Copyright

Copyright2002DanielGolemanAllrightsreserved

FirsteBookEdition:April2004ISBN:978-1-591-39184-5

ToTara,Sandy,andEddy,ourrespectivespouses,forhelpingustolearnaboutresonanceandemotionalintelligenceinalifelonglove

CONTENTS

CopyrightPrefaceAcknowledgments

PARTONE

THEPOWEROFEMOTIONALINTELLIGENCE

ONE

PRIMALLEADERSHIP

TWO

RESONANTLEADERSHIP

THREE

THENEUROANATOMYOFLEADERSHIP

FOUR

THELEADERSHIPREPERTOIRE

FIVE

THEDISSONANTSTYLESApplywithCaution

PARTTWO

MAKINGLEADERS

SIX

BECOMINGARESONANTLEADERTheFiveDiscoveries

SEVEN

THEMOTIVATIONTOCHANGE

EIGHT

METAMORPHOSISSustainingLeadershipChange

PARTTHREE

BUILDINGEMOTIONALLYINTELLIGENTORGANIZATIONS

NINE

THEEMOTIONALREALITYOFTEAMS

TEN

REALITYANDTHEIDEALVISIONGivingLifetotheOrganization’sFuture

ELEVEN

CREATINGSUSTAINABLECHANGE

APPENDIXA

EIVERSUSIQATechnicalNote

APPENDIXB

EMOTIONALINTELLIGENCELeadershipCompetencies

NotesAbouttheAuthors

PREFACE

WE’VE WRITTEN this book in large part because of the unprecedented,enormouslyenthusiasticreaderresponsetotheHarvardBusinessReviewarticles“WhatMakes a Leader?” and “Leadership That Gets Results.” But this bookgoesfarbeyondthosearticlestoadvanceanewconcept:primalleadership.Thefundamental task of leaders,we argue, is to prime good feeling in those theylead.Thatoccurswhenaleadercreatesresonance—areservoirofpositivitythatfrees the best in people. At its root, then, the primal job of leadership isemotional.

We believe this primal dimension of leadership, though often invisible orignoredentirely,determineswhethereverythingelsealeaderdoeswillworkaswellasitcould.Andthisiswhyemotionalintelligence—beingintelligentaboutemotions—matterssomuch for leadership success:Primal leadershipdemandswe bring emotional intelligence to bear. In this book we show not just whyemotionally intelligent leadership drives resonance, and thus performance, butalsohowtorealizeitspower—fortheindividualleader,inteams,andthroughoutentireorganizations.

Perhapsuniquelyamongmanagement theories, theprimal leadershipmodelbuildsonlinkstoneurology.Breakthroughsinbrainresearchshowwhyleaders’moods and actions have enormous impact on those they lead, and shed freshlightonthepowerofemotionallyintelligentleadershiptoinspire,arousepassionand enthusiasm, and keep people motivated and committed. Conversely, wesound awarning about the power of toxic leadership to poison the emotionalclimateofaworkplace.

Eachofusbringsadifferentperspectivetothistask.ForDanielGoleman,theworldwide response tohisbooks andhisHarvardBusinessReview articles onleadership has brought invitations to speak with leaders around the world. In

additiontohisownworldwidespeaking,RichardBoyatzis,asaprofessorattheWeatherhead School of Management, has the advantage of in-depth researchfrom fifteen years of guiding thousands ofMBAs and executives through thechallenge of cultivating the essential competencies of emotionally intelligent(EI) leadership. And Annie McKee, on the faculty of the University ofPennsylvania Graduate School of Education, consults to business andorganization leaders worldwide and brings practical insights gained from herhands-onworkhelpingdozensoforganizationstransformtofosteremotionallyintelligent leaders.We havewoven our collective expertise together to offer aperspectivethattakesadvantageofourdiversebackgrounds.1

Justwhatthemanyfacesofprimalleadershiplooklikehasbecomeevidentto us aswe’ve talkedwith hundreds of executives,managers, and workers atcompanies andorganizations around theworld.Wehave encountered resonantleaders in organizations of every sort and at all levels. Some have no officialleadership position, yet step forward to lead as needed, then fade back untilanotherripemomentarrives.Othersheadateamoranentirecompany,guideastart-up,catalyzechangeintheirorganization,ornimblysplitawaytostarttheirownrenegadeventure.

We’llsharestoriesofmanysuchleaders in thesepages(someofwhomwename, while others who spoke to us in confidence we have disguised). Andwe’veconfirmedthesepersonalobservationswithdataonthousandsofleaders.

We’vebeenabletoreaparichharvestofdatafromothersources.Colleaguesat the research arm of the Hay Group have shared with us two decades ofanalyses of leadership effectiveness done for their clients globally. In recentyears, an expanding network of academic researchers has been gathering datawith theECI-360,ourmeasureof thekeyemotional intelligencecompetenciesforleadership.Andfrommanyothercentersofresearchthebodyoffindingsandtheoryonemotionalintelligenceandleadershiphasbeengrowingsteadily.

Fromallthesesourceswe’vedrawnanswerstotellingquestionsaboutprimalleadership:Whatemotionalresourcesdoleadersneedtothriveamidstchaosandturbulentchange?Whatgivesaleadertheinnerstrengthtobehonestaboutevenpainfultruths?Whatenablesaleadertoinspireotherstodotheirbestworkandto stay loyal when other jobs beckon? How do leaders create an emotionalclimate that fosters creative innovations, all-out performance, or warm andlastingcustomerrelationships?

For too longmanagers have seen emotions atwork as noise cluttering therational operation of organizations. But the time for ignoring emotions as

irrelevanttobusinesshaspassed.Whatorganizationseverywhereneednowistorealizethebenefitsofprimalleadershipbycultivatingleaderswhogeneratetheemotionalresonancethatletspeopleflourish.

