That said, I have lousy social skills. At 26 I may end up in low to mid-level background tech jobs for the rest of my working life. I can do well on written EQ tests if I answer dishonestly, but in practice I can’t think of anything meaningful, or even any convincing BS, to contribute at meetings. Ironically, I want to be rich and famous, but with an utter lack of charisma and expression in my face, at least the “famous” part looks unlikely.

Also people are routinely turned into “not nice to work with” types because of the environment created by management or the fact that they were a poor fit from the beginning. There’s tons of research on both of these points as well.

Of course, it depends on the role. You probably wouldn’t want them managing a team or dealing with clients but I think it’s vital for managers to have imagination, flexibility and respect so they can utilise the maverick talent and not just the mediocre nice guy. Of course, if you can get someone who’s a technical whizz AND has great social skills then great, but it doesn’t always work that way.

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Hi, Caitlin. There’s a lot of management consulting type research that shows that companies are more effective if they fire someone who is difficult than keeping him around because he’s smart.

–Penelope

Ironically, what is basically a social disorder that I am currently being treated for stems from an overabundance of these traits. You’d think that empathy so strong it works as mild telepathy would be an asset in the workplace, right? WRONG. The overwhelming input of information makes me twitchy and nervous, which peers respond badly to. Add that to the illusion of being able to see the future and get into people’s heads and what you have is the weird coworker that no one wants to interact with. In fact, I am seeing a distinct trend in today’s youth towards this type of problem, and I suspect that it is caused by consistent over stimulation during early development. Because it is becoming more common, the the well-adjusted are going to be in higher demand than ever, and while it may currently be an addendum to a resume’, I believe that fairly soon it will be a primary reason for hire in management positions.

For most of the century just passed, organizations sought to reduce work to simple tasks organized by a hierarchy wherein information, and the relationships that information sharing created, was limited to a few at the top of the pyramid. Think of the Ford Motor Company and H Ford’s assembly line. For much of the twentieth century most organizations emulated this model. If there was any creativity here it was in the hands of a few engineers or marketing chiefs.

Back to the Ford analogy for a moment. The main reason that the US auto industry is dying is because the folks in Detroit never figured out that their main rivals, especially Toyota, changed the rules by thinking of their workforce as new sources of information. New information, or value, is created when people are encouraged to be in relationship. I think this is what you mean by Connectivity. GM and Ford live by the “I”, Toyota lives by the “We”. The We IS emotional intelligence. It recognizes that most knowlege is created in RELATIONSHIP. It is our notion of the lone thinker/genius huddled alone in a laboratory that needs to change. If you work in a place that still makes or delivers standardized products, the WE is immaterial. But if, like most of us, you sell what you know, and most of what we sell is created when the WE ( emotional intelligence) is present. EQ is not an afterthought it is the basis of creating new value.

It sounds like a lot of folks are getting this.

If someone has great skills when it comes to writing code and lousy social skills, so what? I say quit beating them up over skills they probably don’t even care about having and put them in a position where they don’t have to have great social skills in the first place. Put them in a cube writing code, pay them great money, and throw them a sandwich once in a while. Leave the schmoozing to people who enjoy it and are good at it.