Emotional intelligence abilities and their relationships with team processes

This paper aims to identify whether relationships exist between emotional intelligence (EI) and specific teamwork behaviours that are associated with transition, action and interpersonal team processes using the ability model of EI.

A total of 68 MBA students comprising 13 randomly assigned teams completed a pencil and paper performance‐based test of emotional intelligence. Some 14 weeks later a score reflecting the extent team members engaged in a number of teamwork behaviours consistent with transition, action and interpersonal team processes was obtained from peer ratings.

Emotional intelligence was found to explain direct and unique variance in transition and interpersonal team processes. However, only three individual branches of EI were found to be of any significance, and these differed in each instance.

These findings add to the growing body of literature suggesting emotional intelligence may be an important aspect of individual difference amongst team members that can contribute to team effectiveness. Individuals with differing EI abilities may be particularly important to teams dependent upon the team's activity phase.

The paper shows that blanket assertions regarding the significance of emotional intelligence for team effectiveness are far too simplistic. Differing EI abilities are associated with particular teamwork behaviours, which in turn become important during different phases of team activity. The findings suggest a need for more sophisticated frameworks regarding how EI relates to specific cognitive, verbal and behavioural teamwork activities.