Take,forexample,thehorrificcatastropheinNewYork,Washington,D.C.,andPennsylvaniaonSeptember11,2001—whichoccurredin thefinaldaysofwriting this book. That calamity underscores the essential role of emotionalleadership,particularly inmomentsofhuman tragedyandcrisis.And itbringshome the point that resonance goes beyond positivity, to cover the range ofemotions.ConsiderMarkLoehr,CEOofSoundViewTechnology,atechnologybrokerageinConnecticut.Ahandfuloffriends,colleagues,andfamilymembersofpeopletherewerelostinthetragedy.Loehr’sfirstresponsewastoinviteallemployees to come to theoffice thenext day—not towork, but to share theirfeelingsand talkoverwhat todo.Over thefollowingdaysLoehrwas thereaspeoplewept together, andheurgedpeople to talkaboutwhat theyweregoingthrough.Everynightat9:45hesentoutane-mail totheentirecompanyaboutthepersonalsideoftheongoingevents.

Loehrwent a step further, encouraging andguiding adiscussionofhow tofindmeaninginthechaosthroughanactiontheycouldallparticipateintohelpout. Rather than just making a group donation, they decided to donate theircompany’sproceedsfromonedayoftradingtothosevictimizedbythetragedy.Onanaverageday,thatmightbemorethanhalfamilliondollars;themosttheyhadmadeinadaywasaround$1million.Butastheyspreadthewordofwhattheywantedtodototheirclients,it inspiredanamazingresponse:Theyraisedmorethan$6millionthatday.

To continue the healing process, Loehr also asked employees to compile a“memory book” to record their thoughts, fears, and hopes, which could besharedwithfuturegenerations.Therewasanoutpouringofe-mailswithpoems,movingstories,reflections—peoplespeakingfromtheirhearts.

In such a grave crisis, all eyes turn to the leader for emotional guidance.Because the leader’sway of seeing things has specialweight, leadersmanagemeaningforagroup,offeringawaytointerpretormakesenseof,andsoreactemotionallyto,agivensituation.MarkLoehrcourageouslyperformedoneofthemost crucial emotional tasks of leadership: He helped himself and his peoplefindmeaningandsense,eveninthefaceofchaosandmadness.Todoso,hefirstattuned to and expressed the shared emotional reality so that the direction heeventually articulated resonated at the gut level, putting into words whateveryonewasfeelingintheirhearts.

What would our lives look like if the organizations where we spent ourworkingdayswerenaturallyplacesofresonance,withleaderswhoinspiredus?Inmost parts of thedevelopingworldbest practices for businesshavenot yetformed. Imagine what an organization would be like if these concepts ofresonantleadershipwerefoundingprinciplesratherthan—asisusuallythecasein highly developed settings—a corrective. Then from the start hiring wouldfocusonrecruitingthosewiththeEIskillsforleadership,aswouldpromotionsanddevelopment.Ongoinglearningfortheseleadershipskillswouldbepartofeverydayoperations,andtheentireorganizationwouldbeaplacewherepeopleflourishedbyworkingtogether.

Andthenwhatifwebroughtthesequalitieshometoourmarriages,families,children,andcommunities?Veryoftenwhenweworkwithleaderstohelpthemcultivate agreater rangeordepth in emotional intelligence competencies, theytellusthatthepayoffforthemhasbeennotjustintheirworkasleaders,butintheir personal and family lives as well. They find themselves bringing homeheightened levels of self-awareness and empathic understanding, self-mastery,andattunedrelationships.

Let’stakethatastepfurther.Whatwouldourschools—andchildren—belikeif education also included those emotional intelligence abilities that fosterresonance?Forone thing,employersofeverykindwouldhave thepleasureoftakingintotheirranksnewgenerationsofleaders-to-bewhowerealreadyadeptat these key work skills. The personal benefits for young people themselveswouldalsobereflectedinadeclineinthosesocialills—rangingfromviolenceto substance abuse—that stem in large part from deficits in skills such ashandlingimpulsesandrockyemotions.Beyondthat,communitieswouldbenefitfromhigherlevelsoftolerance,caring,andpersonalresponsibility.

Given that employers themselves are looking for these capacities in thosethey hire, colleges and professional schools—particularly business schools—should be including the basics of emotional intelligence in the skill sets theyoffer.AsErasmus,thegreatRenaissancethinker,remindsus,“Thebesthopeofanationliesinthepropereducationofitsyouth.”

The most innovative business educators will, we hope, recognize theimportance of emotional intelligence in higher education for helping theirgraduatesbecomeleadersinsteadofmeremanagers.Themostforward-thinkingbusinesspeoplewillencourageandsupportsuchbusinesseducation,notjustforadded leadership strength in their ownorganizations, but for the vitality of anentire economy.And the benefitswill accrue not just for a new generation of

leaders,butforourfamilies,communities,andsocietyasawhole.One final note: There are many leaders, not just one. Leadership is

distributed.Itresidesnotsolelyintheindividualatthetop,butineverypersonateverylevelwho,inonewayoranother,actsasaleadertoagroupoffollowers—whereverintheorganizationthatpersonis,whethershopsteward,teamhead,orCEO.Weoffertheseinsightstoleaderswherevertheymaybe.

ContactingtheAuthorsThis book represents an ongoing exploration into the role of emotionalintelligence in leadership.Wewelcome reactions from our readers—thoughts,stories, reflections.Thoughwearenotalwaysable to respond toeverye-mail,weenjoyhearingfrom(andalwayslearnfrom)ourreaders.

Toreachusviae-mail,usethefollowingaddresses:

DanielGoleman:daniel.goleman@verizon.netRichardBoyatzis:richard.boyatzis@weatherhead.cwru.eduAnnieMcKee:anniemckee1@aol.com

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

THIS BOOK represents decades of our work on the themes that haveculminatedinthetheoryofprimalleadership,eachofusapproachingthetopicfromauniqueangle.Ourindebtednessextendstomanywhohavecontributedtoourthinking,research,andourabilitytowritethisbook.

For RichardBoyatzis andDanielGoleman,many of thosewhose researchhascontributed toour thinkingarecolleagueson theConsortium forResearchon Emotional Intelligence in Organizations, headed by Cary Cherniss of theGraduateSchoolforProfessionalandAppliedPsychologyatRutgersUniversity.These include Lyle Spencer, Marilyn Gowing, Claudio Fernández-Aráoz, andMatthewMangino,whoseresearchhasdirectlycontributedtothisbook.

