Discussion Essay
Goleman, Daniel, Richard E. Boyatzis, and Annie McKee. Primal Leadership: Unleashing the Power of Emotional Intelligence. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Review Press, 2013. Print.
The book reviews the importance on the emotional intelligence to managers and professionals for the success of any business. The data has a basis on two different outlooks, leadership in companies and the psychological aspects of managers. The data of the book came from interviewing more than 3,000 executives in various industries and reviewed their reports. The author’s research focuses on illustrating the necessity of emotional intelligence among leaders in the business world. The book is useful as it assists in describing all matters regarding leadership. The book has a lot of information regarding different types of leaders, how to became one and the power of emotional intelligence.
There is the incorporation of the text in the business curriculum. Medical schools, professional training programs have also adopted the book. It also enabled the creation of professional coaches. The influence of the book has managed to reach in all borders in the business world across the globe. It is a book that is worthy of those who wish to lead.
The book is the driver of performance. It aims to unleash the best in managers and experts. It describes the importance of using emotion when it comes to performing certain production tasks such as employee appreciation to increase productivity or identify the consumer’s needs and reasons for changes in the business environment. The use of emotional intelligence enables a leader to obtain other skills such as empathy and self-awareness that assist him or her to do a better job.
The whole concept of the book is to improve leadership. Over the years as the business world changed so did the form of leadership. One of the essential abilities of a leader is to be capable of adapting to changes. Currently, matters revolving around emotional intelligence are a trend that creates changes in the market, and as a leader, you have to learn more about it to be capable of surviving in the business environment (Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee 3).
Ideas and their Implications
As for the book, the ideas that come from reading is that as a leader you have to incorporate different styles as that would allow you to deal with various leadership situations. The implication that comes with doing this is that some leaders are comfortable applying one form of leadership style as long as they find it effective. Others choose not to try it, as that would mean attaining other skills that will allow them to be flexible and making them capable of diffusing any situation that requires leadership. Some of the skill may be difficult to learn and acquire.
Another idea is that leadership should be a network of leaders. It means that within an organization, there should be more than one leader, who are able to coordinate and ensure that production activities run smoothly. The challenges that face this idea are such as conflict can arise from different self-interests when the leaders aim to achieve their personal goal rather than their company’s. Diversity may also be an issue, as a business tends to employ individuals from different ethnic backgrounds and religion. It may be difficult for others to be team players due to the differences (Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee 5).
Lastly, the state of the work environment influences the emotion and moods of everyone. If the workplace is serene, then employees will be productive and perform their duties efficiently making the leader happy. The implication is that not all workplaces have that kind of environment, which tends to cause conflict, job dissatisfaction and high level of lay off. Lack of achieving a serene environment can be due to lack of ethics, organizational culture and improper leadership (Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee 11).
Out of this whole experience, the only thing that makes me wonder is that any person with a particular skill set is capable of being a leader. However, there is no consideration of the individual’s personality when it comes to identifying the different kinds of leaders there are in the business world. Emotional intelligence aims to improve leadership. The question is with its process of enhancement does it consider other factors that influence the type of leadership such as personality, background or morality?
Work Cited
Goleman, Daniel, Richard E. Boyatzis, and Annie McKee. Primal Leadership: Unleashing the Power of Emotional Intelligence. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Review Press, 2013. Print.
