Are better managers better at 'reading' others? Testing the claim that emotional intelligence predicts managerial performance

In the popular and academic press, emotional intelligence (EI) has been promoted as a possible factor in explaining workplace success, particularly for managers. Despite the optimism that surrounds EI, little research has been published on its effects. However, one aspect of EI, the ability to decode emotions from nonverbal behavior, has enjoyed a long history in the social sciences. Together, the small body of research on EI and a long tradition of research on emotional decoding do suggest that EI would be an important factor in predicting workplace success, especially for managers, who must have the requisite interpersonal skills to manage their subordinates. Drawing on theories in leadership studies, emotional intelligence, and social psychology, the present study examines how managers' ability to accurately decode emotions from nonverbal behavior affects their subordinates' and superordinates' perceptions. This idea was tested in two studies, and the results suggest two key findings. First, study 1 suggests that better nonverbal emotional decoding skills are associated with higher supervisor ratings of overall job performance for a range of female, but not male, managerial and nonmanagerial employees. Second, study 2 found that managers who are better nonverbal emotional decoders receive higher ratings from their subordinates, who, in turn, may be less likely to leave the organization. Taken together, these results refine what is known about nonverbal decoding skills and their contribution in the workplace. The study results suggest that the importance of nonverbal emotional decoding ability depends who is rating and on whom is being rated.