But our first inspiration was our main professor at Harvard during ourgraduate school years, David McClelland—his research and theories shapedmuch of our own work until his death in 1998. We also are indebted tocolleaguesfromthoseearlyyearswhoarenowattheHayGroupandwhohavecontinuedtosharetheirresearchfindingsandexplorationsintotheingredientsofexcellence. These include Murray Dalziel, group managing director forworldwidepracticesat theHayGroup,whocontinues tobeafountof insightsand analytic clarity in his thinking about leadership and organizationaldevelopment; Mary Fontaine, senior vice president, and James Burruss, vicepresident,attheMcClellandCenteroftheHayGroupinBoston;JohnLarrere,vicepresidentandgeneralmanager, theHayGroup;andPaulBasile, formerlydirectorofmarketing,theHayGroup.

Among the many other colleagues at the Hay Group whose work hassupported our own are Keith Cornella, Ginny Flynn, PatriciaMarshall, SigneSpencer, and Bill Tredwell, all in Boston; Therese Jacobs-Stewart inMinneapolis; Connie Schroyer in Arlington, Virginia; Rick Lash in Toronto;

Nick Boulter, Chris Dyson, Alison Forsythe, Katherine Thomas, and PeterMelrose inLondon; SergioOxer andLuizGiorgi in São Paolo; andTharumaRajahinKualaLumpur.

IntheBostonofficeoftheHayGroup,RuthJacobshasprovidedcrucialdataanalyses, along with Michele Burckle. Fabio Sala, who continues to directresearchwiththeECI,hasalsodoneyeomanservicewithdataanalyses.

Richard Boyatzis gives special thanks to David Kolb, professor oforganizational behavior at Case Western Reserve University, who introducedhimtothemodelofbehaviorchangeandintriguedhimtostudyitfurther.Also,hethanksthemanycolleagueswhohelpedhimin theresearchandbuildingoftheself-directedlearningmodel,orwhohelpedhimteachit:AnnBaker,RobertF.Bales,DianaBilimoria,SusanCase,ScottCowen,ChristineDreyfus,VanessaDruskat,LouellaHarvey-Hein,RettaHoldorf,DavidLeonard,PoppyMcLeod,CharalamposMainemelis, AngelaMurphy, Patricia Petty, Ken Rhee, LorraineThompson,JaneWheeler,andRobertWright.

Manyothershavecontributed to the thinkingabout leadership in thisbook.DanielGolemanwishestoacknowledgeDeepakSethiofThomsonCorporation;Naomi R. Wolf of the Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership; RichardDavidson, director of the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience at theUniversityofWisconsin;SteveKelnerofEgonZehnderInternational;andRobinStern of the Program for Social andEmotional Learning at TeachersCollege,ColumbiaUniversity.RachelBrodprovidedresourcefulliteraturesearches,andRowanFostergaveinvaluablelogisticalsupport.

In addition, Annie McKee gives special thanks to Fran Johnston of theGestaltInstituteofCleveland,whosekeeninsightsandcoachingovertheyearshave enriched her thinking and practice, and whose friendship is a treasure;CeciliaMcMillenoftheUniversityofMassachusetts,whoseresearchandworkwith organizations has been enlightening; and Tom Malnight of IMD, forcreativity, collaboration, and fun.Also acknowledged is the invaluablehelpofBarbara Reitano, Tracy Simandl, Neen Kuzmick, Lezlie Lovett, Beulah Trey,Jonno Hanafin, MaryAnn Rainey, Michael Kitson, Linda Pittari, Felice Tilin,DavidSmith,andCarolScheman.

At Harvard Business School Press, our thanks to Marjorie Williams andCarolFranco,whoguidedustothecompletionofthiswork.Aspecialthankstoourleadeditor,SuzanneRotondo,forherkeeninsightsandpartnership,andtoLucyMcCauleyforinspiredaidinrewrites.AstridSandoval,SharonRice,andGayleTreadwell each lent invaluable help.As ever, SuzyWetlaufer advanced

ourownthinkingevenassheshapedanarticlefortheHarvardBusinessReview.Onapersonalnote,AnnieMcKeethanksherhusband,EddyMwelwa,whois

her inspiration;herchildren,BeckyRenio,SeanRenio, andSarahRenio,whothrough their own leadership demonstrate the power of emotional intelligenceandbringresonancetothefamily;herparents,CathyMacDonaldWigstenandMurray Wigsten, for intellectual and emotional support of this work; herbrothers,Rick,Matt,Mark,Jeff,andRobert;andhersister,Sam.

RichardBoyatzis thankshiswife,Sandy, for toleranceofhispreoccupationoverthemonthsofwriting,andherlovingsupportandhelpinreactingtodrafts;andhisson,MarkScott,andlatefather-in-law,RonaldW.Scott,forreactingtodrafts.

DanielGoleman,asever,appreciatestheinspirationandpatienceofhiswife,TaraBennett-Goleman,andhopes thisbookwillhelpcreateabetter future forhisgranddaughters,LilaandHazelGoleman.

Andfinally,we’deachliketoacknowledgethevalueofourcollaboration—anditsresonance—inwritingthisbook.

PARTONE

THEPOWEROFEMOTIONAL

INTELLIGENCE

CHAPTERONE

PRIMALLEADERSHIP

GREATLEADERSmoveus.Theyigniteourpassionandinspirethebestinus.When we try to explain why they are so effective, we speak of strategy,vision,orpowerfulideas.Buttherealityismuchmoreprimal:Greatleadershipworksthroughtheemotions.

No matter what leaders set out to do—whether it’s creating strategy ormobilizing teams to action—their success depends onhow they do it. Even iftheyget everything else just right, if leaders fail in this primal taskofdrivingemotionsintherightdirection,nothingtheydowillworkaswellasitcouldorshould.

