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Best Practices at work

The following 22 guidelines represent the best current knowledge about how to promote

emotional intelligence in the workplace. They apply to any development effort in which

social and emotional learning is a goal. This would include most management and

executive development efforts as well as training in supervisory skills, diversity,

teamwork, leadership, conflict management, stress management, sales, customer

relations, etc.

These guidelines are based on an exhaustive review of the research literature in training

and development, counseling and psychotherapy, and behavior change. The guidelines

are additive and synergistic; to be effective, social and emotional learning experiences

need not adhere to all of these guidelines, but the chances for success increase with each

one that is followed.

The guidelines are divided into four phases that correspond to the four phases of the

development process: preparation, training, transfer and maintenance, and evaluation.

Each phase is important.

These guidelines were developed for the Consortium by Daniel Goleman and Cary

Cherniss, with the assistance of Kim Cowan, Rob Emmerling, and Mitchel Adler. If you

are interested in the full technical report that includes all the supporting research for each

guideline, you view the full technical report online or download the document in Word

6.0/95 format from. The address of the Consortium’s Web site is

www.EIConsortium.org.

Paving the Way

1. Assess the organization’s needs: Determine the competencies that are most critical

for effective job performance in a particular type of job. In doing so, use a valid

method, such as comparison of the behavioral events interviews of superior

performers and average performers. Also make sure the competencies to be

developed are congruent with the organization’s culture and overall strategy.

2. Assess the individual: This assessment should be based on the key competencies

needed for a particular job, and the data should come from multiple sources using

multiple methods to maximize credibility and validity.

3. Deliver assessments with care: Give the individual information on his/her strengths

and weaknesses. In doing so, try to be accurate and clear. Also, allow plenty of time

for the person to digest and integrate the information. Provide the feedback in a safe

and supportive environment in order to minimize resistance and defensiveness. But

also avoid making excuses or downplaying the seriousness of deficiencies.

The Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations Guidelines

( www.eiconsortium.org )

2

4. Maximize learner choice: People are more motivated to change when they freely

choose to do so. As much as possible, allow people to decide whether or not they

will participate in the development process, and have them set the change goals

themselves.

5. Encourage people to participate: People will be more likely to participate in

development efforts if they perceive them to be worthwhile and effective.

Organizational policies and procedures should encourage people to participate in

development activity, and supervisors should provide encouragement and the

necessary support. Motivation also will be enhanced if people trust the credibility of

those who encourage them to undertake the training.

6. Link learning goals to personal values: People are most motivated to pursue

change that fits with their values and hopes. If a change matters little to people, they

won’t pursue it. Help people understand whether a given change fits with what

matters most to them.

7. Adjust expectations: Build positive expectations by showing learners that social and

emotional competence can be improved and that such improvement will lead to

valued outcomes. Also, make sure that the learners have a realistic expectation of

what the training process will involve.

8. Gauge readiness: Assess whether the individual is ready for training. If the person

is not ready because of insufficient motivation or other reasons, make readiness the

focus of intervention efforts.

Doing the Work of Change

9. Foster a positive relationship between the trainers and learners: Trainers who are

warm, genuine, and empathic are best able to engage the learners in the change

process. Select trainers who have these qualities, and make sure that they use them

when working with the learners.

10. Make change self-directed: Learning is more effective when people direct their own

learning program, tailoring it to their unique needs and circumstances. In addition to

allowing people to set their own learning goals, let them continue to be in charge of

their learning throughout the program, and tailor the training approach to the

individual’s learning style.

11. Set clear goals: People need to be clear about what the competence is, how to acquire

it, and how to show it on the job. Spell out the specific behaviors and skills that make

up the target competence. Make sure that the goals are clear, specific, and optimally

challenging.

The Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations Guidelines

( www.eiconsortium.org )

3

12. Break goals into manageable steps: Change is more likely to occur if the change

process is divided into manageable steps. Encourage both trainers and trainees to

avoid being overly ambitious.

13. Provide opportunities to practice: Lasting change requires sustained practice on the

job and elsewhere in life. An automatic habit is being unlearned and different

responses are replacing it. Use naturally occurring opportunities for practice at work

and in life. Encourage the trainees to try the new behaviors repeatedly and

consistently over a period of months.

14. Give performance feedback: Ongoing feedback encourages people and directs

change. Provide focused and sustained feedback as the learners practice new

behaviors. Make sure that supervisors, peers, friends, family members – or some

combination of these – give periodic feedback on progress.

15. Rely on experiential methods: Active, concrete, experiential methods tend to work

best for learning social and emotional competencies. Development activities that

engage all the senses and that are dramatic and powerful can be especially effective.

16. Build in support: Change is facilitated through ongoing support of others who are

going through similar changes (such as a support group). Programs should encourage

the formation of groups where people give each other support throughout the change

effort. Coaches and mentors also can be valuable in helping support the desired

change.

17. Use models: Use live or videotaped models that clearly show how the competency

can be used in realistic situations. Encourage learners to study, analyze, and emulate

the models.

18. Enhance insight: Self-awareness is the cornerstone of emotional and social

competence. Help learners acquire greater understanding about how their thoughts,

feelings, and behavior affect themselves and others.

19. Prevent relapse: Use relapse prevention, which helps people use lapses and mistakes

as lessons to prepare themselves for further efforts.

Encouraging Transfer and Maintenance of Change

20. Encourage use of skills on the job: Supervisors, peers, and subordinates should

reinforce and reward learners for using their new skills on the job. Coaches and

mentors also can serve this function. Also, provide prompts and cues, such as

through periodic follow-ups. Change also is more likely to endure when high status

persons, such as supervisors and upper-level management model it.

The Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations Guidelines

( www.eiconsortium.org )

4

21. Develop an organizational culture that supports learning: Change will be more

enduring if the organization’s culture and tone support the change and offer a safe

atmosphere for experimentation.

Did It Work? Evaluating Change

22. Evaluate: To see if the development effort has lasting effects, evaluate it. When

possible, find unobtrusive measures of the competence or skill as shown on the job,

before and after training and also at least two months later. One-year follow-ups also

are highly desirable. In addition to charting progress on the acquisition of

competencies, also assess the impact on important job-related outcomes, such as

performance measures, and indicators of adjustment such as absenteeism, grievances,

health status, etc.

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