An Examination of the Impact of Training on the Emotional Intelligence of Individuals

Abstract

Over the last decade the Emotional Intelligence (EI) construct has been promoted as a tool that can be used to provide positive individual, team and organisational outcomes in the workplace. Researchers have demonstrated links between EI and organisational variables including organisational change, leadership, performance, conflict, interpersonal skills (IS), citizenship performance and goal setting. As a result organisations are now actively seeking ways to improve EI in the workplace. Currently there are a variety of interventions being offered for organisations to increase individual EI. These range from basic IS programs to specific emotions-focused interventions. An issue is, however, that many programs have not been subjected to theoretical justification and open empirical testing. Therefore, academic research should be conducted to ascertain the efficacy of training emotional intelligence within organisations. It is this research opportunity that forms the basis of this thesis and in particular, the following research questions: 1. Can individual emotional intelligence be increased through training in: a. Emotional Intelligence Skills? b. Interpersonal Skills? 2. What is the relationship between emotional intelligence and: a. Organisational Citizenship Behaviours? b. Goal Setting? To answer these questions, I develop and empirically test a theoretically-driven EI focused training program and determine whether EI, citizenship performance and goal setting can be improved through training. These results were then compared to the results from a basic IS training program and a normative group data collection. Interventions were conducted within a large Australian public sector organisation.