Consider,forexample,apivotalmomentinanewsdivisionattheBBC,theBritishmediagiant.Thedivisionhadbeensetupasanexperiment,andwhileits200orsojournalistsandeditorsfelttheyhadgiventheirbest,managementhaddecidedthedivisionwouldhavetoclose.1

Itdidn’thelpthattheexecutivesenttodeliverthedecisiontotheassembledstaffstartedoffwithaglowingaccountofhowwellrivaloperationsweredoing,and thathehad just returnedfromawonderful trip toCannes.Thenews itselfwas bad enough, but the brusque, even contentious manner of the executiveincitedsomethingbeyondtheexpectedfrustration.Peoplebecameenraged—notjustatthemanagementdecision,butalsoatthebearerofthenewshimself.The

atmospherebecamesothreatening,infact,thatitlookedasthoughtheexecutivemighthavetocallsecuritytousherhimsafelyfromtheroom.

The next day, another executive visited the same staff. He took a verydifferent approach. He spoke from his heart about the crucial importance ofjournalismtothevibrancyofasociety,andofthecallingthathaddrawnthemalltothefieldinthefirstplace.Heremindedthemthatnoonegoesintojournalismto get rich—as a profession its finances have always beenmarginal, with jobsecurity ebbing and flowing with larger economic tides. And he invoked thepassion, even the dedication, the journalists had for the service they offered.Finally,hewishedthemallwellingettingonwiththeircareers.

Whenthisleaderfinishedspeaking,thestaffcheered.Thedifferencebetweentheleaderslayinthemoodandtonewithwhichthey

deliveredtheirmessages:Onedrovethegrouptowardantagonismandhostility,theothertowardoptimism,eveninspiration,inthefaceofdifficulty.Thesetwomomentspointtoahidden,butcrucial,dimensioninleadership—theemotionalimpactofwhataleadersaysanddoes.

While most people recognize that a leader’s mood—and how he or sheimpacts the mood of others—plays a significant role in any organization,emotions are often seen as too personal or unquantifiable to talk about in ameaningfulway.Butresearchin thefieldofemotionhasyieldedkeeninsightsintonotonlyhowtomeasuretheimpactofaleader’semotionsbutalsohowthebestleadershavefoundeffectivewaystounderstandandimprovethewaytheyhandletheirownandotherpeople’semotions.Understandingthepowerfulroleofemotionsintheworkplacesetsthebestleadersapartfromtherest—notjustintangiblessuchasbetterbusinessresultsandtheretentionoftalent,butalsointheall-importantintangibles,suchashighermorale,motivation,andcommitment.

ThePrimalDimensionThis emotional taskof the leader isprimal—that is, first—in two senses: It isboththeoriginalandthemostimportantactofleadership.

Leaders have always played a primordial emotional role. No doubthumankind’soriginalleaders—whethertribalchieftainsorshamanesses—earnedtheir place in large part because their leadershipwas emotionally compelling.Throughouthistoryandincultureseverywhere, the leader inanyhumangrouphas been the one to whom others look for assurance and clarity when facinguncertainty or threat, orwhen there’s a job to be done.The leader acts as the

group’semotionalguide.Inthemodernorganization,thisprimordialemotionaltask—thoughbynow

largelyinvisible—remainsforemostamongthemanyjobsofleadership:drivingthecollectiveemotionsinapositivedirectionandclearingthesmogcreatedbytoxicemotions.Thistaskappliestoleadershipeverywhere,fromtheboardroomtotheshopfloor.

Quite simply, in any human group the leader hasmaximal power to swayeveryone’s emotions. If people’s emotions are pushed toward the range ofenthusiasm, performance can soar; if people are driven toward rancor andanxiety,theywillbethrownoffstride.Thisindicatesanotherimportantaspectofprimal leadership: Its effects extend beyond ensuring that a job is well done.Followers also look to a leader for supportive emotional connection—forempathy.Allleadershipincludesthisprimaldimension,forbetterorforworse.When leaders drive emotions positively, as was the case with the secondexecutive at the BBC, they bring out everyone’s best. We call this effectresonance. When they drive emotions negatively, as with the first executive,leaders spawn dissonance, undermining the emotional foundations that letpeople shine. Whether an organization withers or flourishes depends to aremarkable extent on the leaders’ effectiveness in this primal emotionaldimension.

The key, of course, to making primal leadership work to everyone’sadvantage lies in the leadership competencies of emotional intelligence: howleaders handle themselves and their relationships. Leaders who maximize thebenefitsofprimal leadershipdrive theemotionsof those they lead in the rightdirection.

Howdoesallofthiswork?Recentstudiesofthebrainrevealtheneurologicalmechanismsofprimalleadershipandmakeclearjustwhyemotionalintelligenceabilitiesaresocrucial.

TheOpenLoopThe reason a leader’s manner—not just what he does, but how he does it—matters so much lies in the design of the human brain: what scientists havebeguntocalltheopen-loopnatureofthelimbicsystem,ouremotionalcenters.Aclosed-loop system such as the circulatory system is self-regulating; what’shappeninginthecirculatorysystemofothersaroundusdoesnotimpactourownsystem. An open-loop system depends largely on external sources to manage

itself.In other words, we rely on connections with other people for our own

emotional stability. The open-loop limbic system was a winning design inevolution,nodoubt,becauseitallowspeopletocometooneanother’semotionalrescue—enabling,forexample,amothertosoothehercryinginfant,oralookoutinaprimatebandtosignalaninstantalarmwhenheperceivesathreat.

Despitetheveneerofouradvancedcivilization,theopen-loopprinciplestillholds.Researchin intensivecareunitshasshownthat thecomfortingpresenceofanotherpersonnotonlylowersthepatient’sbloodpressure,butalsoslowsthesecretionoffattyacidsthatblockarteries.2Moredramatically,whereasthreeormore incidents of intense stress within a year (say, serious financial trouble,being fired, or a divorce) triple the death rate in socially isolatedmiddle-agedmen, they haveno impactwhatsoever on the death rate ofmenwho cultivatemanycloserelationships.3

Scientists describe the open loop as “interpersonal limbic regulation,”whereby one person transmits signals that can alter hormone levels,cardiovascular function, sleep rhythms, and even immune function inside thebodyofanother.4That’showcoupleswhoareinloveareabletotriggerinoneanother’s brains surges of oxytocin, which creates a pleasant, affectionatefeeling. But in all aspects of social life, not just love relationships, ourphysiologiesintermingle,ouremotionsautomaticallyshiftingintotheregisterofthe personwe’rewith. The open-loop design of the limbic systemmeans thatotherpeoplecanchangeourveryphysiology—andsoouremotions.

