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{{One source}}This article has been prepared from the paper - Adhia, H., Nagendra, H. R., & Mahadevan, B. (2010). Impact of adoption of yoga way of life on the emotional intelligence of managers. ''IIMB Management Review'', ''22''(1-2), 32-41.

== Introduction ==

== Introduction ==

One of the important preoccupations of top management is the improvement of managerial performance<ref>Adhia, H., Nagendra, H. R., & Mahadevan, B. (2010). Impact of adoption of yoga way of life on the emotional intelligence of managers. ''IIMB Management Review'', ''22''(1-2), 32-41.</ref>. Over the last several decades management researchers have developed constructs to identify the factors that influence managerial performance, and have sought to provide a framework to explain performance. In this context, there is a popular perception that individuals of seemingly average intelligence often do well in their professional and personal lives, whereas people with high IQ often struggle with life’s challenges. Therefore, it would be useful to question the assumption that general intelligence is a sufficiently good predictor of success in life. Earlier researchers have suggested that other attributes may be better determinants<ref>Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam.</ref><ref>Sternberg, R. J. (1993). Intelligence is more than IQ: The practical side of intelligence. ''Journal of Cooperative Education'', ''28''(2), 6-17.</ref><ref>Sternberg, R. J. (1996). IQ counts, but what really counts is successful intelligence. ''NASSP Bulletin'', ''80''(583), 18-23.</ref><ref>Tapia, M. (2001). Measuring emotional intelligence. ''Psychological Reports'', ''88''(2), 353-364.</ref>. There is a vast repository of knowledge and accumulated experience in India on the role of yoga as a way of life in enabling individuals to lead successful and satisfied lives (see for example Becker, 2000<ref>Becker, I. (2000). Uses of yoga in psychiatry and medicine. ''Complementary and alternative medicine and psychiatry'', ''19'', 107-145.</ref>; Srinivas, 1994<ref>Srinivas, K. M. (1994). Organization development: Maya moksha. ''Work Motivation Models for Developing Country. New Delhi: Sage Publications''.</ref>). More specifically, the Bhagavad Gita, which explicates on yoga, sees that yoga begets high efficiency in work<ref>Ranganathananda, S. (2000). Universal message of the Bhagavad Gita.</ref> opening up possibilities of connections with managerial performance.  

One of the important preoccupations of top management is the improvement of managerial performance<ref name=":1">Adhia, H., Nagendra, H. R., & Mahadevan, B. (2010). Impact of adoption of yoga way of life on the emotional intelligence of managers. ''IIMB Management Review'', ''22''(1-2), 32-41.</ref>. Over the last several decades management researchers have developed constructs to identify the factors that influence managerial performance, and have sought to provide a framework to explain performance. In this context, there is a popular perception that individuals of seemingly average intelligence often do well in their professional and personal lives, whereas people with high IQ often struggle with life’s challenges. Therefore, it would be useful to question the assumption that general intelligence is a sufficiently good predictor of success in life. Earlier researchers have suggested that other attributes may be better determinants<ref name=":12">Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam.</ref><ref>Sternberg, R. J. (1993). Intelligence is more than IQ: The practical side of intelligence. ''Journal of Cooperative Education'', ''28''(2), 6-17.</ref><ref>Sternberg, R. J. (1996). IQ counts, but what really counts is successful intelligence. ''NASSP Bulletin'', ''80''(583), 18-23.</ref><ref>Tapia, M. (2001). Measuring emotional intelligence. ''Psychological Reports'', ''88''(2), 353-364.</ref>. There is a vast repository of knowledge and accumulated experience in India on the role of yoga as a way of life in enabling individuals to lead successful and satisfied lives (see for example Becker, 2000<ref name=":3">Becker, I. (2000). Uses of yoga in psychiatry and medicine. ''Complementary and alternative medicine and psychiatry'', ''19'', 107-145.</ref>; Srinivas, 1994<ref name=":4">Srinivas, K. M. (1994). Organization development: Maya moksha. ''Work Motivation Models for Developing Country. New Delhi: Sage Publications''.</ref>). More specifically, the Bhagavad Gita, which explicates on yoga, sees that yoga begets high efficiency in work<ref name=":5">Ranganathananda, S. (2000). Universal message of the Bhagavad Gita.</ref> opening up possibilities of connections with managerial performance.  

