Page 297 - Fundamentals of Management Myths Debunked (2017)_Flat

296 Part 4 • Leading
The Big Five model provides more than just
a personality framework. Research has shown that
important relationships exist between these per-
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sonality dimensions and job performance. For
example, one study reviewed five categories of
occupations: professionals (e.g., engineers, archi-
tects, attorneys), police, managers, sales, and semi-
Will Vragovic/Tampa Bay Times/ZUMAPRESS/Alamy Live News as salary level. The results of the study showed
skilled and skilled employees. Job performance
was defined in terms of employee performance rat-
ings, training competency, and personnel data such

that conscientiousness predicted job performance
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for all five occupational groups. Predictions for
the other personality dimensions depended on the
situation and the occupational group. For example,
extraversion predicted performance in managerial
and sales positions, in which high social interac-
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tion is necessary. Openness to experience was
found to be important in predicting training com-
petency. Ironically, emotional security was not
positively related to job performance. Although it
would seem logical that calm and secure workers
The personality dimension of extraversion would be better performers, that wasn’t the case.
of the Big Five Model applies to
entrepreneur Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx. Perhaps it’s a function of the likelihood that emotionally stable workers often keep their jobs
Being sociable, talkative, and assertive and emotionally unstable people may not. given that all those participating in the study were
contributed to Blakely’s launch and employed, the variance on that dimension was probably small.
development of her enormously successful
undergarment venture. Blakely (at left) is
shown here introducing her employee team What is eMotional intelligence? People who understand their own emotions and
to shoppers at a new Spanx store in Tampa.
are good at reading others’ emotions may be more effective in their jobs. That, in essence,
is the theme of the underlying research on emotional intelligence. 31
Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to an assortment of noncognitive skills, capabilities,
and competencies that influences a person’s ability to cope with environmental demands and
32
pressures. It’s composed of five dimensions:
emotional intelligence (EI)
The ability to notice and to manage emotional cues • Self-awareness. Being aware of what you’re feeling.
and information
• Self-management. Managing your own emotions and impulses.

::::::: Technology and the Manager’s Job :::::::
INCrEAsED rElIANCE ON EMOTIONAl INTEllIGENCE

Even as technology allows more and more employees to move to get along with others—coworkers, colleagues, team mem-
off-site work arrangements, that doesn’t mean that they won’t be bers, bosses, and customers—will be critical to success in
interacting with others. Nope . . . they’ll still have ongoing contact most jobs. Those employees who have strong technical skills but
with colleagues and customers. And whether it goes by the name are weak on emotional intelligence will find it increasingly difficult
of emotional intelligence, social intelligence, or something else, to find and hold a job.
the ability to understand yourself and others will be a skill that If your professor has assigned this, go to the Assignments section of
organizations will seek when hiring employees. In fact, in a survey mymanagementlab.com to complete these discussion questions.
of critical skills for the workforce in 2020, social intelligence ranked
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second on a list of the most critical skills. (FYI: the number-one talk about It 3: Why do you think the ability to get along
skill was sense-making, that is, being able to determine the deeper with others is so critical?
meaning or significance of what’s being expressed.) the ability to talk about It 4: How can you develop this ability?