Eventhoughtheopenloopissomuchapartofour lives,weusuallydon’tnoticetheprocessitself.Scientistshavecapturedthisattunementofemotionsinthelaboratorybymeasuringthephysiology—suchasheartrate—oftwopeopleastheyhaveagoodconversation.Astheconversationbegins,theirbodieseachoperate at different rhythms. But by the end of a simple fifteen-minuteconversation, their physiological profiles look remarkably similar—aphenomenon called mirroring. This entrainment occurs strongly during thedownwardspiralofaconflict,whenangerandhurtreverberate,butalsogoesonmore subtly during pleasant interactions. 5 It happens hardly at all during anemotionally neutral discussion. Researchers have seen again and again howemotionsspread irresistibly in thiswaywheneverpeoplearenearoneanother,even when the contact is completely nonverbal. For example, when threestrangerssitfacingeachotherinsilenceforaminuteortwo,theonewhoismost

emotionally expressive transmits his or her mood to the other two—withoutspeaking a singleword. 6 The same effect holds in the office, boardroom, orshop floor; people in groups at work inevitably “catch” feelings from oneanother, sharing everything from jealousy and envy to angst or euphoria. Themorecohesivethegroup, thestronger thesharingofmoods,emotionalhistory,andevenhotbuttons.7

Inseventyworkteamsacrossdiverseindustries,forinstance,memberswhosat inmeetings togetherendedupsharingmoods—eithergoodorbad—withintwo hours. 8Nurses, and even accountants, whomonitored their moods overweeksoreveryfewhoursastheyworkedtogethershowedemotionsthattrackedtogether—andthegroup’ssharedmoodswerelargelyindependentofthehasslestheyshared.9Studiesofprofessionalsports teamsrevealsimilarresults:Quiteapart from the ups and downs of a team’s standing, its players tend tosynchronizetheirmoodsoveraperiodofdaysandweeks.10

ContagionandLeadershipThecontinualinterplayoflimbicopenloopsamongmembersofagroupcreatesakindofemotionalsoup,witheveryoneaddinghisorherownflavortothemix.But it is the leader who adds the strongest seasoning.Why? Because of thatenduring reality of business: Everyone watches the boss. People take theiremotional cues from the top. Even when the boss isn’t highly visible—forexample, the CEO who works behind closed doors on an upper floor—hisattitude affects the moods of his direct reports, and a domino effect ripplesthroughoutthecompany’semotionalclimate.11

Carefulobservationsofworkinggroups inactionrevealedseveralways theleaderplayssuchapivotalroleindeterminingthesharedemotions.12Leaderstypicallytalkedmorethananyoneelse,andwhattheysaidwaslistenedtomorecarefully.Leaderswerealsousuallythefirsttospeakoutonasubject,andwhenothersmadecomments,theirremarksmostoftenreferredtowhattheleaderhadsaidthantoanyoneelse’scomments.Becausetheleader’swayofseeingthingshas specialweight, leaders “managemeaning” for a group, offering a way tointerpret,andsoreactemotionallyto,agivensituation.13

Buttheimpactonemotionsgoesbeyondwhataleadersays.Inthesestudies,

even when leaders were not talking, they were watched more carefully thananyone else in the group. When people raised a question for the group as awhole, they would keep their eyes on the leader to see his or her response.Indeed,groupmembersgenerallyseetheleader’semotionalreactionasthemostvalid response, and so model their own on it—particularly in an ambiguoussituation,wherevariousmembersreactdifferently.Inasense,theleadersetstheemotionalstandard.

Leaders give praise or withhold it, criticize well or destructively, offersupport or turn a blind eye to people’s needs. They can frame the group’smissioninwaysthatgivemoremeaningtoeachperson’scontribution—ornot.Theycanguideinwaysthatgivepeopleasenseofclarityanddirectionintheirworkandthatencourageflexibility,settingpeoplefreetousetheirbestsenseofhow to get the job done. All these acts help determine a leader’s primalemotionalimpact.

Still, not all “official” leaders in a group are necessarily the emotionalleaders.When the designated leader lacks credibility for some reason, peoplemay turn for emotional guidance to someone elsewho they trust and respect.This de facto leader then becomes the one who molds others’ emotionalreactions.Forinstance,awell-knownjazzgroupthatwasnamedforitsformalleader and founder actually took its emotional cues froma differentmusician.Thefoundercontinuedtomanagebookingsandlogistics,butwhenitcametimetodecidewhattunethegroupwouldplaynextorhowthesoundsystemshouldbeadjusted,alleyesturnedtothedominantmember—theemotionalleader.14

PeopleMagnetsRegardlessofwhotheemotionalleadermightbe,however,she’slikelytohaveaknack for acting as a limbic “attractor,” exerting a palpable force on theemotional brains of people around her. Watch a gifted actor at work, forexample,andobservehoweasilyshedrawsanaudienceintoheremotionalorbit.Whether she’s conveying the agony of a betrayal or a joyous triumph, theaudiencefeelsthosethingstoo.

