Chapter 08 – Emotional Intelligence and Interpersonal Skills for Leaders
8-1
Chapter 8 – Emotional Intelligence and Interpersonal Skills for Leaders
Teaching Notes
In this chapter, the students will learn to do the following:
• Value emotional intelligence.
• Measure and increase emotional intelligence.
Often students resist what they think of as the “softer” skills discussed in this chapter;
therefore, it is important that the students have a chance to complete applications that call
on experiential learning to ensure they reflect on their own emotional intelligence and can
apply the concepts introduced in the chapter. The applications in this chapter are designed
to provide experience in understanding, developing, and demonstrating emotional
intelligence.
The instructor will also want to spend some time on the importance for leaders to know
something about their own personalities and those of the people they manage. This
chapter introduces the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which works very well to
help students understand their own personalities and emotional intelligence.
Chapter 08 – Emotional Intelligence and Interpersonal Skills for Leaders
8-2
If the instructor is certified to administer the MBTI, or if not, can call on a campus
counseling center to do to, the exercises used to help understand type characteristics work
very well in class. In a 90-minute class, the students should be able to complete at least an
exercise for each letter (thus four exercises). Some of the exercises that seem to work
particularly well are the following:
1. For S/N – Describing an object (an apple works well) or developing instructions on
how to get from campus to a well-known location
These exercises tie to Application 8.1. For other MBTI exercises, refer to Otto Kroeger’s
support materials
Application 8.1: Gaining Insight into Your Personality
The application is intended to point out the personality differences students will
encounter; thus, the in-class group sessions to compare the results are crucial. It may be
used as a substitute for the regular MBTI exercises mentioned above if the instructor does
not have access to the MBTI or does not wish to take the time needed in class to give it.
1. Provide instructions to a complete stranger on your campus on how to get from the
building in which you are currently sitting to the closest Starbucks or other
coffeehouse (no Google maps allowed).
Exercise 1 reveals Sensing/iNtuition characteristics. Those students who omit names
Chapter 08 – Emotional Intelligence and Interpersonal Skills for Leaders
8-3
2. Describe your ideal weekend in a list of activities or non-activities.
Exercise 2 reveals Introvert-Extravert tendencies.
4. Pretend you are part of a project team at work and you have a team member who is not
contributing in any way. You decide to kick this person off the team. Jot down what
you would do and say.
Having the students complete the MBTI and devoting a class period or two to exercises to
bring out the differences will, of course, provide more insight into the students’
personalities, but the above exercises will work well to call out some of the major
differences and will lead to lively class discussions.
Application 8.2: Measuring and Improving Your Emotional Intelligence
This exercise encourages the reflection needed to improve emotional intelligence. Before
responding to the prompts, students should complete the EI portion of the self-assessment,
Chapter 08 – Emotional Intelligence and Interpersonal Skills for Leaders
8-4
Application 8.3: Improving Listening Habits
This application helps students focus on listening skills and feedback. The instructor may
also wish to discuss the pros and cons of “one–way” vs. “two–way” conversations, since
many listeners say that the restriction placed on interrupting the speaker prohibits their
asking clarifying questions. However, most students report that the restriction on
interruptions provides some new insights into their own listening habits.
Approaches to Teaching
This application works best in teams of three, although you can use two-member teams if
The instructor may choose to offer the following reminders to the students (or, raise these
issues during debrief):
• Speakers should begin with a brief comment that sets the context for their story about
their event or accomplishment.
Chapter 08 – Emotional Intelligence and Interpersonal Skills for Leaders
8-5