Handbook for Developing Emotional and Social Intelligence: Best Practices, Case Studies, and Strategies

4.1. WHEN STRENGTHS BECOME WEAKNESSES: WHEN TOO MUCH EI CAN DERAIL LEADERS

This scenario focuses on situations in which an enhanced EI skill may become a disability, that is, where the benefits of enhanced emotional intelligence are outweighed by their hidden costs. This chapter will rely on the BarOn EQ-i® instrument and the skills it measures because it is the instrument with which the author is most familiar—using, teaching, and training consultants in its applications.

A brief outline of the BarOn (1997) EQ-i® follows: developed and refined over twenty years ago by Dr. Reuven Bar-On, an American-born Israeli, the EQ-i is a valid and reliable self-reporting questionnaire, consisting of 125 to 133 questions, the answers to which are arranged ...