Part V: creating the EQ-i 2.0 and EQ 360 2.0

EQ-i 2.0 Group Report Supplement

Section One: Benefits of Providing Group Feedback

In today’s workplace, people often pool their knowledge and skills by working in groups so that they may complete complex tasks. In these cases, feedback given to a group in an appropriate time and manner may shape the group’s learning process, which will in turn influence the group’s performance and the processes that they use to coordinate and complete their tasks (Kozlowskil & Ilgen, 2006; London & Sessa, 2006). Managers or consultants give group feedback for a variety of purposes, such as the ones listed below (Gabelica, Van den Bossche, Segers, & Gijselaers, 2012; London & Sessa, 2006):

To guide, motivate, and reinforce effective behaviors.
To reduce or stop ineffective behaviors.
To bring into focus the resulting outcomes of an activity, process, or assessment.
To provide information and guidance when the group starts drifting away from initially set goals.
To assist groups in adjusting or fixing new goals.
To promote critical reflection on specific tasks or situations so that new insights and approaches may be acquired.
To assist a group in developing a shared mental model so that group members possess similar expectations and awareness of group behaviors, abilities, knowledge, and skill levels.

Researchers found that the delivery of group feedback had a positive effect on group outcomes such as:

Group goal commitment (Hoegl & Parboteeah, 2006),
Group efficacy, which describes a group’s belief regarding its ability to perform effectively (Jung & Sosik, 2003) and
Group cohesion (Philo, 2004).

When managers or consultants give group-level feedback as a complement to individual-level feedback, group members are able to gain an understanding of how their group behaves as an entity along with obtaining an idea of how they, as individuals, contribute to their group (Gabelica et al., 2012). In terms of the EQ-i 2.0, this means that after clients have completed their individual feedback sessions regarding their Workplace or Leadership reports, coaches may use the EQ-i 2.0 Group Report to switch group members’ focus from themselves to their team or group. By discussing the organizational implications and developmental strategies outlined in the coach version of the Group Report, clients will gain a greater understanding of how their individual EI tendencies influence the functioning of their group and organization.

Furthermore, feedback given at both the individual and group-levels is more effective at influencing group performance than feedback given at only the individual-level or the group-level (Matsui, Kakuyama, & Onglatco, 1987). Researchers reason that feedback effectiveness can be maximized if it is provided at both the individual and group-levels because if individual-level information is not provided, then group members who are below average on individual assessments will not be motivated to improve their performance if their group is successfully meeting group goals. Conversely, if no feedback is given at the group-level, then individuals who are in low-performing groups but who are meeting their individual targets will also not see a need to enhance their performance (Matsui et al., 1987).

This two-pronged approach to providing feedback appears to be most effective when used with people who identify strongly with their group (Rabinovich & Morton, 2012). Highly-identified group members are motivated to maintain consistency between individual- and group-level assessments; consequently, if an inconsistency is brought to their attention, these group members will be highly motivated to change either their own behaviors or attitudes, or they will attempt to influence the attitudes or behaviors of their group (Rabinovich & Morton, 2012). For example, if an individual who identifies strongly with the group finds out that he or she scored much lower on a specific EI subscale than the group did on average, he or she will be more motivated to engage in the changes needed to resolve and overcome this inconsistency.