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On
Emotional Intelligence
HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW PRESS
Boston, Massachusetts
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First eBook Edition: May 2015
ISBN: 978-1-6336-9019-6
Contents
by Daniel Goleman
Primal Leadership: The Hidden Driver of Great Performance
by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee
by Joel Brockner
Why Good Leaders Make Bad Decisions
by Andrew Campbell, Jo Whitehead, and Sydney Finkelstein
Building the Emotional Intelligence of Groups
by Vanessa Urch Druskat and Steven B. Wolff
The Price of Incivility: Lack of Respect Hurts Morale—and the Bottom Line
by Christine Porath and Christine Pearson
by Diane L. Coutu
Emotional Agility: How Effective Leaders Manage Their Negative Thoughts and Feelings
by Susan David and Christina Congleton
by Jay M. Jackman and Myra H. Strober
by Kerry A. Bunker, Kathy E. Kram, and Sharon Ting
by Daniel Goleman
EVERY BUSINESSPERSON KNOWS a story about a highly intelligent, highly skilled executive who was promoted into a leadership position only to fail at the job. And they also know a story about someone with solid—but not extraordinary—intellectual abilities and technical skills who was promoted into a similar position and then soared.
Such anecdotes support the widespread belief that identifying individuals with the “right stuff” to be leaders is more art than science. After all, the personal styles of superb leaders vary: Some leaders are subdued and analytical; others shout their manifestos from the mountaintops. And just as important, different situations call for different types of leadership. Most mergers need a sensitive negotiator at the helm, whereas many turnarounds require a more forceful authority.
I have found, however, that the most effective leaders are alike in one crucial way: They all have a high degree of what has come to be known as emotional intelligence. It’s not that IQ and technical skills are irrelevant. They do matter, but mainly as “threshold capabilities”; that is, they are the entry-level requirements for executive positions. But my research, along with other recent studies, clearly shows that emotional intelligence is the sine qua non of leadership. Without it, a person can have the best training in the world, an incisive, analytical mind, and an endless supply of smart ideas, but he still won’t make a great leader.
In the course of the past year, my colleagues and I have focused on how emotional intelligence operates at work. We have examined the relationship between emotional intelligence and effective performance, especially in leaders. And we have observed how emotional intelligence shows itself on the job. How can you tell if