Primal Leadership, With a New Preface by the Authors: Unleashing the Power of Emotional Intelligence (Unleashing the Power of Emotinal Intelligence)

by Daniel Goleman

they rarely tap the more subtle layer of subterranean feelings and complex norms that flow through an organization. This blind spot can result in simply measuring what people want to know, but not what they don’t want known. And even when surveys do measure aspects of culture and leadership that are problematic, it takes focused effort and courage to address the issues. Too often, we see the results of such revelatory surveys just set aside. A process called dynamic inquiry was developed by Cecilia McMillen of the University of Massachusetts and Annie McKee as a potent way to offset the “find what you look for” effect of most surveys and to enable leaders to begin to address the underlying cultural issues that are getting in their way. 4 This method of discovery uncovers an organization’s emotional reality—what people care about; what is helping them, their groups, and the organization to succeed; and what’s getting in the way.

Dynamic inquiry involves focused conversations and open-ended questions intended to get at people’s feelings.

these leaders enable people to identify both the best aspects of the organization as well as its faults, and they help to create a shared language about the current reality, releasing energy for the move to a shared vision of the future.

Once the cultural reality has been uncovered and explored, the next stage in working toward an emotionally intelligent organization requires defining an ideal vision for the organization that is in synch with individuals’ hopes and dreams for themselves. By acting from a place of emotional intelligence and modeling that behavior, leaders can help their employees embrace an ideal vision for the group. What does an organization look like whose

To create the vision of a company, emotionally intelligent leaders need to move beyond a solo scrutiny of an organization’s vision to drawing on the collective wisdom of followers.

getting people to really embrace change requires attunement—alignment with the kind of resonance that moves people emotionally as well as intellectually.

However, the leader must go one step further and put the people in the organization in charge of the change process itself.

Making the covert overt gives people a language to discuss what is working and what isn’t in the organization, and common ground to stand on while looking to the future. • Focus on the ideal, combining resonance-building leadership styles to get people talking about their hopes for the future and to tap into the dedication people feel for the organization. Connecting people’s personal goals with a meaningful vision makes it safe to explore ways to reach the vision. • Move from talk to action. This starts with the leader. Bringing people together around a dream, moving from talk to action, and modeling new behaviors—this is the leader’s charge. And it is something that UNICEF’s Monica Sharma understood as well.

DISCOVERING THE EMOTIONAL REALITY • Respect the group’s values and the organization’s integrity. Visions change, but as the vision evolves, the leader needs to be sure that the “sacred center”—what everyone holds as paramount—remains intact. That’s the first challenge: knowing what the sacred center actually is—from the perspective of others, not just oneself. The second challenge is seeing clearly what must change, even when it is held dear, and getting other people to see it too. If core beliefs, mindsets, or culture really need to change, people need to drive that change themselves. It cannot be forced, so when people enter into such a change process, they need to be personally and powerfully motivated—preferably by hope and a dream, not fear. A visionary leader can impact this process positively by honoring the feelings and beliefs of the people around him, while steadfastly demonstrating

the benefit of moving toward the dream. • Slow down in order to speed up. A target-shooting coach we know tells his students, “If you’re in a combat situation, you can’t miss fast enough to save your life.” So too with building resonance and an emotionally intelligent organization—the shotgun approach to change doesn’t work. The process of slowing down and bringing people into the conversation about their systems and their culture is one we don’t see enough in organizations but that nevertheless is critical. Processes such as dynamic inquiry require a supportive, coaching approach and democratic style: The leader must really listen to what people have to say about the culture and the emotional reality of the organization. Both the coaching style—where a leader deeply listens to individuals—and the democratic style—where a group in dialogue builds consensus—can ensure that people are brought into the change process in a way that builds their commitment. Emotionally intelligent leaders rely on these styles as a way to slow things down enough to get a strong sense of exactly what’s needed to give people the support they need to flourish. • Start at the top with a bottom-up strategy. Top leadership must be committed to facing the truth about the emotional reality of the organization, and they must be committed to creating resonance around a vision of the ideal. But that’s not enough: A bottom-up strategy is needed as well, because resonance only develops when everyone is attun...

processes are focused on emotional and intellectual learning, and they build on active, participatory work: action learning and coaching, where people use what they’re learning to diagnose and solve real problems in their organizations. They rely on experiential learning and on team-based simulations, where people engage in structured activity that they can use to examine their own and others’ behavior. Exemplary processes are multifaceted, using a bold mixture of learning techniques; they are conducted over a period of time; and they take the culture head on.

Excellent processes include the following elements: • A tie-in to the culture—and sometimes culture change—in an organization • Seminars built around the philosophy and practice of individual change • Relevant learning about emotional intelligence competencies—not just business acumen • Creative and potent learning experiences with a purpose • Relationships that support learning, such as learning teams and executive coaching

But doing so demands an astute leader who understands how to take the emotional pulse of the group and transform the norms or culture in the right direction. And finally, organizations themselves can become incubators for resonant leadership, thus making a crucial difference for those who work there—and for the bottom line.

Resonant leaders shatter the old leadership mold that was cast in the image of the captains of industry, those old-fashioned lead-from-the-top figures of authority who led largely by virtue of the power of their position. Increasingly, the best of breed lead not by virtue of power alone, but by excelling in the art of relationship, the singular expertise that the changing business climate renders indispensable. Leadership excellence is being redefined in interpersonal terms as companies strip out layers of managers, as corporations merge across national boundaries, and as customers and suppliers redefine the web of connection.

Resonant leaders know when to be collaborative and when to be visionary, when to listen and when to command. Such leaders have a knack for attuning to their own sense of what matters and articulating a mission that resonates with the values of those they lead. These leaders naturally nurture relationships, surface simmering issues, and create the human synergies of a group in harmony. They build a fierce loyalty by caring about the careers of those who work for them, and inspire people to give their best for a mission that speaks to shared values. An emotionally intelligent leader does each of these at the right time, in the right way, with the right person. Such leadership creates a climate of enthusiasm and flexibility, one where people feel invited to be at their most innovative, where they give their best. And such a working climate, given today’s business realities, creates added value through the essential human ingredients for organizational performance.

Such leaders are more values-driven, more flexible and informal, and more open and frank than leaders of old. They are more connected to people and to networks. Most especially, they exude resonance: They have genuine passion for their mission, and that passion is contagious. Their enthusiasm and excitement spread sponta...