For the past few decades, the subject of organizations has been in the spotlight, receiving significant attention and research from organizational psychologists, sociologists and management researchers. The fields of organizational consulting and organizational development have evolved and gained momentum. The concept of organizations being perceived, much like organisms, as complex living and breathing entities that have their own minds and characters, values, norms, beliefs, and also feelings, wants and needs, is wellestablished. Moreover, organizations are also perceived to possess their own intelligence, whether intellectual or otherwise.

The subject of Organizational Emotional Intelligence (OEI) is an intriguing area that holds immense potential for further exploration. Its impact resonates across all facets of organizations, from leadership and workforce to culture, processes, stakeholder relationships and overall performance. While Emotional Intelligence (EI) has garnered significant attention in the field of psychology, extending this concept to the organizational level opens up new avenues for understanding how emotional awareness and emotional capability can shape workplace dynamics, decision-making processes, stakeholder relationships, and ultimately, organizational success.

Despite its significance, the realm of OEI remains largely unexplored, requiring further research, deeper investigation and stronger methodology to uncover its mechanisms, implications and practical applications.

In this essay, I argue that Organizational Emotional Intelligence (OEI) is fundamentally different from Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. OEI pertains to the emotional intelligence of the organization as a whole, as a unique and independent entity, as opposed to EI in Organizations, which primarily refers to specific people, mainly in leadership and managerial positions, who possess emotional intelligence.

“Emotional Intelligence (EI) involves the ability to recognize, assess and manage the emotions of oneself, others and groups” (Ioannidou & Konstantikaki, 2008 cited by Veshne & Munshi, 2020). It is a “set of emotional and social skills that influence the way we perceive and express ourselves, develop and maintain social relationships, cope with challenges, and use emotional information effectively and meaningfully” (Mayer, Caruso & Salovey, 2004 cited by Issah, 2018). Issah (2018) also highlights the different perspectives of emotional intelligence and its five components: self-awareness, self-regulation, self-motivation, empathy and social skills (Issah, 2018).

Organizational Emotional Intelligence (OEI), on the other hand, does not refer to the collective emotional intelligence of the individuals within the organization. Rather, it refers to the emotional intelligence of the organization itself as a unique and independent entity. OEI examines how emotional intelligence exists at the organizational level, as reflected in the organization’s core components, including its vision, mission or purpose and values, in its organizational culture, communication patterns, behavioral norms, decision-making processes, stakeholder relationships, processes and methods of operation and overall functioning. It acknowledges the pivotal role emotions play in shaping workplace dynamics, organizational behavior, relationships and outcomes, and focuses on how the organization as a whole perceives, understands and manages emotional dynamics effectively.

The concept of OEI in service of organizational success resonated with me because it highlighted the significance of fostering an organization that is not only emotionally aware, but also systemically capable. In this sense, OEI is not merely about creating a positive atmosphere. It is about building an organization whose core, culture and processes are designed and maintained in a way that supports trust, commitment, resilience, grit, agility and sustainable success.

Organizations can be taught and led to create environments where employees and managers feel valued, supported and engaged. At the same time, OEI also extends beyond the internal workforce. It influences the way key stakeholders experience and perceive the organization, including employees and managers, customers, vendors, investors and candidates. Vendors may include service providers and other external providers; investors may include donors, grant providers and funding partners; and candidates represent an important stakeholder group whose perception of the organization is shaped through every interaction they have with it.

While EI in organizational leaders is a well-researched field, with well-established connections to successful organizational outcomes, OEI remains an elusive realm to explore. When searching for articles on EI in organizations, one can usually find those pertaining to leadership EI or employee EI, but those exploring the emotional intelligence of the organization itself, as an independent system, are harder to come by, although not entirely absent.

The same can be said for EI measurement tools. While tools for measuring EI are being developed and utilized with relative ease, many of them being self-assessment instruments that yield results centered around the individual being evaluated, assessing OEI introduces an additional layer of complexity. The organizational level introduces a layer of intricacy that significantly compounds the complexities of this subject, making it notably more challenging to evaluate. The tools available largely focus on the EI of individuals in organizations, teams, leadership or emotional climate, rather than on OEI as a comprehensive organizational capability.

Here are several examples of tools and models related to EI, team EI, emotional culture or partial OEI-related assessment:

Emotionally Intelligent Leadership Assessment (EILA)

The Emotionally Intelligent Leadership Assessment, developed by Boyatzis and Goleman, assesses the emotional intelligence of leaders. While it does not directly measure OEI, it can contribute to understanding how emotionally intelligent leadership affects the broader emotional climate of an organization (Goleman & Boyatzis, 2002).

Emotional Culture Index

The Emotional Culture Index, associated with the work of Sigal Barsade and Olivia A. O'Neill, measures emotional norms and values within an organization's culture. It assesses how emotions are expressed, accepted and managed. While not exclusively focused on OEI, it provides insights into the emotional climate of an organization.

Team Emotional Intelligence Survey (TEIS)

Developed by Vanessa Urch Druskat and Steven B. Wolff, the Team Emotional Intelligence Survey assesses the emotional competencies of teams. While aimed at teams, it provides insights into collective emotional competencies that may contribute to OEI (Druskat & Wolff, 2008).

Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI)

Developed by Richard E. Boyatzis and Fabio Sala, the Emotional Competence Inventory assesses individual emotional competencies. While often used for individuals, it can potentially be adapted to explore collective emotional competencies within an organization (Boyatzis & Sala, 2004).

Emotional Competency Inventory (ECI) and Emotional and Social Competency Inventory (ESCI)

The Emotional Competency Inventory (ECI) and the Emotional and Social Competency Inventory (ESCI), associated with Daniel Goleman and colleagues, are competency-based models that are often viewed as mixed-model approaches well suited for the workplace. These models include competencies that can be learned and developed, divided into areas such as self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management. These skills focus on recognizing and regulating emotions in oneself and others.

The Emotional-Social Intelligence Model (ESI)

The emotional-social intelligence model, developed by Reuven Bar-On, is a non-cognitive model that explores both social and emotional intelligence together. The model consists of several components divided into domains such as intrapersonal emotional intelligence, interpersonal emotional intelligence, stress management, adaptability and general mood. The model is measured through a self-report test and is used to predict an individual’s ability to perform daily challenges (Bar-On, 2006).

Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Model (MSCEIT)

The Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence model is an abilities model that is thought to evolve with one's experience and age, progressing from basic-level abilities to more complex ones, separate from personality. The model consists of four parts: perceiving emotion, emotional facilitation, understanding emotion and managing emotions (Mayer, Salovey & Caruso, 2000).

Organizational Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (OEIQ)

While I could not find a single widely accepted, comprehensive and validated reference to a standardized OEIQ, the concept of an Organizational Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire has appeared in different forms. It is possible that researchers and practitioners have developed their own questionnaires for assessing certain aspects of OEI. However, many existing approaches either focus on individual EI, team EI, leadership EI, emotional culture, employee engagement or organizational climate, rather than on OEI as a systemic organizational construct.

The Organeiq OEI Profiler™ (the OEI-Q)

In response to the limitations of existing individual EI, team EI and partial organizational tools, Organeiq Corporate LTD developed the Organeiq OEI Profiler™ (the OEI-Q) as a dedicated framework for evaluating Organizational Emotional Intelligence at the systemic level.

The Organeiq OEI Profiler™ (the OEI-Q) is designed to examine how OEI is expressed across three central organizational cornerstones:

1. Core Identity: the organization’s vision, mission / purpose, values and the consistency between them.

2. Organizational Culture: the organization’s emotional climate, communication patterns, trust, psychological safety, behavioral norms, informal patterns, traditions, shared expectations and more.

3. Processes and Methods of Operation: the organization’s generic and core processes, including recruitment, onboarding, decision-making, promotion, internal communication, core work processes, etc.

These cornerstones are examined through the perceptions and experiences of five key stakeholder groups:

1. Employees and Managers: including, where relevant, volunteers and other internal contributors.

2. Customers.

3. Vendors: including service providers and other external providers.

4. Investors: including donors, grant providers and funding partners.

5. Candidates: whose perceptions are shaped through their interactions with the organization before joining it, or even when they do not join it.

The purpose of this framework is to help organizations move beyond isolated assessments of leadership style, engagement, emotional climate or culture, and toward a more comprehensive understanding of how emotional intelligence is embedded in the organization itself. By assessing OEI through core identity, culture and processes, and by examining how these are experienced by different stakeholders, organizations can identify strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for improvement.

High OEI can also serve a preventive function. Rather than waiting for problems such as disengagement, mistrust, turnover, resistance to change or reputational damage to become visible, organizations can use OEI assessment to identify weaknesses in their core identity, culture and methods of operation before they become larger organizational problems.

In conclusion, there are many indications that the concept of OEI, although relatively new and uncharted, is solid and of interest, yet to be thoroughly explored by the academic community and utilized by organizations themselves. This demonstrates the significant value and promising potential of unlocking the key components of Organizational Emotional Intelligence and developing effective methods of measuring them within organizations.

Organizational Emotional Intelligence (OEI) is a transformative force that can propel organizations toward success. My belief and commitment to this expertise have been driving forces behind my exploration of this topic, strengthening my conviction in its potential to enhance employee engagement, improve communication, strengthen trust, support resilience, grit and agility, and optimize organizations’ responses to challenges and change. I hope that my contribution will help foster a more emotionally intelligent future in organizations.

References

Bar-On, R. (2006). The Bar-On model of emotional-social intelligence (ESI). Psicothema, 18(Suppl), 13–25.

Boyatzis, R. E., & Sala, F. (2004). The Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI). In G. Geher (Ed.), Measuring emotional intelligence: Common ground and controversy (pp. 147–180). Nova Science Publishers.

Druskat, V. U., & Wolff, S. B. (2008). Group-level emotional intelligence. In N. M. Ashkanasy & C. L. Cooper (Eds.), Research companion to emotion in organizations (pp. 441–454). Edward Elgar Publishing.

Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2002). Primal leadership: Realizing the power of emotional intelligence. Harvard Business School Press.

Issah, M. (2018). Change leadership: The role of emotional intelligence. SAGE Open, 8(3).

Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. (2000). Models of emotional intelligence. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of intelligence (pp. 396–420). Cambridge University Press.

Veshne, N. A., & Munshi, M. M. (2020). Enhancing employee engagement through emotionally intelligent leaders. Srusti Management Review, 13(2), 32-39.