Emotional Intelligence – Attitude or Trait?

Dan Hughes and Peter Clarke

Product Director and Senior Consultant, JCA Global

In the morning session, Dan and Peter, introduced attendees to the JCA framework of Emotional Intelligence compared to other established models of EI.  JCA believe that the extent and effectiveness of an individual’s EI is determined largely by their underlying attitudes towards themselves and others.  This influences their self-awareness and awareness of others, which then leads onto to emotionally intelligent behaviours.  An overview of the Emotional Intelligence Profile (EIP) was provided: development, psychometric properties and different levels of report available.  Dan and Peter also shared some of the current research on EIP.  Before the session attendees had the opportunity to complete the JCA EIP. Their own short Snapshot report was then reviewed on the day, along with completion of an interactive self-development activity.

Stewart Desson, CEO and founder of Lumina  and Julie Ensor, Lead Developer Lumina Emotion

In the afternoon, Stewart Desson, BusinessPsychologist, CEO and founder of Lumina and Julie Ensor Business Psychologist, Psychometrician and Lead Developer on Lumina Emotion, presented to the group. Lumina set out to challenge some of the biases apparent in the standard conceptualisation of what ‘Emotional Intelligence’ is and is not.  In particular, the speakers made the case that the psychometric measurement of Emotional Intelligence would benefit from:

• Taking a more balanced view of Emotional Intelligence and not seeing it just as a function of high Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientious and Low Neurotic traits.
• Not seeing emotional intelligence as static (e.g. being high on empathy), but recognising it as a dynamic process of managing your thoughts, feeling and emotions effectively.
• Embracing the overlap between personality and EI, rather than trying to diminish it.

These concepts have been introduced into Lumina Learning’s pioneering new model of emotional intelligence, Lumina Emotion. The session presented the latest validity data, as well as giving everybody an interactive short experience of its application.