LAUGHTERANDTHEOPENLOOP

EMOTIONSMAYSPREAD like viruses, but not all emotions spread with the sameease.Astudyat theYaleUniversitySchoolofManagement found thatamongworkinggroups,cheerfulnessandwarmthspreadmosteasily,while irritability is lesscontagiousanddepressionspreadshardlyatall.15Thisgreaterdiffusionrateforgoodmoodshasdirect implications for business results. Moods, the Yale study found, influence howeffectively people work; upbeat moods boost cooperation, fairness, and businessperformance.Laughter, in particular, demonstrates the power of the open loop in operation—andthereforethecontagiousnatureofallemotion.Hearing laughter,weautomaticallysmileor laughtoo,creatingaspontaneouschainreactionthatsweepsthroughagroup.Gleespreads so readily becauseour brain includesopen-loop circuits, designed specificallyfordetectingsmilesandlaughterthatmakeuslaughinresponse.Theresultisapositiveemotionalhijack.Similarly,ofallemotionalsignals,smilesare themostcontagious; theyhaveanalmostirresistiblepowertomakeotherssmileinreturn.16Smilesmaybesopotentbecauseofthe beneficial role they played in evolution: Smiles and laughter, scientists speculate,evolvedasanonverbalway tocementalliances,signifying thatan individual is relaxedandfriendlyratherthanguardedorhostile.Laughter offers a uniquely trustworthy sign of this friendliness. Unlike other emotionalsignals—especially a smile, which can be feigned—laughter involves highly complexneural systems that are largely involuntary: It’s harder to fake. 17Sowhereas a falsesmilemighteasilyslipthroughouremotionalradar,aforcedlaughhasahollowring.Inaneurologicalsense, laughing represents theshortestdistancebetween twopeoplebecause it instantly interlocks limbic systems. This immediate, involuntary reaction, asoneresearcherputsit,involves“themostdirectcommunicationpossiblebetweenpeople—braintobrain—withourintellectjustgoingalongfortheride,inwhatmightbecalleda“limbic lock.”18Nosurprise, then, thatpeoplewho relisheachother’s company laugheasilyandoften;thosewhodistrustordislikeeachother,orwhoareotherwiseatodds,laughlittletogether,ifatall.In any work setting, therefore, the sound of laughter signals the group’s emotionaltemperature, offering one sure sign that people’s hearts as well as their minds areengaged.Moreover,laughteratworkhaslittletodowithsomeonetellingacannedjoke:In a study of 1,200 episodes of laughter during social interactions, the laugh almostalwayscameasafriendlyresponsetosomeordinaryremarklike“nicemeetingyou,”notto a punchline. 19 A good laugh sends a reassuring message: We’re on the samewavelength,wegetalong.Itsignalstrust,comfort,andasharedsenseoftheworld;asarhythminaconversation,laughingsignalsthatalliswellforthemoment.

How easily we catch leaders’ emotional states, then, has to do with howexpressivelytheirfaces,voices,andgesturesconveytheirfeelings.Thegreateraleader’s skill at transmitting emotions, the more forcefully the emotions willspread.Suchtransmissiondoesnotdependontheatrics,ofcourse;sincepeoplepaycloseattentiontoaleader,evensubtleexpressionsofemotioncanhavegreat

impact.Evenso, themoreopen leadersare—howwell theyexpress theirownenthusiasm,forexample—themorereadilyotherswillfeelthatsamecontagiouspassion.

Leaders with that kind of talent are emotional magnets; people naturallygravitatetothem.Ifyouthinkabouttheleaderswithwhompeoplemostwanttoworkinanorganization,theyprobablyhavethisabilitytoexudeupbeatfeelings.It’s one reason emotionally intelligent leaders attract talented people—for thepleasureofworkingintheirpresence.Conversely,leaderswhoemitthenegativeregister—who are irritable, touchy, domineering, cold—repel people. No onewants to work for a grouch. Research has proven it: Optimistic, enthusiasticleadersmore easily retain their people, comparedwith those bosseswho tendtowardnegativemoods.20

Let’snowtaketheimpactofprimal leadershiponestepfurther, toexaminejusthowmuchemotionsdeterminejobeffectiveness.

HowMoodsImpactResultsEmotionsarehighlyintense,fleeting,andsometimesdisruptivetowork;moodstendtobelessintense,longer-lastingfeelingsthattypicallydon’tinterferewiththe job at hand. And an emotional episode usually leaves a correspondinglingeringmood:alow-key,continualflowoffeelingthroughoutthegroup.

Although emotions and moods may seem trivial from a business point ofview, they have real consequences for getting work done. A leader’s mildanxiety can act as a signal that something needs more attention and carefulthought. In fact, a sobermood can help immensely when considering a riskysituation—and toomuch optimism can lead to ignoring dangers. 21A suddenfloodofangercanrivetaleader’sattentiononanurgentproblem—suchastherevelationthataseniorexecutivehasengagedinsexualharassment—redirectingthe leader’s energies from the normal round of concerns toward finding asolution,suchasimprovingtheorganization’seffortstoeliminateharassment.22

Whilemildanxiety(suchasoveraloomingdeadline)canfocusattentionandenergy,prolongeddistresscansabotagealeader’srelationshipsandalsohamperworkperformancebydiminishingthebrain’sabilitytoprocessinformationandrespondeffectively.Agood laughoranupbeatmood,on theotherhand,moreoftenenhancestheneuralabilitiescrucialfordoinggoodwork.

Bothgoodandbadmoodstendtoperpetuatethemselves,inpartbecausethey

skewperceptionsandmemories:Whenpeoplefeelupbeat,theyseethepositivelight inasituationandrecall thegoodthingsabout it,andwhentheyfeelbad,theyfocusonthedownside.23Beyondthisperceptualskew,thestewofstresshormonessecretedwhenapersonisupsettakeshourstobecomereabsorbedinthebodyandfadeaway.That’swhyasourrelationshipwithabosscanleaveapersonacaptiveofthatdistress,withamindpreoccupiedandabodyunabletocalm itself:Hegotme so upset during thatmeeting I couldn’t go to sleep forhours last night. As a result, we naturally prefer being with people who areemotionallypositive,inpartbecausetheymakeusfeelgood.

