Ithuta JV

Source - Article by Bob Andrew

The term ‘Social Intelligence’ was first coined by in the 1940s by the American psychologist Edward Lee Thorndike as ‘the ability to understand and manage men and women, boys and girls and to act wisely in human relations’. Since that time, building upon the concept, other terms have also been used , such as ‘theory of mind’, ‘social cognition and social marketing intelligence’. The well known American psychologist and writer, Howard Gardner, has also included social intelligence in his Theory of Multiple Intelligences, (outlined in Frames of Mind) along with Abstract Intelligence (IQ), Practical Intelligence, Emotional Intelligence, Aesthetic Intelligence and Kinaesthetic Intelligence. In essence, social intelligence is simply the ability to get along well with others and to get them to cooperate with you. Sounds so simple!

Daniel Goleman and Richard Boyatzis, in an article entitled ‘Social Intelligence and Biology of Leadership' published by Harvard Business Review (September 2008), raised social intelligence to another level , arguing that it’s not sufficient to understand just the psychology of social intelligence in leadership, but also the biology. Aspects such as having empathy and being attuned to others’ moods affect team performance. They quoted researchers who found that the leader-follower dynamic relationship is not just a case of independent brains reacting consciously or unconsciously to each other, but rather that the individual minds are interconnected. A leader who uses social behaviour to reinforce this interconnectedness will foster positive feelings in the people whose cooperation and support are needed. By expertly managing interconnections, leaders can deliver powerful results.

The biology of social intelligence can be said to be based on mirror neurons that each person has in their brain. As Goleman and Boyatzis state: ‘when we consciously or unconsciously detect someone else’s emotions through their actions, our brain’s mirror neurons reproduce those emotions and allows us to instantly share that experience’. If followers can socially connect with their leaders, they will emotionally feel whatever the leader is feeling and will act accordingly.

Social interconnectedness can, however, lead to Emotional Contagion, which is the tendency to catch and feel other peoples’ emotions and be influenced by others. In a group, one or more people can influence the emotions and behaviours of the others through the conscious or unconscious induction of emotion states and behavioural attitudes.

As people usually respond differently to positive and negative stimuli, and the fact that negative events tend to elicit stronger and more passionate responses, emotional contagion is often harmful in a team environment. Unpleasant emotions are more likely to lead to negative mood contagion than pleasant emotions.

Team leaders can minimise negative emotional contagion by encouraging a stable team (minimum staff turnovers), leading and inspiring task interdependence, collaboration and social interdependence. Openness to receive and transmit feelings is also an important factor to bring about positive emotional contagion.