Read a Chapter From Optimal: My Newest Book on Emotional Intelligence

Every month, I share matters close to my heart, stimulating ideas, and some useful tips and leads. This month, I am sharing a preview of a chapter from Optimal, my newest book on emotional intelligence.

A Sneak Peak at My New Book!

Get a free chapter from Optimal now. Here’s a sample of that chapter, which summarizes findings on how emotional intelligence helps everyone, including leaders:

“The empirical evidence from workplace research suggests that greater levels of EI make you:

• More productive, engaged, and have higher performance in any job, at every level
• Go further in your career
• Be better at sales, in every sense of the word
• Generate more revenue for your organization
• Be more effective, even in STEM jobs like engineering and IT
• Be seen as more trustworthy
• Feel more satisfied with your job and committed to your work
• Be less likely to leave your job
• Help out others when they need it
• Less likely to be a bully, chronically late, or loaf.”

?The advance chapter details the data that supports all these findings. To order the book and get the chapter in advance, go here.

Why This Book Now?

For me, Optimal represents a culmination and confirmation of a hunch I had almost three decades ago: that emotional intelligence offers a map for being at our best. My co-author Cary Cherniss and I cofounded the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations a few years after the first scholarly article on the topic appeared in 1990, and were co-chairs for the Consortium’s first twenty-five years.?

The Consortium’s mission: encourage sound research that integrates the standards of academic methodology with the practical needs of operating organizations.

More than a quarter century later, there are such studies galore. Now a substantial case can be made for EI’s importance for effectiveness of all kinds—especially when self-mastery and empathy, social skills or stress resilience matters, which is most of the time.

Leaders’ IQ versus Their Emotional Intelligence

For instance, developing strategy is an essential task of leadership. And effective strategy depends on your cognitive power – in other words, IQ.? In today’s complex and always changing world, an agile strategy is a must.

But here’s the rub: to execute that strategy effectively a leader needs strengths in emotional intelligence.??

What does that mean? For one, being self-aware, realizing what you are feeling, how that might shape or bias your thinking and perception, and how all that impels you to act. Then there’s managing your disruptive and disturbing emotions so they don’t distract you from what you need to do, or put you on track for emotional exhaustion and burnout. In addition, it helps to foster a positive outlook, no matter what challenges come you way. And you want to keep your longterm goals in mind whatever the crises of the day.

Then there’s empathy. Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2023? finds that just 20 % of those in the workplace really trust their boss.? One big reason for this comes down to a lack of leaders’ empathy – tuning into their direct reports, not just to sense their thinking and feelings, but to show concern for them.

It’s the caring and concern that builds back trust.

Finally, there’s putting all this together for leadership that gets results. This means managing yourself while you manage others. Leaders who get this right are not just effective at influence, but can be inspiring, motivating people to give their best. They are good team players and collaborators. And executing on a strategy is always a team effort.?

Leaders – or anyone else – can sharpen their emotional intelligence competencies by purchasing Optimal and enrolling in the next round of the online Daniel Goleman EI Course, which begins January 22, 2024.

Reserve your spot now!