuit of missions. The influence referred to in the leadership process is an
emotional influence most closely related to referent power. Followers commit to do
what leaders require of them not necessarily because of formal authority but
because of trust and belief. Two people can have identical formal authority and
power and yet one is able to achieve so much more than the other. A leader’s
behaviour will be closely observed by his or her followers. Countless organisational
studies have indicated that a worker’s immediate supervisor has more influence on
that worker than any other person in that organisation’s hierarchy. Appropriate
leader behaviour will engender trust and credibility in the eyes of followers. This
perspective recognises that the foundation of leadership is based on individual
character and competence. Character, built on an individual’s values and attitudes,
includes such things as social capacity, interpersonal skills, personal integrity,
conscientiousness, self-assurance and trust-worthiness. Many of these ‘social
awareness’ character traits are combined in what is now being called Emotional
Intelligence.
3.5.4 Turkish Land Forces
A study was carried out in the Turkish Land Forces to determine whether the
difference between high-level strategic decision-making staff, that are major,
lieutenant colonel and colonel and lower-level manager in the Turkish Land Forces
according to age and educational background, factors in terms of levels of emotional
intelligence.(Onay,Dincer & Gursoy 2011) Emotional intelligence levels were
measured on 213 ranked officers. The survey indicated that, when the military rank
increases, the level of total EI also raises. Thus, a positive relationship between high-
level strategic decision making military personnel and total EI was strengthened.
Similarly, military origin is observed to have an impact on the level of emotional
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intelligence as well. Military academy graduates had lower levels of total emotional
intelligence compared to officers with other origins.
3.5.5 Indian Armed Forces
Colonel Rajeshwar Singh (2004) of Indian Army, has written about application of
emotional intelligence in army units and formations operating in counter insurgency
operations. He posited that the performance of a soldier who is engaged all 24 hours
fighting militancy for months together needs serious thought. The conventional
theories need to be supplemented with latest concepts. There are no magic
remedies to combat ‘stress’ but emotional intelligence is promising to be a new
propelling force to enhance performance by not only lowering down the stress levels
but drive them on the path of achievement.
Group Captain RM Tiwari (2005) conducted a study on emotional Intelligence and its
relevance to senior military leadership. He brought out that military profession
requires higher level of EI than other professions. He posited that EI is more relevant
to Senior Military Leadership as compared to the Junior Military Leaders, and there is
a need to impart formal training on EI to military officers at various stages in their
career as they grow in service.
Group Captain Avatar Singh (2005) posited that Emotional intelligence has a great
deal of applicability to the people in the defence services. By the nature of their job
the defence forces personnel are exposed to intense emotions. They must have
knowledge of regulating their emotions so that the emotions are unable to hijack
their rational thinking. They also must get opportunities to vent out their feelings so
that they do not get under an emotional stress. The knowledge of emotional
interaction within the brain can certainly help military men to retain their sense of
rationality even under situations of intense pressure. This can easily be achieved
through formal training on raising the emotional intelligence. The military leaders
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would not only gain personally by raising their EI but will also have a profound
influence on their subordinates. This would have a great impact on the group
performance, thereby making the defence organisations more effective.
Jagannathan (2006) discussed the relevance of EQ in the selection system for the
officers of all three arms of Indian Armed Forces. He brought out that emotional
intelligence is essential for a person to have the officer like qualities. But the
assessment method followed at services selection board does not have any direct
assessment for the emotional intelligence level of the candidates.
Col Kulbir Singh (2008) brought out the role of emotional Intelligence in the
relationship between superior and subordinates in the armed forces. He posits
Emotional intelligence is one of the most crucial factors in synergic superior -
subordinate relationship in any organization aiming to fight high attrition rates and
low job satisfaction for enhanced performance and improved work-life balance.
Leveraging of EI in interpersonal relationships of its workforce at all hierarchical
levels is the new mantra to become a successful organization whether in corporate
world or in defence forces.
Major General MCMP Samarasinghe (2009) of Sri Lankan Army, carried out a
comparison of Goleman’s emotional competence framework with the Emerging
competencies of next generation military leaders, while at National Defence College
New Delhi. He found convergence of sixty five percent. He thereby proved that
emotional intelligence is critical competency for military leadership.
Colonel Rajendra Sachdev (2009) carried out to carry out a study on EI with a view to
assess its usefulness in enhancing the effectiveness of human resource management
and decision making of Senior Leadership of the Armed Forces. He brought out that
EI as a tool for human resource management and decision making is a necessity for
senior leadership of the Armed Forces.
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Comdant IS Chouhan, (2010) studied the role of emotional intelligence in effective
decision making in Indian Coast Guard. He reported that the emotional self
awareness, emotional self expression, emotional resilience, emotional interpersonal
connectivity and emotional constructive discontent of more than 50% coast guard
officers are vulnerable and cautionary. This implies that more than 50% officers are
vulnerable to emotions and need to understand the role of emotions, not only in
their professional jobs but also in their personal lives. This also implies that a large
number of officers need to be educated about these concepts so that they can
enhance their decision making abilities. Overwhelmingly officers agreed that
emotional intelligence can enhance effective decision making in the coast guard and
there is a need to impart training in emotional intelligence.