This article utilizes the concept of emotional intelligence (EI) defined by earlier researchers to measure managerial performance, and explores the yoga way of life as a potential tool to influence the EI of individuals.

This article utilizes the concept of emotional intelligence (EI) defined by earlier researchers to measure managerial performance, and explores the yoga way of life as a potential tool to influence the EI of individuals<ref name=":1" />.

== Emotional intelligence ==

== Emotional intelligence ==

Emotional intelligence (EI) is ‘a form of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate between them, and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and action’<ref>Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. ''Imagination, cognition and personality'', ''9''(3), 185-211,  Page 5. </ref>.  Goleman (2000)<ref name=":0">Goleman, D. (2000). Leadership that gets results. ''Harvard business review'', ''78''(2), 4-17.</ref> identifies five components of EI self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skill. In a later work<ref>Mayer, J. D., & Salovey, P. (1997). What is emotional  intelligence? In P. Salovey, & D. Sluyter (Eds.), Emotional development and emotional intelligence: Educational implications New York: Basic Books. Page 5. </ref> Mayer and Salovey defined EI as the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth. Their definition of EI refers to the underlying intelligence factors that they feel are necessary in order to develop emotional competence (EC) skills. While the definition of EI is useful for making a distinction between general intelligence and emotional intelligence, the concept of EC is relevant if we have to talk about using EI for organisational success. The EC framework identifies two main categories: '''personal competence''' and '''social competence.''' A comparison of the dimensions considered by Goleman (1998)<ref>Goleman, D. (2009). ''Working with emotional intelligence''. A&C Black.</ref> and the framework offered by the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence<ref>Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. (2004). Emotional competence framework. www.eiconsortium.org/research/emotional_competence_framework.htm</ref> (2004) reveals many similarities, and Goleman’s influence on the latter is evident. An analysis of these definitions and characteristics of EI leads us to conclude that EI is different from traditional views of intelligence based on cognitive factors suggesting a different kind of aptitude that is founded entirely on noncognitive aspects of behaviour<ref name=":0" />. Goleman’s research, conducted in 200 large, global companies reveals that -  EI especially at the highest levels of a company is the sine qua non for leadership<ref name=":0" />.   

Emotional intelligence (EI) is ‘a form of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate between them, and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and action’<ref name=":13">Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. ''Imagination, cognition and personality'', ''9''(3), 185-211,  Page 5. </ref>.  Goleman (2000)<ref name=":0">Goleman, D. (2000). Leadership that gets results. ''Harvard business review'', ''78''(2), 4-17.</ref> identifies five components of EI self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skill. In a later work<ref>Mayer, J. D., & Salovey, P. (1997). What is emotional  intelligence? In P. Salovey, & D. Sluyter (Eds.), Emotional development and emotional intelligence: Educational implications New York: Basic Books. Page 5. </ref> Mayer and Salovey defined EI as the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth. Their definition of EI refers to the underlying intelligence factors that they feel are necessary in order to develop emotional competence (EC) skills. While the definition of EI is useful for making a distinction between general intelligence and emotional intelligence, the concept of EC is relevant if we have to talk about using EI for organisational success. The EC framework identifies two main categories: '''personal competence''' and '''social competence.''' A comparison of the dimensions considered by Goleman (1998)<ref name=":2">Goleman, D. (1998). Working with emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam.</ref> and the framework offered by the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence<ref>Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. (2004). Emotional competence framework. www.eiconsortium.org/research/emotional_competence_framework.htm</ref> (2004) reveals many similarities, and Goleman’s influence on the latter is evident. An analysis of these definitions and characteristics of EI leads us to conclude that EI is different from traditional views of intelligence based on cognitive factors suggesting a different kind of aptitude that is founded entirely on noncognitive aspects of behaviour<ref name=":0" />. Goleman’s research, conducted in 200 large, global companies reveals that -  EI especially at the highest levels of a company is the sine qua non for leadership<ref name=":0" />.   

