The Value of Emotional Intelligence Coaching

By Jeffrey E. Auerbach, Ph.D., MCC

One of the biggest reasons people seek coaching is greater success at work and in their personal life. What leads to great success in one's career and personal life? A growing body of evidence says that emotional intelligence makes the difference.

The good news for coaches is that best-selling author Daniel Goleman, in both his new book, Primal Leadership, and in his recent Harvard Business Review articles, is telling our prospective clients that coaching is a powerful method to develop emotional intelligence and thereby cultivate greater success. Goleman says in his newest book that a "coach helps you discover your dreams, understand your strengths and gaps and your impact on others, and guides you through the steps in your learning plan."

Here is some of the evidence, which suggests that emotional intelligence coaching will result in a high return on investment for our clients:

The prominent search firm Egon Zehnder International analyzed career success in 515 senior executives. Seventy-four percent of the highest performing executives were also very high in emotional intelligence.

Optimism is an important emotional intelligence competency. Salespeople at Met Life who scored high on a test of "learned optimism" sold 37 percent more life insurance in their first two years than those who scored low on learned optimism. (Seligman, 1990)

Deficits in emotional intelligence are the primary cause of career derailment. Research at the Center for Creative Leadership found that being low in the following emotional intelligence competencies strongly contributed to career crashes: managing change, team work relations and interpersonal relations.

Three hundred senior executives from fifteen global companies were surveyed to identify what were the critical factors that contributed to their superior success. The factors that were found to contribute to their success were six emotional intelligence competencies: influence, team leadership, organizational awareness, self-confidence, achievement drive, and leadership (Spencer, L.M., Jr., 1997).

The United States Air Force found that the most successful recruiters scored highest in the emotional intelligence competencies of assertiveness, empathy, happiness, and emotional self-awareness. The Air Force found that when they added
emotional intelligence screening to their selection process these new recruiters were 300 percent more effective than the average prior recruiters -- resulting in an immediate $3 million in annual savings. (Military Recruiting Report, submitted to Congress, 1/30/98).

In coaching we are often helping leaders, managers and other individuals work more effectively with others. By helping our clients develop their emotional intelligence competencies in themselves they prime good feelings in those around them. Highly emotional intelligent people bring out the best in people around them. As coaches, it is our joy to help bring out the best of our client's potential.