Emotional Intelligence: Myths, Applications and Upcoming Events

I’m delighted to share with you matters close to my heart, ideas that I find stimulating, and some practical tips and leads that you might find useful. At the heart, of course, you’ll find emotional intelligence. But my interests also go far beyond; you’ll get a taste of that range here. PLUS news you can put to use in your life or work – or in both.?Please join me each month.

Before we dive in...

In this time of war and violence, I invite you into a moment of silence to hope for a peaceful resolution – and gratitude by those of us who are able to live our lives freely.

To begin, an announcement...

The Chemistry of Connection

It’s been a long, lonely lockdown for many of us. But now it’s time to reconnect – with our friends and family, our workmates, our former way of living. No matter our personal specifics for the need to reconnect, there are some underlying basics of connection that apply everywhere.

That’s why I’m part of the in-person workshop “Chemistry of Connection,” along with my wife Tara Bennett-Goleman and others. We’ll delve into the brain basis of rapport, emotional patterns that separate or join us, and much more.

This will be my first in-person event since the start of the Covid lockdowns two years ago. Come join us May 20 and 21, in Irvington, NY, about 30 minutes up the Hudson River from Manhattan. Rain or shine, we’ll be together in a tent by the river.

Register here.

And now...

Corrections To My Model of Emotional Intelligence

There is a misconception that the theory of emotional intelligence is based on the “triune model” of the brain.? THIS IS WRONG!

Our neuroanatomy, Maclean suggested, can be seen as stacks, with the lizard brain at the bottom, the emotional centers, or “mammalian brain," above that, and the cortex or "thinking brain" at the top. MacLean proposed this idea way back in the 1960s, and it became widely popular in the 1970s.?

The belief that Paul MacLean’s outmoded idea of three parts to the brain underlies emotional intelligence can only come from intellectual laziness.

It points to a failure to keep up with the many ways brain science supports my model of emotional intelligence.?

In the 60's, we knew little to nothing of how the brain actually works. We’re still learning, and brain science is evolving, so it’s crucial to keep up to date.?

While my theory of EI rests an on underlying neural dynamic, it's not the out-of-date triune model proposed by Paul Maclean.

My model of emotional intelligence is grounded in how the brain operates to create the four domains of emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-management, empathy and social skills. Each of these abilities rests in differing sets of neural circuitry. But that circuitry, as I’ve explained in several books, fits nothing like the over-simplified view of the triune brain.?

For instance, the self-mastery domain includes the ability to stay emotionally balanced. This, in turn rests on a neural dynamic where the amygdala, perceiving a threat, can drive circuitry in the right side of the prefrontal cortex when we are having an emotional hijack.?

But the left side of the prefrontal cortex has circuits that “just say no” to disruptive emotional impulses. Research at the University of Wisconsin shows that people who are resilient – who recover quickly from such upsets, have up to 30 times more activity in these left prefrontal circuits than do those who are slow to recover.

Next Up...

Introducing Goleman Consulting Group

The data showing the benefits from emotional intelligence for leaders, organizations, and for every one of us, gets stronger every day. Because of this, my collaborators and I have formed Goleman Consulting Group - a new consultancy dedicated to helping organizations boost this crucial set of soft skills for hard results.?

I announced this venture in last month's newsletter. If you tried to visit our website then, it may not have loaded for you – whether because of an unexpected surge of visits or rolling internet outages we’ll never know. But please try again.

Onward...

Green-Washing Alert

One of my grand-daughters, a junior in college, has decided to major in environmental science – a most timely choice, given the state of our planet.

In one of her courses, she tells me, the topic has been “greenwashing,” - the marketing strategy of some companies to tout an environmental initiative while ignoring the damage the company continues to do to the planet.

The practice has accelerated, due perhaps in part to growing pressure by investors, employees and other stakeholders to show how a company promotes ESG (enivornment, social good, equitable governance).?

When a company touts its “E” activities, how can we tell if this is just PR, or if the company is actually delivering?

This can take a bit of research.

One way: read the transcripts of meetings or publicly traded companies to see if the greenwashing issue has been raised.

Another: look at the total operations of a company to see if they are actually improving the environmental impacts of their mix of products or services.

If you can, ask front-line employees for the real scoop on how their company operates – you might get a very different picture from that of the marketing branch.

Finally, you? might look into the company’s C-suite executives to see if they are making improving environmental impacts a priority.

All this, of course, takes time and energy. And none of it would be needed if we implemented a tactic I’ve long advocated for: ecological transparency. This would look like having companies reveal the actual environmental impacts of their products or services.

The tech for this information exists; what’s lacking is the willingness of companies to deploy it this way. If they did so, consumers and clients could vote with their dollars for a better environment.?

Right now we buy blind, not really knowing the true consequences for our planet of how we spend our money.

Think of it as the difference between just “saying good” and actually doing good. This distinction brings to mind advice from Signe Spencer when she was a client research partner at Korn Ferry: "If a company can’t live up to its espoused values, the impact can be worse than if they had never talked up those values at all."

Given all that, let's appreciate companies that are seriously trying to improve their environmental footprint, even if they have a long way to go.

And now, another announcement...

Join me at WOBI

I invite you to join me virtually for my latest thinking on emotional intelligence at WOBI, the World of Business Ideas, April 26 and 27.

To close...

New Book, New Leadership

The hard data showing a strong business case for emotional intelligence for leaders and businesses has reached a critical mass. I’m happy to say I’m writing a book pulling this data together, writing with Cary Cherniss, Co-Director with me of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations - an organization I helped found many years ago.

Cary and I just stepped down, after a quarter century guiding the Consortium.

Congratulations to Dr. Rob Emmerling, the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations' new director.

CREIO's group of academic researchers, frontline consultants, and businesses fosters studies of emotional intelligence and welcomes companies that want to benefit from cutting edge knowledge in this area.?

Rob has been a member since his graduate school days; now a successful consultant based in Barcelona, he will be an able guide into the future.?

Rob tells me he hopes to focus on three areas of research:

• EI in an age of AI – that is, what abilities will humans need to foster to keep an edge on big data? and machine learning software.
• Organizational factors that promote or inhibit an emotionally intelligent culture.
• Leveraging EI to promote wellbeing throughout an organization.

If these topics interest you be sure to reach out to Rob.