A person can have first class training, an incisive  

A person can have first class training, an incisive mind, and a large supply of good ideas, but without EI it is unlikely that s/he will make a great leader. Goleman (1998)<ref name=":2" /> reports that emotional quotient (EQ) is twice as important as technical skills and intelligence quotient (IQ) for success in jobs at all levels, more so at the highest level in a company. Goleman suggests that the difference between star performers and average ones in senior leadership positions can be attributed more to EQ factors than to cognitive abilities. Emotional quotient has a champion in none other than Mahatma Gandhi who opined, ‘I know that ultimately one is guided not by the intellect, but by the heart. The heart accepts a conclusion for which the intellect subsequently finds reasoning. Man often finds reason in support of whatever he wants to do.<ref name=":6">Chakraborty, S. K., & Chakraborty, D. (2008). Spirituality in management - Means or end? Oxford University Press. Page 41</ref> 

mind, and a large supply of good ideas, but without EI it is unlikely that s/he will make a great leader. Goleman (1998) reports that emotional quotient (EQ) is twice as important as technical skills and intelligence quotient (IQ) for success in jobs at all levels, more so at the highest level in

Researchers have long debated whether leaders are born or made. One can see a similar debate about EI. Are people born with certain levels of empathy, or do they acquire empathy as a result of life’s experiences? It appears that the answer is ‘both’. Scientific inquiry strongly suggests that there is a genetic component to EI, and psychological and developmental research indicate that nurture plays a role as well<ref name=":1" />. 

a company. Goleman suggests that the difference between star performers and average ones in senior leadership positions can be attributed more to EQ factors than to cognitive abilities. Emotional quotient has a champion in none other than Mahatma Gandhi who opined, ‘I know that

While the debate on the relative influence of nature and nurture continues, research and practice clearly demonstrate that EI can be learned<ref name=":0" />.

Exhibit 1 The five components of emotional intelligence at work.

Yoga is one of the six foundations of Indian philosophy and has been used for millennia to study, explain, and experience the complexities of the mind and human existence<ref>Feuerstein, G. (1998). The yoga tradition: Its history, literature, philosophy, and practice. Prescott, AZ, New York: Hohm Press Foundations, Harper and Row.</ref>. Patanjali, an ancient yoga sage, in his Yoga Sutras, defined yoga as a technique used to still the mental fluctuations of the mind to reach the central reality of the true self<ref>Iyengar, B. K. S. (1966). Light on yoga. New York: Schocken Books.</ref>. Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras outline a skilful way of conducting life that fosters moderation and harmony<ref name=":3" />. These guidelines, which include ethical and moral standards of living in addition to postural and breathing exercises, can be used to foster spiritual growth and evolve one’s consciousness<ref name=":1" />.  

Self-awareness The ability to recognise and understand one’s moods,

Karma yoga is the path of focusing on the action on hand without selfishness, ego and carelessness as prescribed by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita<ref name=":5" />.

emotions and drives, as well as their effect on others

Jnana yoga is the path of knowledge of self (atman) propagated by Adi Shankaracharya through an interpretation of the Upanishads, considered the most ancient books of Indian wisdom<ref name=":1" />.

Self deprecating sense of humour

Based on a review of the literature, we<ref name=":1" /> hypothesize that  practising the yoga way of life may bring about a complete transformation of one’s personality, on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels.

