SAFILT Additional Concepts to Strengthen Facilitation: Using Emotional Intelligence

There is a growing body of literature that discusses the value of Emotional Quotient (EQ) over the more traditional view of Intelligence Quotient (IQ) as a measure of intelligence. The arguments have centred mainly on the narrow focus of IQ, which fails to make any reference to behaviours and attributions, such as interpersonal skills and attitudes. EQ however is suggested to give a more rounded indicator which dictates and enables how successful we can be.

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is a concept that draws from a range of theory, in particular the theories of Transactional Analysis, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and Multiple Intelligences.

There is research evidence to suggest that where emotional intelligence is used in the form of empathy, warmth towards others, etc to exercise socially responsible leadership, organisational and individual outcomes improve.

Introduction

It would be wrong to think of emotional intelligence as a new-age fad practised by woolly liberals and beatniks. The construct of emotional intelligence has grown out of a great deal of scientific research, particularly in the field of organisational and industrial psychology.

EI could equally be described as a form of social intelligence which enables better emotional management of self and of others. This has been of particular interest to those in industry, the military, and business. Research suggests that those who are able to recognise their mood or that of others are better able to recover more quickly and act more flexibly in their responses to changes in social environments.

Unsurprisingly, this has been reported to lead to higher productivity and satisfaction in the workforce. Emotional intelligence, it is argued, goes beyond sheer cognitive ability as a measure of intelligence and ability to problem solve, and suggests that non-cognitive skills are of vital importance in identifying potential for success.

Emotional Intelligence: The essentials

There are two fundamental aspects that underpin emotional intelligence:

Understanding yourself, your goals, intentions, behaviours, and responses
Understanding others and their feelings

Within this are five clear domains identified by Daniel Goleman (1998):

Knowing your emotions
Managing your emotions
Motivating yourself
Recognising and understanding other’s emotions
Managing relationships, i.e. managing the emotions of others.

In the workplace, the aim of working within these domains is to decrease friction or conflict, and to improve relationships and understanding which in turn leads to better harmony and stability in the workforce.

The relevance to debriefing

As a model to support industrial or organizational change, the domains above might appear quite abstract. However, being able to recognize your own responses to situations or events and being able to model how these emotions can be managed can be a powerful learning tool. It can also be used appropriately to ask questions such as ‘how would that make you feel’ or ‘has anybody seen anything like this in clinical practice, or ‘has anybody had to deal with…’

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What has happened in this clip is a recognition that learning and emotion are hard to divorce, if not impossible. However, having the space to focus on their own actions as abstract constructs enables the learners to place their cognitions and emotions in positive positions for development. Both the cognitive and emotive factors need to be recognised as crucial to the learning experience.

Of course this does not mean that we stray into the complex world of psychotherapy, it is more about recognizing that education, learning and emotion are bound together.

Second to this is recognizing that in simulation scenarios emotions can run high, and that it is human nature to reflect primarily on negative occurrences rather than positive ones. Managing and empathizing with situations where things may not have gone to plan is important because otherwise this defeats the simulation maxim of ‘learning through error’. By taking the focus off the individual and refocusing on the situation, these emotions can be recognized and managed through objectifying the case at hand.

Two strategies are useful here, and are derived from some observations and conversations with simulation facilitators. The first is provided by a facilitator in conversation:

‘It was very nice, actually. (Colleague), working today. In the introductory lecture she said something very nice. She said, you know, that some of the scenarios we gave you would never have seen. So obviously you’re going to find it difficult, to struggle. But that’s the point. You know, this is a learning environment. This is a safe environment for you to be put in this situation’.

The second is the way in which the pressure can be taken off participants and replaced with an objective view of the scenario. An example of this is found in the clip which uses the construct of ‘this is not about you, this is about young doctors in this situation’.

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In this clip Ian is clear in his approach following the initial description of the event by the participant. Before opening observations up to the rest of the group hen deliberately makes the point of ‘spotlight off you.’

As well as viewing this type of Emotional Intelligence in relation to cognitive and non-cognitive skills, it is also useful to explore it through the concept of Emotional Competence from the perspective of facilitation.

Emotional competence comprises of five core competences (listed below) within which a number of subsets can be found. These will inevitably comprise a synthesis across each other to work most effectively. For instance, empathy and leadership, or empathy in conflict may be obvious examples; self confidence and service orientation may be another.

The skill of ‘being able to step into another’s moccasins’ and appreciate the perceptions they may have of their performance is useful in recognizing where they may at in their stage of development and supporting them in moving on.

Secondly, and perhaps of equal importance, is that the framework opposite can provide a useful way of facilitators evaluating their own performance in the debriefing process. By reflecting on their facilitation using this it may support their ongoing professional development in this area.

The Emotional Competence Framework

Self Awareness: Emotional awareness, accurate self assessment, self confidence
Self Regulation: Self control, trustworthiness, consciousness, adaptability, innovativeness
Self Motivation: Achievement drive, commitment, initiative, optimism
Social Awareness: Empathy, service orientation, developing others, leveraging diversity, political awareness
Social Skills: Influence, communication, leadership, change catalyst, conflict management, building bonds, collaboration and cooperation, team capabilities

Adapted from Goleman, (1998)

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Attributions

The author of the painting provided is Melancho Blumenbundt under a creative commons licence. Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Niedergedrueckt.jpg

References and further reading

Goleman D. (1996) Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. Bloomsbury Publishing

Neale S. Spencer-Amell L. Wilson L. (2009) Emotional Intelligence Coaching: Improving Performance for Leaders, Coaches, and the Individual. Kogan Page

Goleman D. (1998) Working With Emotional Intelligence. Random House Inc