Strategic use of emotional intelligence in organizational settings: Exploring the dark side

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Abstract

Emotional intelligence (EI) comprises a set of abilities related to detecting, using, understanding and managing emotion. Research and discussion of EI has disproportionately focused on prosocial outcomes and has neglected the possibility that individuals high in EI may use their skills to advance their own interests, even at the expense of others. Just as the cognitively smart person may be able to understand options and draw conclusions quickly and competently, so the emotionally intelligent person may be able to assess and control emotions to facilitate the accomplishment of various goals, including the one of getting ahead. We suggest that high-EI people (relative to those low on EI) are likely to benefit from several strategic behaviors in organizations including: focusing emotion detection on important others, disguising and expressing emotions for personal gain, using misattribution to stir and shape emotions, and controlling the flow of emotion-laden communication. In addressing self-serving benefits, we reveal the dark side of EI and open new areas for research.

Section snippets

Strategic emotional intelligence

EI “refers to the ability to process emotion-laden information competently and to use it to guide cognitive activities like problem-solving and to focus energy on required behaviors” (Salovey et al., 2002, p. 159).3

A walk on the dark side

Research has neglected the strategic “dark side” potential of EI in favor of an emphasis on positive and pro-social outcomes (Jordan et al., 2007, Mayer et al., 2008a). EI has even been described as the “accurate appraisal and expression of emotions in oneself and others and the regulation of emotion in a way that enhances living” (Mayer, DiPaolo, & Salovey, 1990, p. 772; italics added). Likewise, the popular press extols the virtues of being emotionally intelligent (Boyatzis and McKee, 2005,

Theoretical foundations and overview

In this article we emphasize organizational arenas in which people compete to get ahead through the use of emotional levers that help control the outcomes of interactions. EI, we suggest, is similar to cognitive intelligence in providing individuals with advantages in competitive situations. Just as the cognitively smart person may be able to understand options and draw conclusions quickly and competently, so the emotionally intelligent person may be able to assess and control emotions to

Focusing on strategically important targets

We start with the notion that EI (like other types of intelligence) is utilized by individuals in some types of situations more than others. This aspect of EI is neglected in prior research (Mayer et al., 2008a, Mayer et al., 2008b). People are likely to deploy EI when situations have strong emotional content (e.g., when an individual is facing a performance review from a supervisor), or when the competitive character of a situation triggers keen attention to emotion regulation (e.g., when an

Disguising and expressing emotions for personal gain

Controlling emotions to produce desirable expressions has been a central theme in the emotional labor literature (e.g., Côté, 2005, Grandey, 2000). The idea in this stream of research is that employees need to comply with certain organizational display rules. Flight attendants, for example, ought to smile. Such emotional expressions serve organizational goals, often at the cost of the individual employee's well-being (Hochschild, 2001). Demands for emotional control extend beyond the frontline

Stirring and shaping emotions through sensegiving and misattribution

Employee emotions are aroused not only by occurrences in the workplace (Weiss & Cropanzano, 1996) but also by events outside of the workplace, including, for example, accidents to family members (George and Brief, 1996, Hersey, 1932). Individuals often seek out others with whom they can discuss their emotional experiences (Rimé et al., 1991, Schachter, 1959) and these discussions are subject to cultural norms concerning what is appropriate. In mainstream American society, relative to societies

Strategic control of emotion-laden information

People are motivated to get along with others and to get ahead through the pursuit of status and power (Hogan & Holland, 2003). These are two basic motives for human beings. In organizations that emphasize a culture of status, power, and competition, the ego objective (getting ahead) is likely to be more important than any common objective (getting along) (cf. Lewis, 1944, p. 115–116). In competitive organizations, the emotionally intelligent person may be able to further his or her personal

Discussion

In this article we have put forward the idea that EI is similar to other types of intelligence and other types of abilities in facilitating people's efforts to get along and to get ahead. We have countered the overly positive treatment of EI by researchers and commentators that has imperiled EI's scientific standing (Antonakis, 2010). Despite the affective revolution and redirection of research toward emotions (Barsade, Brief, & Spataro, 2003), little has been done to investigate the dark side

Conclusion

Despite recent clarifications of EI as a construct and as a process (Cherniss, 2010, Joseph and Newman, 2010), strong doubts continue to be expressed concerning how the overly-positive celebration of EI can be compatible with scientific norms of research (Antonakis, 2010). In this article, we present a new vein of theorizing. Whereas previous work focused almost exclusively on prosocial and positive aspects of this important set of skills, we redress the balance by exploring the dark side. To

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    For constructive comments on earlier versions of this article, we thank Caroline Bartel, Alicia Grandey, Gavin Kilduff, Sophia Marinova, Ginka Toegel, and the editors of this volume. We also thank Members of the ORG seminar, Smeal College of Business, Penn State; members of the Organizational Behavior reading group, University of Cambridge; and symposium participants at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management.

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