Exploring emotional intelligence trainer roles.

While undertaking interviews with emotional intelligence (EI) trainers in New Zealand it emerged that they were coming from different perspectives, a discovery that challenges the tacit assumption of homogeneity amongst EI trainers. This finding has implications for how Human Resource practitioners engage EI trainers in staff development in their organisation. The research sought to answer the question: "What bearing does emotional intelligence trainer roles have on emotional intelligence training?" Three roles surfaced, that of 'academic, practitioner and consultant' EI trainers, which were based on the title EI trainers used to describe their role and relationship to their client organisation, and in the way they carried out their EI training work. The findings offer Human Resource managers understanding that different EI trainer roles likely fulfil different training needs within organisations, and that an EI trainer's role brings with it a unique perspective that if understood and applied, would increase 'fit' for an organisation's EI training needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]