Primal Leadership: Learning to Lead with Emotional Intelligence

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.

Amazon.com Review
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

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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Primal Leadership - Emotional Intelligence , 2008-10-07
Great book! Can be used to take an assessment of yourself inside and outside of the business world. A must read.


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Very satisfied in both medium and content, 2008-10-03
This is the first time I have purchased a CD (audio book). I am doing an MBA and the reading is overwhelming. I felt this would be a break from reading to listening to the book.
Well, what a great choice. This book is an excellent book and the medium for delivery even greater.
I play it over and over again, I have shared it with friends (all are buying theirs)
Very impressive structure and research in this CD book. Goldman proves again that clear sight into people and management of people (including yourself).


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Great Expectations but ......, 2008-09-03
I ran across this book on a Listamania list that highly recommended this book. While the subject matter is of great interest to me, I felt somewhat disappointed that it didn't deliver in the way I was anticipating. I personally believe that 6 styles of leadership is about 4 more than we need. I also disagree with the styles being interchangeable. Situations may change but great leaders maintain their leadership style. That's one of the reasons why they are great versus mediocre.

While some parts of the book are thought provoking, it does not provide any specifics on constructing an action plan for getting from point A to B. While the authors are well-meaning and did research a lot of data, I believe their academic background got in the way while writing this book.

I hope you find this review helpful. Michael L. Gooch, SPHR - Author of Wingtips with Spurs



0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

An Essential Guide for Leadership, 2008-06-16
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.


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Best of Goleman, 2008-06-13
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.

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