Self-regulation The ability to control or redirect disruptive

Yoga psychology conceives of the self in terms of different levels of being. The inner-most core (atman) is covered by five layers. These layers correspond to a step-wise ladder, leading inward to the atman. The journey inward forms the basis of growth and development - the biological evolution from protozoan to man, the psychological evolution from child to adult, and the enhancement of consciousness from cognitive to universal consciousness, wherein there is no ego, and there is the realisation that the concerns and needs of all people are the same, that what is good for one is good for all. In this growth process, feelings and emotions are accepted as having a place in the general scheme; they are not considered wrong or repressed but are transformed and redirected.<ref name=":4" />

impulses and moods; comfort with ambiguity

Chakraborty and Chakraborty (2008)<ref name=":6" /> see the human personality as a composite of four subtle variables: reason, will, emotion and conscience. In order to integrate the personality, these four factors must be habituated to work in harmony instead of working at cross purposes, and this requires effort. Further, the expression ‘integrated personality’ is often employed to imply the same characteristics that are expected of a holistic, self-possessed Personality.

A propensity to suspend judgmentdto think

An analysis of the work of several religious and other scholars provides a basis to conclude that the yoga way of life significantly impacts leadership traits and improves EI and EC. Swami Vivekananda averred that the highest man is calm, silent and unknown<ref>Swami Vivekananda. (2006). Teachings of Swami Vivekananda. Kolkata: Advaita Ashrama.</ref>. The highest person as a leader is calm in order to understand situations, and to think and select the best option for his/her followers’ development. (S)he is silent in order to listen to himself/herself and to his/her subordinates, to control his/her prejudices and conditioning, and to meet others’ hearts. Finally, the leader chooses to remain unknown in order to be free from possible egotistic benefits. According to Sri Aurobindo (in<ref name=":6" />), ‘The more complete the calm, the mightier the yogic power, the greater the force in action’ (p 201).

Trustworthiness and integrity

The role of yoga in the development of impersonality or the spiritual personality has been well explained by Sri Aurobindo<ref name=":8">Sri Aurobindo. (1942). Essays on the Gita, Vol. 13. Calcutta: Arya Publishing House.</ref> (1942) in his classic work, Essays on the Gita. According to Sri Aurobindo, yoga and knowledge are the two wings of the soul’s ascent. He states, ‘By yoga is meant union through divine works done without desire, with equality of soul to all things and all men, as a sacrifice to the Supreme, while knowledge is that on which this desirelessness, this equality, this power of sacrifices is founded’ (p 191).

Openness to change

Awareness of self within and self in others, leads us towards ‘something higher than the ego, an infinite, an impersonal, a universal existence . In other words, man’s way to liberation and perfection lies through an increasing impersonality.’ There are certain signs which are indicative of the development of impersonality. These are: the absence of personal egoism; freedom from desire; the awareness of an impersonal force of love or will; perfect equality between the soul and nature; and fullness of inner joy and peace (Sri Aurobindo<ref name=":8" />, pp 121, 123).

Motivation A passion to work for reasons that go beyond

Dwelling on the art of meditation, Swami Anubhavananda and Kumar<ref name=":9">Swami Anubhavanada, & Kumar, A. (2007). Management with a difference: Insights from ancient Indian wisdom. New Delhi: Ane Books India.</ref> (2007, p 283) hold that it ‘strengthens our muscles of awareness and choice’, helps in training our mind and changing our attitudes. Proposing ‘emotional maturity’ as another attribute to be cultivated, the authors posit that it can be cultivated through self-contemplation, which constitutes evaluating one’s emotions, and identifying and expressing feelings in a poised state of heart and mind. This is a state where an individual recognizes his inner self and responds accordingly (<ref name=":9" />p 298).

money or status

Relating the philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita to making work an enjoyable experience, Swami Bodhananda Saraswati <ref>Swami Bodhananda Saraswati. (2007). Self development for global competitiveness. Ahmedabad Management Association.</ref>(2007) reiterates the need to engage in the world but remain detached from the fruits of one’s work and to not react to the results of one’s work. Further, he stresses that it is very important to live in constant awareness of oneself so that one has power over one’s thoughts, and can choose responses to the world as per one’s values. This is the power that Patanjali’s Ashtanga yoga enunciates through the principle of controlling or mastering the thought modifications of the mind. (Swami Bodhananda Saraswati, 1998<ref>Swami Bodhananda Saraswati. (1998). Management lessons from Patanjali’s yoga sutras. In Inspirations from Indian wisdom for management. Ahmedabad Management Association.</ref>).

