Emotional Intelligence Training: A Case of Caveat Emptor

Training programs purporting to develop emotional intelligence (EI) are widely available, yet to date few empirical studies have appeared in the literature providing support that training results in demonstrable changes to EI, and more significantly whether these changes can then be traced to more positive individual or organizational outcomes. This article questions the usefulness of personality and/or mixed model conceptualizations of EI that underpin many training programs as offering nothing new beyond our existing understanding of the importance of soft-skills training in the work-place. Instead it is argued that research should be directed at better understanding how emotional abilities associated with the ability model of EI might be targeted by human resource development practitioners in organizations. In this respect, a rationale is posited as to why workplace learning methods may potentially offer some success in this area.