EmotionalHijackingNegative emotions—especially chronic anger, anxiety, or a sense of futility—powerfully disrupt work, hijacking attention from the task at hand. 24 Forinstance, in a Yale study of moods and their contagion, the performance ofgroupsmaking executive decisions about how best to allocate yearly bonuseswasmeasurablyboostedbypositivefeelingsandwasimpairedbynegativeones.Significantly, the group members themselves did not realize the influence oftheirownmoods.25

Forinstance,ofalltheinteractionsataninternationalhotelchainthatpitchedemployees into bad moods, the most frequent was talking to someone inmanagement. Interactions with bosses led to bad feelings—frustration,disappointment, anger, sadness, disgust, or hurt—about nine out of ten times.These interactionswere thecauseofdistressmoreoften thancustomers,workpressure,companypolicies,orpersonalproblems.26Notthatleadersneedtobeoverly “nice”; the emotional art of leadership includes pressing the reality ofwork demands without unduly upsetting people. One of the oldest laws inpsychologyholdsthatbeyondamoderatelevel, increasesinanxietyandworryerodementalabilities.

Distress not only erodes mental abilities, but also makes people lessemotionally intelligent. People who are upset have trouble reading emotionsaccuratelyinotherpeople—decreasingthemostbasicskillneededforempathyand,asaresult,impairingtheirsocialskills.27

Another consideration is that the emotions people feel while they work,according to new findings on job satisfaction, reflect most directly the true

qualityofworklife.28Thepercentageoftimepeoplefeelpositiveemotionsatworkturnsouttobeoneofthestrongestpredictorsofsatisfaction,andtherefore,forinstance,ofhowlikelyemployeesaretoquit.29In thissense, leaderswhospreadbadmoodsaresimplybadforbusiness—andthosewhopassalonggoodmoodshelpdriveabusiness’ssuccess.

GoodMoods,GoodWorkWhenpeoplefeelgood,theyworkattheirbest.Feelinggoodlubricatesmentalefficiency,makingpeoplebetteratunderstandinginformationandusingdecisionrulesincomplexjudgments,aswellasmoreflexibleintheirthinking.30Upbeatmoods, research verifies, make people view others—or events—in a morepositivelight.Thatinturnhelpspeoplefeelmoreoptimisticabouttheirabilitytoachieveagoal,enhancescreativityanddecision-makingskills,andpredisposespeople to be helpful. 31Insurance agentswith a glass-is-half-full outlook, forinstance, are farmore able than theirmore pessimistic peers to persist despiterejections, and so they make more sales. 32Moreover, research on humor atwork reveals thatawell-timed jokeorplayful laughercanstimulatecreativity,open linesofcommunication,enhanceasenseofconnectionand trust,and,ofcourse, make work more fun. 33 Playful joking increases the likelihood offinancialconcessionsduringanegotiation.Smallwonderthatplayfulnessholdsaprominentplaceinthetoolkitofemotionallyintelligentleaders.

Goodmoodsproveespeciallyimportantwhenitcomestoteams:Theabilityofaleadertopitchagroupintoanenthusiastic,cooperativemoodcandetermineits success.On the other hand,whenever emotional conflicts in a groupbleedattentionandenergyfromtheirsharedtasks,agroup’sperformancewillsuffer.

Considertheresultsofastudyofsixty-twoCEOsandtheirtopmanagementteams.34TheCEOs represented someof theFortune500, aswell as leadingU.S.servicecompanies(suchasconsultingandaccountingfirms),not-for-profitorganizations,andgovernmentagencies.TheCEOsandtheirmanagementteammemberswere assessed on how upbeat—energetic, enthusiastic, determined—theywere. Theywere also asked howmuch conflict and tumult the top teamexperienced, that is, personality clashes, anger and friction in meetings, andemotionalconflicts(incontrasttodisagreementaboutideas).

Thestudyfoundthatthemorepositivetheoverallmoodsofpeopleinthetop

managementteam,themorecooperativelytheyworkedtogether—andthebetterthecompany’sbusinessresults.Putdifferently,thelongeracompanywasrunbyamanagement team that did not get along, the poorer that company’smarketreturn.

The “group IQ,” then—the sum total of every person’s best talentscontributed at full force—depends on the group’s emotional intelligence, asshown in its harmony. A leader skilled in collaboration can keep cooperationhigh and thus ensure that the group’s decisions will be worth the effort ofmeeting.Suchleadersknowhowtobalancethegroup’sfocusonthetaskathandwithitsattentiontothequalityofmembers’relationships.Theynaturallycreateafriendlybuteffectiveclimatethatliftseveryone’sspirits.

Quantifyingthe“Feel”ofaCompanyCommonwisdom,ofcourse,holdsthatemployeeswhofeelupbeatwilllikelygothe extramile to please customers and therefore improve the bottom line.Butthere’s actually a logarithm that predicts that relationship:For every1percentimprovementintheserviceclimate,there’sa2percentincreaseinrevenue.35

Benjamin Schneider, a professor at the University of Maryland, found inoperations as diverse as bank branches, insurance company regional offices,creditcardcallcenters,andhospitalsthatemployees’ratingsofserviceclimatepredicted customer satisfaction, which drove business results. Likewise, poormoraleamongfrontlinecustomerservicerepsatagivenpoint in timepredictshighturnover—anddecliningcustomersatisfaction—uptothreeyearslater.Thislowcustomersatisfaction,inturn,drivesdecliningrevenues.39

GETTINGTOSERVICEWITHASMILE

OFALLTHEASPECTSofbusiness, superior customer care—thatholygrail of anyservice industry—is perhaps affected most by mood contagion, and therefore by theopen-loopaspectofthebrain.Customerservicejobsarenotoriouslystressful,withhighemotionsflowingfreely,notjustfromcustomerstothefrontlinesbutalsofromworkerstocustomers. From a business viewpoint, of course, bad moods in people who servecustomersarebadnews.First,rudenessiscontagious,creatingdissatisfied,evenangry,customers—quiteapartfromwhetherornotaparticularservicematterwashandledwell.Second, grumpy workers serve customers poorly, with sometimes devastating results:Cardiac careunitswhere thenurses’ generalmoodwas “depressed”hadadeath rate

amongpatientsfourtimeshigherthanoncomparableunits.36By contrast, upbeat moods at the front lines benefit a business. If customers findinteractionswith a counterperson enjoyable, they start to think of the store as a “niceplace” to shop. Thatmeans not onlymore repeat visits, but also goodword-of-mouthadvertising. Moreover, when service people feel upbeat, they do more to pleasecustomers: In a study of thirty-two stores in a U.S. retail chain, outlets with positivesalespeopleshowedthebestsalesresults.37Butjustwhatdoesthatfindinghavetodowithleadership?Inallofthoseretailoutlets,itwas the store manager who created the emotional climate that drove salespeople’smoods—and ultimately, sales—in the right direction. When the managers themselveswerepeppy,confident,andoptimistic,theirmoodsrubbedoffonthestaff.38