A propensity to pursue goals with energy

Patanjali’s Ashtanga yoga encompasses cognitive learning, moral conduct, physiological practices and psychological therapy. The first two steps - yama and niyama - seek and shape external behavior and thought patterns and thus minimize disturbances in the mind and the body. The handling of emotional contamination and the removal of negative emotions such as anger, jealousy, greed, attachment, ego, and an excessive desire for objects are very important in adopting the yoga way of life. The yama and niyama stages of Ashtanga yoga enable an individual to eradicate such negative contamination through sustained and conscious efforts. Through such a process, the individual attains a state of ‘chittasuddhi’ or purity of mind, which is considered to be the starting point of the yoga way of life<ref name=":1" />. Sri Aurobindo too<ref name=":6" /> stresses the need for the ‘chitta’ to be purified before clarity and right knowledge dawn.

and persistence

On the behavioral side, abstention is sought from violence, falsehood, dishonesty, sexual excess and acquisitive tendencies. On the cognitive moral side, the ideals prescribed are purity, contentment, austerity, self study and forbearance. The stages of asana and pranayama are meant for disciplining the body and regulating subtle energy flows. In the fifth stage of pratyahara, secondary input is regulated so that the mind is not distracted. The stages of dharana, dhyana and samadhi are for uplifting one’s spiritual self and for heightening consciousness<ref name=":1" />.

Strong drive to achieve

According to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras<ref name=":7" />, asana and pranayama practices are supposed to make our body flexible and purify the subtle energy channels of our body. This paves the way for control of one’s mind, which consists of four aspects: random mind, intellect, subconscious mind and ego. Yoga works on all these four subtle aspects of our mind, and thereby makes one more self-aware, empathetic, motivated and self- regulated. These are the very qualities known as emotional intelligence<ref name=":1" />.

Optimism, even in the face of failure

=== Yoga and the work life ===

A series of techniques collectively known as ‘yoga’ present a rich source for generating indigenous organisational development techniques that may perhaps find better acceptance than imported intervention designs from the West<ref name=":4" />. ‘Originally developed for personal spiritual growth, yoga offers a well formulated approach to planned change’ (<ref name=":4" />, p 271).

Empathy The ability to understand the emotional

Giacalone and Jurkiewicz<ref>Giacalone, R. A., & Jurkiewicz, C. L. (2003). Right from wrong: The influence of spirituality on perceptions of unethical business activities. Journal of Business Ethics, 46(1), Page 85.</ref>(2003) stress yet another major advantage of nurturing the spiritual mindset within each worker in the organisation-ethicality. They assert that fundamental aspects of workplace spirituality, such as meaningful work that provides a feeling of purpose, a sense of connection and positive social relations with co-workers, and the ability to live an integrated life in which the work role does not conflict with the essential nature of a person as a human being, may interact to create different perceptions of ethicality within the organisation.

makeup of other people

Most of the work available on the subject of the impact of yoga on work life/management centers around the impact of transcendental meditation (TM) on various aspects of management. Transcendental meditation is the skill of effortlessly minimizing mental activity so that the body settles into a state of rest deeper than deep sleep while the mind becomes clear and alert (Orme-Johnson, Zimmerman, & Hawkins, 1992<ref name=":10">Orme-Johnson, D. W., Zimmerman, E., & Hawkins, M. (1992). Maharishi’s vedic psychology: The science of the cosmic psyche. In H. S. R. Kao, & Y. H. Poortinga (Eds.), Asian perspectives on psychology (pp. 282).</ref>). A review of over 500 experimental studies conducted in over 200 Universities in 33 countries<ref name=":10" /> revealed that TM helps expand consciousness, decrease oxygen intake and stress level, increase basal skin resistance and coherence in the electro encephalo gram (EEG) and virtually suspends breathing up to 1 minute.

