| THE ONTARIO LAWYERS’ ASSISTANCE PROGRAM DOES EMOTIONAL IQ MATTER TO LAWYERS? "It is with the heart that one sees rightly: what is essential is invisible to the eye. " -Antoine de Saint-Exupery : The Little Prince In the legal profession much importance is placed on IQ—lawyers are considered among the “brightest and the best” and indeed must demonstrate academic intelligence to be admitted to law school, to complete law school and to develop a successful career. People with a high IQ are thought to be successful and influential. The IQ score based on the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale has been the measure of intelligence for many years. Is there more to the picture? Since publication of the book, Emotional Intelligence (1995) by Daniel Goleman more attention has been paid to the importance of emotional intelligence as a component for success. Emotional intelligence is the ability to use your emotions in a positive and constructive way in relationships with others. Emotional intelligence matters twice as much as cognitive abilities in successful work performance and personal success. What does this mean for lawyers? According to a study of 40 prominent women lawyers reported in The National Post , Sept. 10, 2003 “ Best have Much in Common ” emotional intelligence assessment indicated high skills are assertiveness, independence and stress tolerance. Some of the lowest scores were in the areas of social responsibility, impulse control, interpersonal relationships and empathy. If this is a picture of the legal profession what does it mean to the profession? The LosAltos Town Crier, Sept. 10, 2003 in an article entitled, “ Why Lawyers are Sometimes Unhappy” reported on a study by Dr. Martin Seligman. He studied 20 professions for optimism. There was only one profession that demonstrated success was correlated with pessimism, not optimism—the law. Pessimism tends to create unhappy-sounding or looking people. “Lawyers are trained to look for negative possibilities, for disaster and loopholes—they can’t be sensitive listeners because they are listening for the rational logic.” The components of emotional IQ are 1. Knowing your emotions—self awareness 2. Managing emotions--The ability to use the feelings appropriately rather than ignore them 3. Motivating oneself—paying attention to emotions and reactions with the realization that this it contributes to success as well as satisfaction 4. Recognizing emotions in others 5. Handling relationships based on the awareness. Lawyers seem to have trouble in the last category. Over 80% of the calls for counseling to the LINK- the lawyers assistance program relate to personal relationship difficulties. About 40% of the calls to OBAP are about career dissatisfaction and concern about relationships and civility within the profession. OBAP gets many calls from lawyers who say their practice isn’t giving them the satisfaction it once was, or young lawyers who feel disillusioned by the profession. A lawyer recently told me that she is leaving the profession because of the lack of emotional responsibility (anger and aggression) and the personal attacks that were wearing her down. In her words she had “never met a horse that ran backwards” and she didn’t believe the behaviour in the profession as a whole would change. The benefits of using emotional control include
Try considering your emotional intelligence and awareness—you’ll be a happier lawyer! More Information Daniel Goleman: Emotional Intelligence , Bantam Books, New York, New York 1995 The Advocates’ Brief, Sept. 2003
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