In the new learning economy context and its rapid diffusion of knowledge, the nature of work is changing in response to the processes of globalisation, the availability of information technologies and instant communication networks. Teachers’ work, as for other jobs, has not escaped the need to change. Changes contribute to the intensification and pressure of people work. In such a changing context, the success of individuals, teacher and students-future workers as well, may reside not only in the ability to learn but, also, to cope with new rhythm, tensions and pressures in labor, therefore in the ability to share and work together in a smooth and trust atmosphere, involving a balance between personal and social emotional competencies. In school, the teachers’ work has been redesigned, and the skills teacher needs today are different from the skills teachers needed in the past. Indeed, in teachers’ work, number of changes and tensions can be traced which implies new skills and professional competencies. For instance, coaching, supporting, mentoring and developing other staff have become increasingly important in teachers’ work: from teaching to learning, to educate for adaptability… Moreover, for some teachers the work environment is proving personally and professionally damaging (facing more violence, crisis of authority, under social recognition, parents and students’ pressures and demands…). Thus, it requires new competencies to cope with those pressures and to develop teachers’ resilience. Emotional competencies belong to those crucial professional competencies nowadays. Beside the institutionalized “powerful” teacher, the teacher leadership style with developed emotional competencies remind us that “teaching”, is not only a pure cognitive act but also a social and affective and emotional work where emotions are involved in the work atmosphere (Gendron, 2008a). Emotional competencies are essential to perform teaching work and for a leadership and ethic teaching style – vehicle of a democratic and professional socialization and an exemplarity subject for learners. Those emotional competencies refer to the “Savoir-être”. Beyond the “Savoirs” (Knowledge) and the “Savoir-Faire” (Know-How) defined in G.S. Becker Human Capital approach, this set of social and personal emotional competencies constitutes the Emotional Capital© defined by Gendron (2004) (this Emotional Capital essay won the 2006 Louis Cros Prize of the French Academy of Moral and Political Sciences). This capital is essential in nowadays teachers’ work and in all emotional works in a broader view. Those emotional competencies are key-competencies in all social interactions whatever the context. The management of a class, a group or a team of learners could be related with the human management models at work, for instance the management of a team of workers. This presentation will question particularly those emotional competencies as professional competencies essential in all social interaction jobs and work (as teachers, trainers, counselors, coach, or human managers…). From a multidisciplinary approach (education, psychology, and management sciences, this paper will draw parallels between the teacher and manager’s work style using leadership-models (Gendron, 2007). This communication intends to address the issue of emotional competencies as professional competencies to the educational and labor spheres for a fruitful multi-approach enriched by the contributions of several disciplines and plural glances (researcher, professional, practitioners...).

In a first part, I will present emotional capital and emotional work theoretical frameworks. Then, in a second part, from a meta-analysis of the literature on management models, on management and leadership, and teaching styles, I will draw a parallel between the style of leaderships and teachers and managers’ management style according their emotional competencies (defined in Emotional Intelligence models). Sources: Studies and research on emotional competencies and management styles and HR literature (Salovey, Mayer, Goleman, Boyatzis, Weber, Mintzberg, HRD and Organization and Management theories of leadership, Teacher literature references).

This research draws a typology of management styles and the emotional competencies required. It shows that teacher with leadership styles who have developed emotional competencies referring to emotional capital can facilitate teamwork, work atmosphere, and enhance efficiency and quality of their students. They teach for learning or they manage to develop the person…. At the opposite, teachers or managers with a poor emotional capital which fulfil the exact task prescribed (instruction or task-goals oriented) can lead to a disaster: decrease of teams’ productivity, workers burnout, higher rate of health problem, and growing missing working days… This research concludes that those emotional competencies belong to the teacher professional competencies essential nowadays to perform their teaching job.