Colonel Vikram Singh (2013) suggested that the Indian Army must get some of the
recent suicide cases and accidents evaluated from professionals, who can give an
insight into the EI aspect of the individuals concerned. It can give some valuable
inputs to army with regard to the selection process and also management of EI in the
armed forces. It can help in bringing down the suicide cases to a very large extent.
Group Captain Pradeep Kumar Nair (2014) attempted to study the relationship
between emotional intelligence and officers like qualities of cadets at Air Force
academy. He could not establish any significant positive correlation. He also brought
out that the officer like qualities being assessed at this stage are not the same as
during the selection procedure. He could not establish the reasons for lack of
correlation since the details of the attributes of officer like qualities being assessed
was not available to him.
During the literature survey the research scholar could not find any literature which
attempted to evaluate the level of Emotional Intelligence amongst the Indian
Military Officers.
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3.6 COMPARISON OF OFFICER LIKE QUALITIES WITH EMOTIONAL
INTELLIGENCE COMPETENCIES
A comparison has been carried out between the Officer Like Qualities (OLQs) which
form the basis of selection of the officers of Indian Armed Forces (discussed in
Chapter 2, Para 2.4.2, Table 2.1), with the Emotional Intelligence Competencies given
by Goleman’s Framework of EI Competencies (refer Para 3.2.2.3, Fig 3.3). The OLQs
consist of four primary factors namely Planning & Organization, Social Adjustment,
Social Effectiveness and Dynamic. These factors consist of a total of fifteen qualities,
which were identified as results of study of inter co-relations between qualities,
statistical procedures and opinion surveys. Goleman’s Framework of EI
Competencies consists of four dimensions which are identified based on the cluster
made by the twenty competencies. Factor II, Social Adjustment and Factor III Social
Effectiveness appear to have semblance with Social Awareness and Relationship
Management dimensions of EI framework. Comparing the specific OLQs with
competencies, it is seen that ten out of fifteen OLQs have a corresponding EI
competency. It can be said that two third or 66% of the OLQs are matching with EI
competency framework. Refer Table 3.1.
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Table 3.1: Comparison of Officer Like qualities with EI Competencies
Officer Like Qualities Corresponding EI Competency
FACTOR I
Planning & Organizing
Effective Intelligence
Reasoning Ability
Organizing Ability Team work & collaboration
Power of Expression Communication
FACTOR II
Social Adjustment
Social Awareness
Social Adaptability Adaptability
Cooperation Conflict management
Sense of Responsibility Conscientiousness
FACTOR III
Social Effectiveness
Relationship Management
Initiative Initiative
Self-Confidence Self-confidence
Decision Making
Ability to Influence Group Influence
Liveliness Catalyzing change
FACTOR IV
Dynamic
Determination Achievement drive
Stamina
Courage
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In view of the above, it can be said that EI competencies do play a significant role in
selection of Indian Military Officers, though no direct assessment of EI by experts is
carried out during the selection process.
3.7 CONCLUSION
Three main models of emotional intelligence have been widely accepted. The first
model by Peter Salovey and John Mayer perceives EI as a form of pure intelligence,
that is, emotional intelligence is a cognitive ability. A second model by Reuven Bar-
On regards EI as a mixed intelligence, consisting of cognitive ability and personality
aspects. This model emphasizes how cognitive and personality factors influence
general well-being. The third model, introduced by Daniel Goleman, also perceives EI
as a mixed intelligence involving cognitive ability and personality aspects. However,
unlike the model proposed by Reuven Bar-On, Goleman's model focuses on how
cognitive and personality factors determine workplace success. This is also referred
to as the Competency model.
Emotional Intelligence at the individual and group or organizational levels converges
in the exercise of leadership. The emotional intelligence of a group’s leader will have
a powerful impact on the group’s climate and effectiveness. Of course, groups also
have a powerful impact on their leaders, but the emotionally intelligent leader is
aware of those influences, recognizes when they become pernicious, and has the
capability to manage them in a way that minimizes harm. Emotionally intelligent
leaders understand group, intergroup, and organizational dynamics, particularly as
they affect emotional functioning, and they are skillful in working with those
dynamics for the benefit of individuals and their organizations.
Within the armed forces, leadership is considered a core competency. However,
applying emotional intelligence in a military context presents some significant
challenges given prevailing notions that military leadership induces more task-
related behavior than relationship-focused behavior. Because of the unique context
137
of the military environment and the challenging nature of many associated tasks,
there is perhaps greater applicability for EI skills in the daily functions of leaders.
Leaders who can establish mutual trust, respect, and a certain warmth and rapport
with members of their group will be more effective. Mutual trust and respect are the
foundation of military effectiveness, and are crucial to good order and discipline, as
well as the ability to function cohesively in situations that harbor the potential for
loss of life. Consideration, warmth, and rapport is found in the military context in the
form of justice, fairness, and the compassion exercised by military leaders at all
levels in the process of managing the welfare of subordinates. Many studies have
been conducted proving a strong the relationship of EI with military leadership.
In Indian Armed Forces no study has been carried out to directly evaluate the level of
EI of its personnel. However there is a significant relationship between the Officer
Like Qualities used for selection of officers for the Indian military and Goleman’s EI
competencies. Sixty seven percent of the OLQs match with EI competencies.
138
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