Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence.Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence. By Daniel Goleman Daniel Goleman (born March 7, 1946) is an internationally renowned author, psychologist, science journalist, and corporate consultant. His parents were college professors in Stockton, California, where his father taught world literature at what is now San Joaquin Delta College, , Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee. Harvard Business School Harvard Business School, officially named the Harvard Business School: George F. Baker Foundation, and also known as HBS, is one of the graduate schools of Harvard University. , 2002. 352 pages. Cloth. $27.99. Why do equally intelligent, gifted leaders have different success rates in leadership? Why do groups following the same steps in a program have such disparate results? The authors posit that the difference often rests in the leader's emotional intelligence (EI). Primal Leadership translates Goleman's extensive research in the area of emotional intelligence into a leadership theory stating that the fundamental task of leadership is "to prime good feelings in those they lead. That occurs when the leader creates resonance--a reservoir of positive feeling that frees the best in people" (p. ix). That is, the leader's emotions are contagious. If a leader exudes energy and enthusiasm, an organization flourishes; if a leader spreads negativity or dissonance, it flounders. Don't confuse this with "touchy-feely" niceness. This is the challenge of maturity in leadership. The book is divided into three sections. The first gives the characteristics and examples of resonant and dissonant dis·so·nant adj. 1. Harsh and inharmonious in sound; discordant. 2. Being at variance; disagreeing. 3. Music Constituting or producing a dissonance. leadership. The six leadership styles the authors examine are visionary, coaching, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting, and commanding. They also recommend the situations in which each style of leadership is most effective and its drawbacks. The second section outlines the four dimensions of emotional intelligence needed to become a more positive leader: self-awareness, managing ourselves, relationship management, and social awareness. The third section addresses how to use these newfound new·found adj. Recently discovered: a newfound pastime. Adj. 1. newfound - newly discovered; "his newfound aggressiveness"; "Hudson pointed his ship down the coast of the newfound sea" skills to build a more effective, emotionally intelligent organization. Gifts of this work are the 36 pages of notes supporting the author's suppositions, examples from a wide array of fields, and attention to how one can learn and grow in emotional intelligence without being a self-help book. Also, I like that, rather than driving home one leadership style, the authors promote six styles that can be nuanced as the situation demands. My greatest learning was the discussion of how a pacesetting style of leadership can easily slip into being debilitating de·bil·i·tat·ing adj. Causing a loss of strength or energy. Debilitating Weakening, or reducing the strength of. Mentioned in: Stress Reduction rather than energizing energizing, adj giving energy to; revitalizing; rejuvenating. . An issue I would like to have seen included is the use of humor humor, according to ancient theory, any of four bodily fluids that determined man's health and temperament. Hippocrates postulated that an imbalance among the humors (blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile) resulted in pain and disease, and that good health was in leadership. Colin Crossey Devon, Ireland |
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