The Business Book

111

See also: From entrepreneur to leader 46–47 ■ Effective leadership 78–79 ■ Organizing teams and talent 80–85 ■
Avoiding complacency 194–201 ■ The learning organization 202–07 ■ Kaizen 302–09

LIGHTING THE FIRE

Goleman suggests that high EQ
facilitates other essential leadership
traits. For example, the ability to
recognize accurately what another
person is feeling (empathy) enables
one to manage that feeling and any
behaviors that arise from it.

What makes a good leader?
One persistent debate within the
business world is whether leaders
are born or made. Goleman suggests

that the answer is both: inherent

personality traits are important in

leadership, but EQ—which grows

with age, experience, and self-

reflectiveness—is just as important.

Today, the development of EQ

lies at the heart of leadership

coaching. New and aspiring leaders

are mentored by experienced ones;

together, they discuss past and

future scenarios, various possible

responses, and what the emotional

trigger points might be. This

procedure seeks to increase

emotional maturity. A 1999 study

showed that partners in a

multinational consulting company

who scored highly on EQ delivered

$1.2 million more profit than other

partners. Other studies have shown

similar correlations between EQ

and effectiveness. Emotional

balance, it seems, is a key factor

in commercial success. ■

Emotional intelligence has five components:

Self-awareness

(the ability to

recognize and

understand

emotions)

Social skills

(an ability to

find common

ground and

build rapport)

Self-regulation

(the ability

to control

impulses and

emotions)

Empathy

(the ability to

understand

other people’s

emotions)

Motivation

(a desire to

pursue goals

with energy)

Daniel Goleman Psychologist Daniel Goleman was

born in 1946 in California, US.

His parents were both college

professors, and Goleman was

president of his high school before

receiving a scholarship to study

at Amherst College, MA. During

the course, he transferred to the

University of California, Berkeley,

for a year, where he studied the

rituals of social interaction under

sociologist Erving Goffman.

Goleman then took a doctorate

at Harvard University, where he

studied under David McClelland,

best known for his theories on the

drive to achieve. After completing

his PhD, he traveled widely in

India and Sri Lanka, studying

meditation and mindfulness.

He taught briefly as a visiting

lecturer at Harvard University

before becoming a journalist

and author. His bestselling

book, Emotional Intelligence,

has sold more than 5 million

copies in 40 languages.

Key works

1995 Emotional Intelligence

1998 What Makes a Leader?

2011 Leadership: The Power

of Emotional Intelligence