Test Your Emotional Intelligence

The purpose of this exercise is to help you understand how emotional intelligence (EI) comes into play in organizational settings and to give you a tool to assess your EI competence. The more truthfully you answer, the more accurate the picture you will get of your EI. If you are interested in further testing and developing your EI, check out www.eiconsortium.org, the online home of The Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations.

These questions have been adapted for CIOs' work situations from two sources: an online survey by the Hay Group, and an article, "Developing Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace", by Wendy Alfus Rothman in a newsletter for career counsellors called The Five O'Clock News.

1. You're in a meeting in which executives are discussing the company's ERP implementation when the VP of supply chain takes credit for work you did. What do you do? .

1. Confront the VP right then and there. After all, you're no pushover, and it's not fair that he get the credit you deserve.
2. After the meeting, take the VP aside and tell him that you would appreciate it if in the future he would credit you when speaking about the work.
3. You don't do anything. You hate conflict, and you know nothing would be gained either by making a scene or by confronting the VP.
4. After the VP speaks, thank him for the work he did and give the group more specific details about what you were trying to accomplish and the challenges you overcame.

1. Tell him to take a long walk off a short pier. You don't have to put up with ill-informed nonsense.
2. Listen, repeat back to him what you hear he is feeling, and tell him you sympathize.
3. Explain how he's being unfair. Help him understand that the system your department is working so hard on eventually will help him and his department.
4. Tell him you understand how frustrated his is, and offer a specific measure you can take to please him.

1. Ignore it. Heck, you never bought into the concept of multiculturalism anyway.
2. Call the person into your office and explain that his behaviour is inappropriate and is grounds for disciplinary action if repeated.
3. Confront the person on the spot, saying that such comments are disrespectful, inappropriate and won't be tolerated in the company.
4. Suggest to the person making the comments that he take a diversity training program.

1. Change the subject. Tell him a joke or a story — anything to get his mind off of it.
2. Suggest that he might be overreacting.
3. Take him out for a cup of coffee and tell him about the time something like this happened to you and how angry you felt, until you realized that the client's anger was in fact justified.
4. Tell him you understand. You know that the client is a real jerk.

1. Suggest taking a 20-minute break before continuing.
2. Walk away.
3. Apologize, and ask that your colleague apologize too.
4. Pause, collect your thoughts, then restate your case as unemotionally as you can.