{"id":15065,"date":"2021-10-01T09:00:37","date_gmt":"2021-09-30T23:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/?p=15065"},"modified":"2024-06-25T14:04:59","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T04:04:59","slug":"professor-ashlea-troth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/2021\/10\/01\/professor-ashlea-troth\/","title":{"rendered":"Working toward a more emotionally intelligent future\u2014Professor Ashlea Troth"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since she was\u00a0young,\u00a0<\/span>Ashlea Troth<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(Professor of Organisational Behaviour at Griffith Business School)\u00a0has been interested in what makes people tick.\u00a0Her\u00a0research interests include multi-level and multi-method approaches to examining emotional regulation and emotional intelligence in workplaces. She is also interested in the day-to-day work experiences of frontline managers and the role of their emotional regulation strategies on wellbeing when performing a range of tasks.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Professor Troth gained her\u00a0Master of Organisational Psychology\u00a0at Griffith University and her PhD in\u00a0Psychology at the University of Queensland.\u00a0Currently, she is\u00a0a Professor of Organisational\u00a0Behaviour\u00a0in\u00a0Griffith Business School\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Department of Employment Relations and Human Resources<\/span><\/a>. She is also the Deputy Director of the\u00a0<\/span>Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(WOW). Professor Troth has extensive consulting experience and has published in leading journals such as the Journal of Organizational\u00a0Behavior, The Leadership Quarterly and Human Resource Management.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In this Q&A,\u00a0Professor Troth explains the importance of emotional\u00a0regulation and emotional intelligence, and how we can all work toward becoming more\u00a0emotionally intelligent in our present and future careers.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Q\u00a0&\u00a0A:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What sparked your interest in organisational psychology and psychology more generally?\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I have always been interested in people and why they behave in certain ways\u00a0and in different situations.\u00a0Why some individuals can\u00a0deal with\u00a0challenging circumstances and\u00a0persevere while\u00a0others spiral downwards. Strangely, I was studying accounting and not enjoying it at all, when a psychologist came\u00a0to\u00a0give a lecture on\u00a0organisational\u00a0behaviour,\u00a0which\u00a0struck a chord. I immediately transferred to a psychology degree.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u00a0began this intending to\u00a0be a clinical\u00a0psychologist,\u00a0but over\u00a0time\u00a0realised I was\u00a0more\u00a0interested in the broader nonclinical population.\u00a0We spend one third of our lives at work.\u00a0How we feel about our jobs\u00a0and\u00a0how we\u00a0are treated\u00a0at work\u00a0has a huge impact on\u00a0our\u00a0health,\u00a0wellbeing\u00a0and performance\u2014which then spills over\u00a0into our home\u00a0life. In the end, I thought I could have a broader impact and make a\u00a0bigger\u00a0difference by\u00a0focusing on\u00a0people in\u00a0the organisational\u00a0context.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2018[Emotional regulation and\u00a0emotional intelligence]\u00a0are related\u00a0but distinct, and some of my research shows that individuals\u00a0higher on\u00a0certain aspects of EI are better able to regulate\u00a0and adapt their emotions to fit the situation or context.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

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What is\u202f\u2018emotional regulation\u2019\u202fand\u202f\u2018emotional intelligence,\u2019\u202fand why are these concepts important?\u202f<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Emotional regulation\u00a0(ER)\u00a0refers to the strategies that we use to either maintain or\u00a0change\u00a0the emotions we are having, usually in response to a specific situation or person.\u00a0For example, I might be feeling anxious about leading a new project and attempt to reduce\u00a0this\u00a0feeling\u00a0by reframing the situation and feeling excitement instead\u00a0about the challenge.\u00a0ER\u00a0research emerged from the child development literature,\u00a0as our ability to regulate our emotions\u00a0represent\u00a0significant developmental milestones.\u00a0Indeed,\u00a0our ability to regulate different emotions adjusts\u00a0and evolves\u00a0into old age,\u00a0which I find interesting in terms of an aging workforce.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now,\u00a0ER\u00a0is being robustly applied to\u00a0research in\u00a0the work context.\u00a0Effective\u00a0leaders\u00a0and\u00a0managers do this all the time with\u00a0their\u00a0staff:\u00a0they typically try to increase positive emotions and decrease negative emotions during meetings, performance conversations, managing change,\u00a0etc.\u00a0The research increasingly shows that the type of regulation strategies used has significant outcomes for work relationships and performance.\u00a0We also know that the emotions displayed by a leader\/manager\u00a0are\u00a0contagious. These emotions\u00a0are\u00a0\u2018caught\u2019\u00a0by other workers\u00a0and can really set the overall positive or negative tone of the group.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Emotional intelligence\u00a0(EI)\u00a0refers to our ability to be aware of\u00a0and manage\u00a0our own and\u00a0others\u2019\u00a0emotions.\u00a0ER\u00a0and\u00a0EI\u00a0are related but distinct. Some of my research shows that individuals\u00a0who rate\u00a0higher on certain aspects of EI are better able to regulate and adapt their emotions to fit the situation or context.\u00a0Again, there is now a very robust body of research to show that EI predicts performance (in individuals and in groups) over and above their personality and intelligence.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I am especially interested in researching how the ER and EI of leaders (especially frontline leaders) and groups impacts performance.\u00a0As a psychologist, the\u00a0many\u00a0coldly rational\u00a0business\u00a0and\u00a0decision-making\u00a0models do\u00a0not sit well\u00a0with me. The famous quote, \u201cIt\u2019s business. Leave your feelings at the door.\u201d actually makes no business sense to me.\u00a0Every day\u00a0in the workplace, we see examples of emotions playing out in effective and ineffective ways with significant outcomes. For example,\u00a0engagement,\u00a0innovation\u00a0and\u00a0creativity versus\u00a0bullying,\u00a0hostility,\u00a0disengagement\u00a0and\u00a0stress. It is not something that can be ignored by organisations and managers. Amazingly enough the \u2018affective revolution\u2019,\u00a0or\u00a0the study of emotions in workplace settings,\u00a0did not really take off until 2000. Now most scholars across a broad range of business disciplines recognise the role of emotions, such as\u00a0in financial decision making\u00a0and\u00a0project teams.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2018Not all positive emotions are always good and not all negative emotions are always bad\u2014it\u2019s much more nuanced than that.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

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How can individuals work toward becoming more\u202femotionally\u202fintelligent within their organisations?\u202f<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are lots of practical ways and these are just a few:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n