I had a discussion with a friend and colleague recently. My friend is a notable expert in the psychometric assessment field. His comment was, and I paraphrase, "most Emotional Intelligence assessments punish the pessimistic."
I must admit that the comment did not sink in right away. After ruminating on it for about a week, however, I concluded, as he did, that it is probably true that EI assessments do punish pessimists. But my thought was, "is that all bad?" I could not think of a single job that would benefit from pessimism. I knew a few people in jobs that seemed to be perpetually pessimistic, like my accountant. I am not sure that is a good thing.
One suggestion I got was that it might be good for airline pilots to be pessimistic i.e. "do we have enough fuel to make it to Paris or should we stop and refuel?" Personally, I would prefer a little pessimism there and to make sure there is enough fuel. Beyond that example I have no others. Do you have any thoughts?
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