News & announcements from the ‘Q & A’ category
Money is emotional
Monday, January 30th, 2012Q: I work with my wife. I am a psychologist, financial analyst and family business consultant. She is a financial planner. I have been struck by the need for emotional intelligence regarding money and finance, but have not seen any writings specifically directed at that area. Any resources or ideas that you would recommend…
Does meditation squelch creativity?
Monday, January 23rd, 2012Q: I just watched “Creating A-Ha Moments.” Being rather creative in my work, I could very much relate to what you said. One thing however troubles me. I have been reading and enjoying Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn’s books on mindfulness, and have been “practicing” as best as I can awareness through out the day. It seems…
What is leadership?
Monday, January 9th, 2012Q: My question for you: If you had to write a definition of leadership what would it be? A: Leadership is Influencing people to take action. In the workplace, leadership is the art of getting work done through other people. Leadership can be widely distributed within an organization – most everyone leads at some time…
Chess, anyone?
Monday, January 2nd, 2012Q: I have a chess school for young kids (from 4 years old) and our great challenge is how to deal with their emotions and feelings related to winning and losing, i.e., how to face the results. Our principal goal is to improve thought habits through chess and pre-chess, but it is not easy when…
Growth stages of EI
Monday, December 26th, 2011Q: Are there growth stages defined regarding emotional intelligence? I’m thinking about Erikson, Maslow, Kohlberg and so on. The question therefore looks to understanding how early parenting and education might impact the development of mature emotional intelligence and what might lead us to a better understanding/development of creative emotional qualities. A: Yes, the stages are…
Positive vs. negative work environments
Monday, December 19th, 2011Q: I ran across a site citing you as saying “positive work environments outperform negative work environments.” Do you have any research or studies that support this? A. I wouldn’t put it exactly that way. You need to be more specific about what you mean by “positive” and “negative”. For example, in my books I’ve…
A successful virtual office
Monday, December 12th, 2011Q: My industry has a severe shortage of engineers, especially locally. Our recruiting difficulties have caused me to consider making my company a “virtual office,” so that I can recruit the top engineers from around the country without having to overcome the large hurdle of relocation. I’ve read what you’ve written about the emotional barrenness…
Going along to get along
Monday, December 5th, 2011Q: Are people who go along to get along unethical? Meaning practicing avoidance. It depends. There is much to be said for a spirit of cooperation, and getting along – top-performing teams, for example, thrive on harmony. On the other hand, when this means turning a blind eye to major ethical wrongs, then avoiding action…
Leaders, followers and EI
Monday, November 28th, 2011Q: Is it possible to measure a leader’s EI from a follower’s perspective? Which is the suitable survey for a leader’s EI? A: Getting followers’ reports on a leader is one of the best ways to guage her performance. Even if objective metrics like hitting quarterly numbers look good, how a leader hits the target…
“Design emotional maturity”
Sunday, November 20th, 2011Q: I have read 3 of your books and I am writing my graphic design thesis investigating my “design emotional maturity” and how it will help me to overcome my fears in order to create better communication work. How can our emotional intelligence affect our performance as a designer? A: The answer is in your…
Welcome to the website and blog of psychologist Daniel Goleman, Ph.D., author of the New York Times bestseller Emotional Intelligence and Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships. Dr. Goleman is an internationally known psychologist who lectures frequently to professional groups, business audiences, and on college campuses. Working as a science journalist, Goleman reported on the brain and behavioral sciences for The New York Times for many years. His 1995 book, Emotional Intelligence (Bantam Books) was on The New York Times bestseller list for a year-and-a-half; with more than 5,000,000 copies in print worldwide in 40 languages, and has been a best seller in many countries.