Product Description

National Bestseller Available in Paperback

"Just as Goleman's first book redefined intelligence, his new treatise…reassesses what makes a great leader."

-Time magazine

"Daniel Goleman has done it again! …a fascinating account of how emotions are at the heart of effective leadership. This book is a gem."

--David Gergen, Director, Center for Public Leadership, John F. Kennedy School, Harvard University

Drawing from decades of research within world-class organizations, the authors show that great leaders-whether CEOs or managers, coaches or politicians-excel not just through skill and smarts, but by connecting with others using Emotional Intelligence competencies like empathy and self-awareness. The best leaders, they show, have "resonance"-a powerful ability to drive emotions in a positive direction to get results-and can fluidly interchange among a variety of leadership styles as the situation demands. Groundbreaking and timely, this book reveals the new requirements of successful leadership.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1731 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Amazon.com
Business leaders who maintain that emotions are best kept out of the work environment do so at their organization's peril. Bestselling author Daniel Goleman's theories on emotional intelligence (EI) have radically altered common understanding of what "being smart" entails, and in Primal Leadership, he and his coauthors present the case for cultivating emotionally intelligent leaders. Since the actions of the leader apparently account for up to 70 percent of employees' perception of the climate of their organization, Goleman and his team emphasize the importance of developing what they term "resonant leadership." Focusing on the four domains of emotional intelligence--self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management--they explore what contributes to and detracts from resonant leadership, and how the development of these four EI competencies spawns different leadership styles. The best leaders maintain a style repertoire, switching easily between "visionary," "coaching," "affiliative," and "democratic," and making rare use of less effective "pace-setting" and "commanding" styles. The authors' discussion of these methods is informed by research on the workplace climates engendered by the leadership styles of more than 3,870 executives. Indeed, the experiences of leaders in a wide range of work environments lend real-life examples to much of the advice Goleman et al. offer, from developing the motivation to change and creating an improvement plan based on learning rather than performance outcomes, to experimenting with new behaviors and nurturing supportive relationships that encourage change and growth. The book's final section takes the personal process of developing resonant leadership and applies it to the entire organizational culture. --S. Ketchum

From Publishers Weekly
"The fundamental task of leaders... is to prime good feeling in those they lead. That occurs when a leader creates resonance a reservoir of positivity that unleashes the best in people. At its root, then, the primal job of leadership is emotional." So argue Goleman (Emotional Intelligence) and EI (emotional intelligence) experts Boyatzis and McKee. They use the word "primal" not only in its original sense, but also to stress that making employees feel good (i.e., inspired and empowered) is the job a leader should do first. To prove that the need to lead and to respond to leadership is innate, the authors cite numerous biological studies of how people learn and react to situations (e.g., an executive's use of innate self-awareness helps her to be open to criticism). And to demonstrate the importance of emotion to leadership, they note countless examples of different types of leaders in similar situations, and point out that the ones who get their employees emotionally engaged accomplish far more. Perhaps most intriguing is the brief appendix, where the authors compare the importance of IQ and EI in determining a leader's effectiveness. Their conclusion that EI is more important isn't surprising, but their reasoning is. Since one has to be fairly smart to be a senior manager, IQ among top managers doesn't vary widely. However, EI does. Thus, the authors argue, those managers with higher EI will be more successful. (Mar. 11)Forecast: Goleman already has a legion of fans from his early books on EI. His publisher is banking on his fame; the house has planned a $250,000 campaign and a 100,000 first printing.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Goleman (Emotional Intelligence) teams with Richard E. Boyatzis (Weatherhead Sch. of Management, Case Western Reserve) and Annie McKee (Management Development Services, North America, Hay Group) to focus on the relationship between Emotional Intelligence (EI) and successful leadership. The authors define EI as handling one's emotions well when dealing with others and go on to describe how EI makes good leaders. Throughout, the authors talk about leaders exhibiting "resonance," defined as bringing out the best in people by being positive about their emotions, and "dissonance," defined as bringing out the worst in people by undermining their emotions. The book is arranged in three sections, with the first section describing the characteristics of resonant and dissonant leadership as well as the four dimensions of EI, which are self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. This section also describes the different types of leadership styles, such as visionary, coaching, and commanding. The second section outlines the steps one needs to take to become a more positive leader, and the third section discusses how to use these newfound skills to build a better organization. Real-life leadership stories are provided throughout. Recommended for public, corporate, and academic libraries. Stacey Marien, American Univ., Washington, DC
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

An Essential Guide for Leadership
I've read a number of leadership books, and Primal Leadership is among the best I've picked up. Goleman and crew outline a well balanced understanding of the different facets of leadership and the important skill of reading and capitalizing on the emotional state of the organization which one leads. This book is filled with numerous stories and cases where the principles advocated for are illustrated quite nicely.

This book is worth your time if you are seeking to develop your own leadership capabilities.

Best of Goleman
I have read many of Goleman's books on EQ. Each holds some gems inside lots of fluff. Goleman's premise is emotional competencies (listening, empathy, etc.) form a separate category of intelligence. I can agree with that. Unfortunately, this has become a business franchise for him, so I think he takes it too far. He asserts it is THE defining intelligence of star performers. The thesis is easy to swallow at first, as his books are written in the standard business best-seller sensational journalist format.

I would counter with the work of Marcus Buckingham which maintains that each of us has our individual strengths and weakness. When we work to our strengths, we excel. Goleman is trying to fit all the characteristics of star performers into an emotional intelligence frame work. I know plenty of respected star performers whom lack high EQ. The business bookshelfs are full of other counter examples as well.

Primal Leadership sets itself apart from Goleman's other books by providing useful examples of the leadership problems I have encountered at work over, and over again. In some cases, I have committed them myself! With Primal Leadership you get some EQ self-help to help you break the chain of abuse.

Primal Leadership
This is a very intersting book. I am new to leadership and just starting to go through book and I find it with many fascinating ideas.