Resources · Organisational Behaviour
Goleman's five components of emotional intelligence
Study notes with definitions, workplace examples, a self-check and exam-style questions.
Where the idea comes from
- 1990: Psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer coined the term emotional intelligence (EI): the ability to perceive, understand, use and manage emotions in oneself and others.
- 1995: Daniel Goleman popularised it in Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.
- 1998: Goleman applied it to the workplace in Working with Emotional Intelligence and the Harvard Business Review article “What Makes a Leader?”, setting out five components.
Keep the two traditions apart in exam answers: Salovey and Mayer describe EI as an ability; Goleman’s model is a mixed model that includes traits and competencies.
The five components
| Component | What it means | What it looks like at work |
|---|---|---|
| Self-awareness | Recognising your own emotions, strengths, weaknesses and values, and their effect on others | Asking for feedback; knowing which situations make you impatient |
| Self-regulation | Controlling or redirecting disruptive impulses and moods; thinking before acting | Staying calm in a crisis; not sending the angry email |
| Motivation | A passion to work for reasons beyond money or status; persistence and optimism | Setting stretch goals; bouncing back after a failure |
| Empathy | Understanding the emotional make-up of other people and treating them accordingly | Noticing a team member is struggling; adapting your message to your audience |
| Social skill | Managing relationships and building networks; finding common ground | Leading change; resolving conflict; persuading others |
The first three are about managing yourself; the last two are about managing relationships.
Why it matters for managers
- Leadership: Goleman argued that, among senior leaders, EI distinguishes outstanding performers more than technical skill or IQ alone.
- Teams: emotionally intelligent managers handle conflict and stress better, which affects the whole team’s climate.
- Customer-facing work: empathy and self-regulation shape service quality.
- Limits: critics argue that some EI measures overlap with personality traits and that claims about its importance were sometimes overstated. A good answer mentions this.
Self-check (rate yourself 1 to 5)
- I can name what I am feeling when I am under pressure.
- I rarely say things in anger that I later regret.
- I keep going on difficult tasks even without outside reward.
- I can usually tell how a friend is feeling before they say so.
- I can disagree with someone and still keep a good relationship.
Low scores are not a verdict; they show you where to practise. Re-take the check at the end of the semester.
Exam-style questions
Short answer (2 marks each)
- Who coined the term emotional intelligence, and when?
- Distinguish between self-awareness and self-regulation.
- List Goleman’s five components of emotional intelligence.
Paragraph (5 marks each) 4. Explain empathy with two workplace examples. 5. “The first three components are about managing yourself.” Explain.
Essay (10 marks) 6. Discuss Goleman’s model of emotional intelligence and its relevance to managerial effectiveness, with a note on its criticisms.
Related reading: Emotional intelligence for first-time managers: five habits worth building.
Questions students ask
What are Goleman's five components of emotional intelligence?
Self-awareness (recognising your own emotions and their effect on others), self-regulation (controlling disruptive impulses and thinking before acting), motivation (working for reasons beyond money or status), empathy (understanding other people's emotional make-up) and social skill (managing relationships and finding common ground).
Who coined the term emotional intelligence?
Psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer coined the term in 1990. Daniel Goleman popularised it in his 1995 book Emotional Intelligence and applied it to the workplace in 1998.
What is the difference between self-awareness and self-regulation?
Self-awareness is recognising what you feel and why, and how it affects others. Self-regulation is what you then do with that feeling: controlling or redirecting it so that it does not drive a rash action. Awareness comes first; regulation builds on it.
What is the difference between the ability model and Goleman's mixed model?
Salovey and Mayer describe emotional intelligence as an ability, a set of skills for handling emotional information. Goleman's model is a mixed model: it combines such abilities with personality traits and workplace competencies such as motivation and social skill.
What are the criticisms of emotional intelligence?
Critics argue that some EI measures overlap heavily with established personality traits, that self-report tests are easy to fake, and that early claims about EI mattering more than IQ were overstated.