The Emotional Intelligence of Managers: Assessing the Construct Validity of a Nonverbal Measure of “People Skills”

Researchers have long been interested in managerial socio-emotional competency —“people skills.” One problem has been that many such competencies are properly categorized as nonverbal in nature, yet researchers typically utilize paper and pencil, verbal, measures to assess these. The present research draws upon emerging literature on emotional intelligence, as well as upon psychological research on cross-cultural universals in the display and recognition of facial expressions of emotion, combining these streams of research to develop a nonverbal measure of skill at nonverbal communication—particularly, of the ability to recognize emotional expressions displayed by others. Applications to leadership, human relations skills, and communication in organizations are discussed.