Managing an organisation is relatively not an easy task, especially for large organisations or multinational companies.
Stoner and Wankel in their book Management (Third Edition), states that a successful manager usually said to have leadership characteristics such as charismatic, far-sighted, initiative, firm and haves skills such as humanitarian, conceptual and technical skills.
At the same time, a successful manager should also have high emotional intelligence (EQ) which is the main factor determining the difference between successful and less successful leaders.
High EQ capabilities are now increasingly valued as an important asset of the organisation because it helps build interpersonal relationships of all employees in a work team to realize the set objectives and goals.
The relationship between emotional intelligence and its impact on individuals in an organisation has extensively studied.
Some researchers such as Cherniss (1998), Cooper and Sawaf (1997) as well as Salovey et al. (2000) assert that one’s success in life depends on one’s rational ability to handle emotions and other relevant information most suitably according to circumstances and situations.
According to Goleman, individuals with high EQs have a tendency to show good relationships, are easy to get along with and succeed in careers that involve communication skills.
On the other hand, those with low EQ said to have problems in relationships, difficult to adapt and their career achievements are also less excellent.
Emotional intelligence can influence the effectiveness of the organisation in several aspects related to personnel matters such as selection and dismissal of employees, improving abilities, group work, employee commitment, morale, innovation, productivity, efficiency, quality of service as well as increasing loyalty among customers.
People with adequate or high EQ will empathise with the people whom they deal with on a day-to-day basis and understand their point of view.
People with IQ and low EQ will remain mechanical in dealing with the poor and the needy. People with adequate EQ generally service-orientated, sympathetic towards others and best suited for handling social challenges such as poverty, illiteracy and gender issues.
EQ is a crucial element for delivering public services to the most disadvantageous segments. Ordinary people look up to the bureaucratic setup for delivery of entitled public services.
An administrative officer, a police station officer, a civil surgeon in government hospital, warden of a social welfare hostel, and a government school teacher are some of those who form part of the government systems with which ordinary people come in contact for the services due to them.
When empathy and sympathy (EQ) brought forth while adhering to the rules and procedures, a ‘job’ transforms into a ‘service’.
The greater the emotional intelligence of workers, the more they motivated to serve the public, and the greater their job satisfaction, organisational commitment, and the quality of service they provide.
EQ is essential in all human beings. EQ is cultivable through right training interventions from reliable source. Continual training for government servants on empathy, sensitivity towards the disadvantaged segments of society will go a long way in making government assignment more of a “service”.