The Implementation of Emotional Intelligence Assessments into Promotional Systems

A number of issues in law enforcement are propagated from within the department. They do not have to do with external factors. Supervisors play a large role in the performance of an organization and it is important for law enforcement agencies to have the right employees in the right places at the right times. Emotional intelligence assessments should be built into promotional processes in order for administrators to have insight into the candidates beyond their ability to recall information from memory or their ability to demonstrate a technical skill before a set of their peers. According to Goleman (1996), emotional intelligence has proven to be more important as a predictor of leadership success than technical ability, or cognitive intelligence. It has lasting affects on an organization, fortunately these skills that comprise emotional intelligence can be learned. Concerns surrounding the effects of emotional intelligence on decision making have been unfounded. Sedvalis, Petrides, and Harvey (2007), indicated that emotions have a strong correlation to decision-making, but a higher level of emotional intelligence typically allows for better decision making. Issues addressing the scientific validity of emotional intelligence assessments argue the lack of specific metrics researchers have used in their analysis. One consistent recommendation of researchers has been that emotional intelligence assessments should be used for employee development instead of selection or disqualification.