What Makes A Leader
BEST OF
HBR
1998
It was Daniel Goleman who first brought the term "emotional intelligence"to a wide audience with his 1995 book ofthat name, and it was Coleman who first applied the concept to business with his 1998 HBR article, reprinted here. In his research at nearly 200 large, global companies, Coleman found that while the qualities traditionally associated with leadership-such as Intelligence, toughness, determination, and vision-are required for success, they are insufficient. Truly effective leaders are also distinguished by a high degree of emotional intelligence, which includes self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill.
These qualities may sound "soft" and unbusinesslike, but Coleman found direct ties between emotional intelligence and measurable business results. While emotional intelligence's relevance to business has continued to spark debate over the past six years, Coleman's article remains the definitive reference on the subject, with a description of each component of emotional intelligence and a detailed discussion of how to recognize it in potential leaders, how and why it connects to performance, and how it can be learned.
What Makes a Leader? by Daniel Goleman
E
,VERY BUSINESSPERSON knOWS a
IQ and technical skills are important, but emotional intelligence is the sine qua non of leadership.
82
Story about a highly intelligent, highly skilled executive who was promoted into a leadership position only to fail at the job. And they also know a story about someone with solid-but not extraordinary-intellectual abilities and technical skills who was promoted into a similar position and then soared.
Such anecdotes support the widespread belief that identifying individuals with the "right stuff" to be leaders is more art than science. After all, the personal styles of superb leaders vary:
Some leaders are subdued and analyti* cal; others shout their manifestos from the mountaintops. And just as important, different
HBR
1998
It was Daniel Goleman who first brought the term "emotional intelligence"to a wide audience with his 1995 book ofthat name, and it was Coleman who first applied the concept to business with his 1998 HBR article, reprinted here. In his research at nearly 200 large, global companies, Coleman found that while the qualities traditionally associated with leadership-such as Intelligence, toughness, determination, and vision-are required for success, they are insufficient. Truly effective leaders are also distinguished by a high degree of emotional intelligence, which includes self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill.
These qualities may sound "soft" and unbusinesslike, but Coleman found direct ties between emotional intelligence and measurable business results. While emotional intelligence's relevance to business has continued to spark debate over the past six years, Coleman's article remains the definitive reference on the subject, with a description of each component of emotional intelligence and a detailed discussion of how to recognize it in potential leaders, how and why it connects to performance, and how it can be learned.
What Makes a Leader? by Daniel Goleman
E
,VERY BUSINESSPERSON knOWS a
IQ and technical skills are important, but emotional intelligence is the sine qua non of leadership.
82
Story about a highly intelligent, highly skilled executive who was promoted into a leadership position only to fail at the job. And they also know a story about someone with solid-but not extraordinary-intellectual abilities and technical skills who was promoted into a similar position and then soared.
Such anecdotes support the widespread belief that identifying individuals with the "right stuff" to be leaders is more art than science. After all, the personal styles of superb leaders vary:
Some leaders are subdued and analyti* cal; others shout their manifestos from the mountaintops. And just as important, different