Skill in treating people according to their

At the University of Texas, Orme-Johnson et al. (1992)<ref name=":10" /> showed that meditators display a greater physiological equilibrium than non-meditators. They also showed that meditators maintain this equilibrium under stress more effectively than non-meditators. Frew (1974)<ref>Frew, D. (1974). Transcendental meditation and productivity. Academy of Management Journal, 17(2), 362.</ref> completed a study that concludes that TM increases individual productivity. Frew found that meditators show increased job satisfaction, a decreased desire to change jobs, better performance, and better relationships with supervisors and co-workers.

Expertise in building and retaining talent

Parde and Naidu (1992)<ref>Parde, N., & Naidu, R. K. (1992). Anasakti and health: A study of non-attachment. Psychology and Developing Societies, 4(1), 89e104.</ref> report empirical evidence to show that people with a strong orientation to working sincerely without being preoccupied with the outcome experience less work-related stress. Misra (1989)<ref>Misra, G. (1989). Intrinsic motivation extrinsic reward and performance. Indian Education Review, 24(17), 25.</ref> found that effort orientation rather than concern for outcome leads to greater intrinsic satisfaction. Chakraborty (1987, 1993)<ref>Chakraborty, S. K. (1987). Managerial effectiveness and quality of work life: Indian insights. New Delhi: McGraw Hill.</ref><ref>Chakraborty, S. K. (1993). Managerial transformation by values:A corporate pilgrimage. New Delhi: Sage</ref> provides experimental evidence that practicing yoga, meditating, controlling breathing and stilling the turbulent mind can enable workers and managers to purify their mind and make it spiritual, expand their self to include others around them, and help them grow and transform them- selves without expecting anything in return.

Service to clients and customers

Yoga is defined as ‘skill in action’ (yogah karmasu kau- salam) in the Bhagavad Gita (Swami Tapasyananda, 1984<ref name=":11" />, Chapter 2, Shloka 50) which discusses yoga explicitly, and further states that one must strive for the state of yoga where ‘One (is) endowed with unperturbed evenness of mind (that) abandons the effects of both good and bad actions’ even in this world. The original shloka is as follows: <blockquote>बुद्धियुक्तो जहातीह उभे सुकृतदुष्कृते।</blockquote><blockquote>तस्माद्योगाय युज्यस्व योगः कर्मसु कौशलम्।।2.50।।</blockquote><blockquote>Buddhiyukto jahati’ha ubhe sukrta-duskrte </blockquote><blockquote>Tasmad yogaya yujyasva yogah karmasu kausalam. 2.50</blockquote>This shloka clearly suggests that yoga can be applied to day-to-day living, which seems largely utilitarian. Sri Aurobindo<ref name=":6" />, stating the power of yoga, reiterates that right knowledge becomes the infallible source of right action (yohgah karmasu kaushalam) (p 201). To quote Sri Aurobindo fully, ‘The more complete the calm, the mightier the Yogic power, the greater the force in action. In this calm the right knowledge comes. The activity of the mind must cease, the chitta be purified, a silence falls upon the restlessness of prakriti; then in that calm, in that voiceless stillness, illumination comes upon the mind, error begins to fade away.clarity establishes itself in the higher stratum of the consciousness, compelling peace and joy in the lower. Right knowledge becomes the infallible source of right action. Yohgah karmasu kaushalam.’ (p 201).

Social skill Proficiency in managing relationships and

In the light of the many definitions and descriptions of yoga, referring to the spiritual and the secular quest, we submit that the realizational vs utilitarian divide is artificial. A truly realizational objective has to be all- comprehensive. 

