RMIT MBA Self Awareness Management and Leadership

1. Challenging the Theories
Following is a ‘bird’s eye’ view of some of the challenges
facing the assumptions around the effectiveness of self
awareness as it pertains to leadership and management.

2. Challenge Theory 1
Self awareness forms a part of emotional intelligence
Business leadership self awareness must be understood in terms
of being a part of the answer not the whole answer. Goleman (2000)
Emotional
Intelligence
Self Awareness Self Social Social Skills
Management Awareness
Competencies Competencies Competencies Competencies
Emotional Self Self control Empathy Visionary
Awareness Trustworthiness Organisational Leadership

3. Challenge Theory 1
Emotional intelligence is twice the indicator of
predictive positive behaviour as IQ. (Goleman, 1995 p.34)
Mayer Salovey and Caruso (2004) finds that
emotional intelligence is dependent upon the
situation with respect to predictive validity.
E.I. has a positive impact on performance when a work
environment exists where personal positive commitments
are important to success. E.I. as an indicator of effective
leadership is therefore dependent on the environment.

4. Challenge Theory 1
Some criticisms around the Emotional Intelligence area are:
• Self report approaches are a measure of self perceived
emotional intelligence, they do not measure actual emotional
intelligence ability.
• Emotional intelligence competencies like emotional self
regulation are not assessed by IQ tests. These abilities draw on
sub-cortical brain regions that are distinct from cognitive
abilities that draw from neocortical areas of the brain.

5. Challenge Theory 1
Defense of this criticism:
• In answering this criticism Mayer Salovey and Caruso (2004) defend
their MSCEIT self report model and present it as providing a
‘reasonable measure of Emotional Intelligence in many psychometric
senses of the word valid’ p.211
• EQ-i is a self report measure of emotionally intelligent behaviour
that estimates emotional intelligence. ‘The most powerful ESI
contributors to occupational performance are:
– (a) the ability to be aware of and accept oneself;
– (b) the ability to be aware of others feelings, concerns and needs;
– (c) the ability to manage emotions;
– (d) the ability to be realistic and put things in correct
perspective;
– (e) the ability to have a positive disposition.’ (Bar-on 2006)

6. Challenge Theory 2
A challenge that is raised in a number of the presentations is whether
Self-Awareness is enough to become a better business leader-manager?
Boyatzis suggests that effective action, and therefore
performance, will occur when the following critical components
fit:
• The individual’s competencies
• The job’s demands
• The organisational environment
• Effective specific actions or
behaviour

7. Challenge Theory 2
Through the interaction between a person and their
environment, feedback and action is generated.
• It is through this feedback and growth that a
person can become a better business leader-
manager.
• Feedback occurs each time an action is
demonstrated, there is some impact on the
person’s competencies and on their environment,
plus each time there is an event within an
organisation, there is an impact on the person and
their competencies.

8. References
• Goleman, D. (2000) Leadership that gets results in harvard
business review, 00178012, march/april 2000 vol 78 Issue 2
• Data base Business Source Premier
• Goleman. D (1995) Emotional Intelligence (Bateman Books:
New york)
• Mayer. J, Salovey, P., Caruso, D.,(2004) Emotional Intelligence:
theory, findings and Implications. In Psychological Inquiry
2004 Vol 15 No 3 197-215
• Bar-on r. (2006). The Bar-on model of emotional self
intelligence (ESI) in Psicothema, 18, supl 13-25
• Boyatzis, Richard E. (1982) The Competent manager: a model
for effective performance (p10-39). New York: Wiley