Emotional intelligence (EQ) is understandably one of the most important qualities for any manager to possess.  Just how important was underlined by a recent study from New York University, which aimed to explore how the ability to understand the emotions of team members was vital to understanding the performance of that team.

What’s more, people who are especially high in EQ can make these assessments very quickly, with the study suggesting it can be as quick as 10-30 seconds into any group interaction.

“In the current working climate, time is often short and so are the interactions, and a manager might need to briefly join a conference call or just glance through the window at a group working together before hurrying to their next meeting. So it’s important to understand whether what they interpret during those brief spells is an accurate portrayal of what’s actually happening. Our research demonstrates that, largely, it is,” the authors say.

The research saw 40 teams of 4 people created, each of whom were assigned a unique role, with unique information to help them perform that role.  The performance of each team was recorded to monitor their performance and the way they interacted.  The key to performing well in the task was to work effectively together, both in terms of sharing information widely and then listening to the input of all team members.

As expected, some teams performed considerably better than others.  What’s interesting is that the recordings of each group were then shown to a second group of volunteers, and universally they were able to predict the success or failure of each group, even without the sound on.

“Across sectors, particularly in healthcare and science, teams are used and emphasized more than ever before. Our research suggests that as you decide whom to appoint to oversee these teams, you would be well-served taking people’s social sensitivity into account,” the researchers say.