Social Intelligence Trumps EI

Twelve years after Daniel Goleman popularized the idea of emotional intelligence we find that it is social intelligence (SI) is that is the real key to enhancing your leadership impact. Further, a lack of social intelligence is a key reason why leadership careers derail. According to the Australian Leadership Development Centre, who offer the pioneering Socially Intelligent Leader development program, this is not surprising as the core role of a leader is to achieve results through other people.

It is not that emotional abilities are not important to leadership – they are, but two recent research studies[i] have shown that it is a leader’s ability to lead through relationships that has the largest effect on their impact as a leader. Further, researchers, Hogan and Hogan, who have written extensively on leadership derailment, demonstrate the critical role social intelligence has for leaders, stating that leaders fail when they are either disliked or distrusted by their staff[ii] – limiting their ability to get work done through others. All of this echoes the findings by the Conference Board, best known for the Consumer Confidence Index, that relationship building will be one of just four critical roles of the future leader, while failing to build such relationships through arrogance and insensitivity will continue to be one of the four most important career derailers[iii].

Originally, Goleman lumped social intelligence with the other elements of his emotional intelligence model. However, since then research has repeatedly supported the separation of personal and social competencies[iv], more akin to Howard Gardner’s model of intrapersonal and interpersonal effectiveness. Goleman himself came to realise that while emotions play a role in social intelligence, SI has its own unique abilities[v].

Karl Albrecht, whose work on social intelligence won him the Mensa “Intellectual Benefits Award”, defines social intelligence as:

… the ability to get along well with others and to get them to cooperate with you[vi].

Social intelligence involves far more than just being nice. In fact an excessive need to please and be liked is considered to be socially unintelligent and is a specific derailment factor. Rather social involves an intelligent balance:

• Being confident without being arrogant
• Being genuinely interested in others while still focusing on results.
• Empathizing and moving people forward.
• Tapping people’s hearts as well as their minds.

The Australian Leadership Development Centre is running a two-day program, The Socially Intelligent Leader, in Brisbane on 16-17 April, Melbourne 21-22 April, Canberra on 23-24 April and Sydney 15-16 May. Program places are strictly limited so register today!