I feel therefore I am. Is EI well placed to win the intelligent hiring war?

RASHMEE ROSHAN LALL August 26, 2014

EI-feelingEveryone’s saying really good things about Emotional Intelligence (EI) these days. Here in D.C., they’re teaching it to senior foreign service bods. Companies such as Google, L’Oreal, AT&T and even the US Air Force are reportedly factoring EI into their hiring processes. According to OZY, TalentSmart, a leading EI consultancy company, claims that 75 per cent of Fortune 500 companies seek out its services. (Click here to read the piece).

Does this mean that some of the old arguments are over? About the validity of EI versus IQ? Whether abundant EI denotes ‘real’ intelligence or just a useless capacity to ‘feel’ others’ pain.

Not really. But the surge in EI’s popularity is explained as follows by UK-based Dr K.V. Petrides, a pioneer in trait-based EI testing. It’s about corporate greed because hiring difficulties and high attrition represent huge costs for many businesses.

But no one’s saying anything about any MENSA-style society for emotionally switched-on people. Does it exist?

And if not, why not?