The ability to find common ground and

The scale used for this research was the Self-Reported EI Scale (SREIS) (Schutte et al., 1998<ref name=":14">Schutte, N. S., Malouff, J. M., Hall, L. E., Haggerty, D. J., Cooper, J. T., & Golden, C. J. (1998). Development and validation of a measure of emotional intelligence. Personality and Individual Differences, 25(2), 167e177.</ref>), which was developed to reflect Salovey and Mayer’s (1990)<ref name=":13" /> original ability model of EI and was validated in relation to dimensions of the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (Salovey et al 1995<ref>Salovey, P., Mayer, J. D., Goldman, S. L., Turvey, C., & Palfai, T. P. (1995). Emotional attention, clarity and repair: Exploring emotional intelligence using the trait meta-mood scale. In J. W. Pennebaker (Ed.), Emotion, disclosure and health (pp. 125e154). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2004.</ref>) as well as the characteristics usually identified as more relevant to trait models of EI (Goleman, 1995<ref name=":12" />) including alexithymia, optimism and impulse control. This 33-item EI scale assesses multiple aspects of EI including appraisal and expression of emotions, regulation of emotion and utilization of emotion. Participants rated the extent to which they agreed with each item on 7-point Likert type scales ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The SREIS measure is reported to have good internal consistency and test-retest reliability<ref name=":14" /> and has demonstrated predictive validity.

Effectiveness in leading change

The managers of the company were given the option of participating in this study after the purpose and the modality of this experiment were explained to them. One of the expectations was regularity of attendance for the theory and practice sessions of the proposed study. Written consent for participating in the experiment was obtained. Those who agreed to participate in the study were divided into two equal groups of 42 each; Group 1 was designated as the yoga group and group 2 as the physical exercise group, which was the control group for this experiment.  The yoga group was given 30 hours of yoga practice (75 minutes every day) and 25 hours of theory lectures on the philosophy of yoga spread over six weeks. The theory lectures were given by the first author of this article and included topics such as definitions of the yoga way of life, implications of the four types of yoga (Raja yoga, Karma yoga, Jnana yoga and Bhakti yoga) on life, analysis of the aspects of true happiness in life, Ashtanga yoga steps and the central theme of universality of consciousness as propounded in these texts.The practice sessions for the elements of yoga which included asanas, pranayama and relaxation were conducted by a well-trained yoga instructor<ref name=":1" />. 

Expertise in building and leading teams

In order to test the hypothesis, EI was measured for both the groups, before and after the study, with the help of a standard self-reported questionnaire. In addition, measurements of certain physical parameters such as weight, body mass index, blood pressure, and blood sugar were taken for all, before and after the study. The required data was taken before the commencement of the study on 17th September, 2007. The intervention to both the groups was simultaneously done between 18th September and 24th October, 2007. The post-study measurement was done on 24th October, 2007. Out of the total of 42 in both groups, there were some who did not attend all the theory and practice classes on several days, and hence only the top 30 (in terms of regularity) were included for both groups in the final sample for the analysis. This came to a minimum attendance figure of 65% approximately for both groups. In this experiment rigorous training of 55 hours spread over 6 weeks was organised for the yoga group to instill all these five aspects in the experiment group<ref name=":1" />.

Source: Goleman (2000).

Statistical analysis of the data was done using the SPSS. The sample profile indicates that 80% and 86% of the participants from the yoga group and the control group respectively were from the age group of 21-50, while the rest were above 50. Similarly, 20% of the yoga group and 17% of the control group were from the top management (i.e. deputy general manager and above), while 57% of the yoga group and 63% of the control group were from the line level managers (deputy managers and officers)<ref name=":1" />.  

Exhibit 2 Framework for emotional intelligence.

In the validity test conducted, the pre-experiment result of the 33-item scale of EI had a Chronbach’s alpha of 0.84 while that of the post-study data of EI showed alpha of 0.85. The average EI score for the yoga group and the control group was 5.50 and 5.61 respectively before the experiment. The average EI score after the experiment for the yoga group and the control group was 5.97 and 5.55 respectively. In the paired t-test of the pre-study and post-study data, EI showed significant enhancement in the yoga group, but not in the physical exercise group. The results further showed that while the difference in the average EI between the yoga group and the physical exercise group was not significant prior to the experiment (thus supporting random choice of samples), the same was statistically significant at the end of the experiment<ref name=":1" />.  

==References==

==References==

[[Category:Education Series]]

[[Category:Education Series]]

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