Why I hate emotional intelligence

Try self esteem when you are thick and see where that gets you.

This  is a quote from a respected American Professor friend of  mine whose name I dare not reveal because I don’t want him persecuted. The concept of Emotional Intelligence has largely gone uncontested since its introduction to the workplace and education in the 90’s. It was the introduction of Daniel Goleman‘s study ‘Emotional Intelligence – Why it can matter more than IQ’  in 1995 that saw the entry of  EI into our lives.
Emotional intelligence is defined as the ability to use emotions as a guide to both thinking and behaviour.  With children and education,  it is  closely linked to the practice of raising ‘self-esteem’. By elevating the individual’s responses and reactions , EI is closely linked to the student-centred learning approach (Child Centred Learning in the UK).

Student-centred learning emphasizes each student’s interests, abilities, and learning styles, placing the teacher as a facilitator of learning for individuals rather than for the class as a whole.

By recognising a different  ‘pace of  learning’, SCL places every child on an equal footing.  SCL does not  see a child  as being ‘behind’ or ‘less intelligent’ than another.  Under this regime, a child can be said to have a higher quota of emotional Intelligence but a lower IQ than his peers.  This disparity of ‘intelligences’ between one child  and another is not seen as problematic but instead is viewed as a benign and interesting ‘difference’.

In addition to the education system, emotional intelligence has  played an increasingly more central role in the workplace.  Management and leadership training have seen the concept of  emotional intelligence replace reason and judgement as the modus operandi of the workforce.  How they relate to each other rather than what they produce.

A sop to failure

Emotional intelligence is highly problematic for me for several reasons. First, I think it is a sop to failure.  I have heard teachers say that a parent need not worry about a child’s inability to read because the same child has a high degree of  emotional intelligence.  I have often heard adults say that although they do not read or write, they have what are called great ‘people skills’.

A refusal to exercise judgement

Rather than make uncomfortable and unpopular judgements, we hide behind ’emotional intelligence’.  In this case EI means being nice. Seeing the  other person’s point of view and not judging them. Then if we raise their self esteem in the meantime, then that is all to the good. Making judgements presupposes the use of reason and the absence of  emotion.  It also presupposes that you have a sense of right and wrong.  Judgements, like criticism, make people feel uncomfortable and contradicts the perpetual need to raise self esteem.

Displaces Reason for Emotion

How you feel about something is now considered to be more important than what you think about it.  The ‘feeling’ you have towards something is seen to be bound with more authenticity, depth and intensity. The problem is that emotions are inferior as a guide to action and understanding. This is perpetuated by the fact that an emotional state is temporary in a way that reason is not. This makes emotion far less reliable than reason.

It buys into and perpetuates the ‘Me, me’ culture 

With emotion in control, we are far more  concerned about ourselves rather than other people. Just by dint of it being ‘your’ thought or ‘your’ feeling it  must be right. and  cannot go  unchallenged.  You can see this in action when it  comes to the problem of ‘offence’.  If you are offended, you have the moral authority just by dint of you being offended. In other words, that which offended you is wrong just because it upset you.

The offence principle, that is based on the primacy of  emotion, has caused havoc to the right to free speech and open expression.  Even though it can upset some people and  is not necessarily ‘nice’, reason should  not be replaced by emotion when it comes to teaching, judgement and to understanding.

This article is published in collaboration with LinkedIn. Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

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Author: Dan Travis is a Public Speaker on LinkedIn, Social Media & alternatives to SEO.

Image: A trader reacts after the closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson