Daniel Goleman in his book, Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence, Harvard Business School Press, 2002, on p ix, asserts that, “The fundamental task of leaders, we argue, is to prime good feeling in those they lead. That occurs when a leader creates resonance – a reservoir of positivity that frees the best in people. At its root, then, the primal job of leadership is emotional.”
That sounds quite a bit different than the usual emphasis on being rational, doesn’t it? Well, has the emphasis on being rational really worked? Does it do what Goleman claims, “frees the best in people?” Do you want to add that ability to your repertoire?
More specifically, what would your payoff be? Goleman says that emotionally intelligent leadership can “inspire, arouse passion and enthusiasm, and keep people motivated and committed.” If you need more of that, it might be worth your effort to get Goleman’s book.
I can help you learn how to, in Goleman’s words, “generate the emotional resonance that lets people flourish.” I see that as a good definition of effective leadership – creating an environment in which people flourish. There may be many ways to do that. However, Goleman is pointing to one way that most leaders need to do better. We need to be more aware of our feelings and those of others so that we can create emotional resonance and minimize dissonance. This helps create an environment in which people flourish.
How do you become more aware of your own feelings and those of others? The whole field of emotional intelligence has promoted numerous methods. One way is to get a coach who asks you questions to make you pause to notice your own and other’s feelings. In my virtual workshops, we frequently pause to ask the questions about how someone is feeling. Then we speculate about how the other person not in our virtual workshop group may feel toward our member who is telling us the story.
the books – smells like content
