The WE-I Assessment by Learning in Action Technologies is based upon developmental and neurophysiology theory and research, combined with
years of clinical, educational, consulting, and training experience. It was developed over a four-year period and
released in early 2003. Highlights about the profile's purpose, use, applications and unique features are highlighted
below.
It's All About Relationship
Emotional Intelligence does not exist apart from relationship. We are created, developed and sustained in
relationships throughout our lives. Our brain and our emotional competencies develop in relationship. Daniel Siegel
elegantly describes this process in The Developing Mind: How the Brain and Relationships Interact to Shape Who We
Are. Complex neural pathways are developed early in life and get activated moment-to-moment as we interpret the
world around us. The EQ In Action Profile maps what neural pathways get activated in difficult relationships at work
and offers a guide for ongoing development of the self for high-performance, successful relationships, as well as an
overall sense of well being and vitality in living.
It's Totally Behavioral Based - rather than self report
Rather than asking users to report what they would do or have done in their relationships with people, this tool
places individuals in a situation where they are asked to respond to several video segments of a person talking
directly to them. Respondents are asked to track their own experience as they watch the video and attempt to
understand what the other person might be experiencing. Respondents are given about fifty words and statements
for each video segment and are asked to rate the degree to which the word or statement fits their actual experience.
Each statement or word represents one of the constructs being measured. The statements are analyzed by
construct measured. The result is an EQ profile summary that reflects their reported experience. The profile provides a
"snapshot view" of how the user engages his/her emotional capacities in various stressful work interactions. Each
video segment presents common human themes that take place in most organizations.
It’s About Learning - not a report card
Unlike most Emotional intelligence assessment tools, this profile does not provide a "score". Rather it reports how a
user compares with others who have taken this tool on the core capacities or "essential components" (Bagley &
Taylor) of emotional intelligence.
People are encouraged to reflect on their relational and emotional strengths and weaknesses in their current
relationships.
The EQ Fitness Handbook: 150 Practices for Daily Living provides focused practice options for each dimension.
These practices can be done anywhere at anytime so they can be incorporated into an emotional intelligence fitness
program.EQ In Action Profile
Dimensions of the EQ Capacities Measured
Self-Reflection
Definition: The capacity to:
Notice and name one's own experience as separate from others
Observe one’s self, with the ability to separate the past and present. When intensity of experience seems
excessive for the immediate situation, it typically reflects a strong overlay from one's past.
Key Dimensions measured:
Self-Other Focus
Positive-Negative orientation
Access to range of emotions
Balanced reliance on a) Feelings, b) Thoughts, c) Wants
Level of engagement and intensity
Self-Soothing - Self-Regulation
Definition: The capacity to:
Soothe one's own distress and reestablish one's equilibrium without requiring others or the world around
one’s self to change
Develop a broad range of soothing strategies to appropriately draw upon in different situations
Soothe one’s self in a way that is neutral to positive for self, the other, and the relationship
Key Dimensions
Relationship strategies based upon High or Low trust of other and High or Low trust of self
Empathy
Definition:
Empathy Accuracy: The ability to "tune in to another" and accurately identify what the other person is
experiencing.
Empathy Understanding-Compassion: The ability to "identify and join” the other person in compassion
for what their experience might be like.
Empathic Interaction: The skill of interacting with another that actively demonstrates one hears, sees,
feels, and understands the other and makes the space for, or allows, the other to have a very different
experience from one’s own.
Key Dimensions measured:
Empathy accuracy
Empathy compassion