Sowhat’s the antidote? Besides the obvious relationships between climateandworkingconditionsorsalary,resonantleadersplayakeyrole.Ingeneral,themore emotionally demanding thework, themore empathic and supportive theleaderneedstobe.Leadersdrivetheserviceclimateandthusthepredispositionof employees to satisfy customers. At an insurance company, for instance,Schneider found that effective leadership influenced service climate amongagents to account for a 3 to 4 percent difference in insurance renewals—aseeminglysmallmarginthatmadeabigdifferencetothebusiness.

Organizational consultantshave longassumedapositive linkof somekindbetween a business unit’s human climate and its performance. But dataconnecting the two have been sparse—and so, in practice, leaders couldmoreeasilyignoretheirpersonalstyleanditseffectsonthepeopletheyled,focusinginsteadon“harder”businessobjectives.Butnowwehaveresultsfromarangeofindustriesthatlinkleadershiptoclimateandtobusinessperformance,makingitpossible to quantify the hard difference for business performance made bysomethingassoftasthe“feel”ofacompany.

For instance, at a global food and beverage company, positive climatereadingspredictedhigheryearlyearningsatmajordivisions.And inastudyofnineteen insurance companies, the climate created by the CEOs among theirdirect reportspredicted thebusinessperformanceof the entireorganization: In75percentofcases,climatealoneaccuratelysortedcompaniesintohighversuslowprofitsandgrowth.40

Climateinitselfdoesnotdetermineperformance.Thefactorsdecidingwhichcompaniesprovemostfitinanygivenquarterarenotoriouslycomplex.Butouranalysessuggestthat,overall,theclimate—howpeoplefeelaboutworkingatacompany—canaccount for 20 to 30 percent of business performance.Getting

thebestoutofpeoplepaysoffinhardresults.If climate drives business results, what drives climate? Roughly 50 to 70

percentofhowemployeesperceivetheirorganization’sclimatecanbetracedtotheactionsofoneperson:theleader.Morethananyoneelse,thebosscreatestheconditionsthatdirectlydeterminepeople’sabilitytoworkwell.41

Inshort,leaders’emotionalstatesandactionsdoaffecthowthepeopletheyleadwillfeelandthereforeperform.Howwellleadersmanagetheirmoodsandaffect everyone else’s moods, then, becomes not just a private matter, but afactorinhowwellabusinesswilldo.42

Andthatgetsus tohowthebraindrivesprimal leadership,forbetterorforworse.

CHAPTERTWO

RESONANTLEADERSHIP

LET’SRETURN to our exampleof theBBCdivision thatwasbeing shutdown.Thefirstexecutivewhowassenttodeliverthebadnews—andwhomadepeople so angry that he almost needed to call security for an escort out—exemplifieswhatwecalldissonantleadership:Outoftouchwiththefeelingsofthe people in the room, he drove the group into a downward spiral fromfrustrationtoresentment,rancortorage.

Whensuchleadersfailtoempathizewith,ortoreadtheemotionsof,agroupaccurately, theycreatedissonance, sendingneedlesslyupsettingmessages.Theresultingcollectivedistressthenbecomesthegroup’spreoccupation,displacingtheattentiontheyneed togive to the leader’smessage—or to theirmission. Inanywork setting, the emotional and the business impact of a dissonant leadercanbegaugedeasily:Peoplefeeloff-balance,andthusperformpoorly.

The second executive, who got a round of applause from the laid-offemployees,exemplifiesresonantleadership:Hewasattunedtopeople’sfeelingsandmovedtheminapositiveemotionaldirection.Speakingauthenticallyfromhisownvaluesandresonatingwiththeemotionsofthosearoundhim,hehitjustthe rightchordswithhismessage, leavingpeople feelingupliftedand inspiredeveninadifficultmoment.Whenaleadertriggersresonance,youcanreaditinpeople’seyes:They’reengagedandtheylightup.

The root of the word resonance is revealing: the Latin word resonare, toresound. Resonance, the Oxford English Dictionary states, refers to “thereinforcementorprolongationofsoundbyreflection,”or,morespecifically,“bysynchronous vibration.” The human analog of synchronous vibration occurswhentwopeopleareonthesamewavelengthemotionally—whentheyfeel“insynch.” And true to the original meaning of resonance, that synchrony“resounds,”prolongingthepositiveemotionalpitch.

Onesignofresonantleadershipisagroupoffollowerswhovibratewiththeleader’s upbeat and enthusiastic energy. A primal leadership dictum is thatresonanceamplifiesandprolongstheemotionalimpactofleadership.Themoreresonant people are with each other, the less static are their interactions;resonanceminimizesthenoiseinthesystem.“Oneteam,”asabusinessmantraproclaims,means“moresignal,lessnoise.”Thegluethatholdspeopletogetherinateam,andthatcommitspeopletoanorganization,istheemotionstheyfeel.1

Howwellleadersmanageanddirectthosefeelingstohelpagroupmeetitsgoals depends on their level of emotional intelligence. Resonance comesnaturally to emotionally intelligent (EI) leaders.Theirpassionandenthusiasticenergyresounds throughout thegroup.Evenso, such leadersmight sometimesprojectamoreseriousmood,whenappropriate,usingempathytoattunetotheemotional register of the people they lead. For example, if something hashappenedthateveryonefeelsangryabout(suchas theclosingofadivision)orsadabout(suchasaseriousillnessinamuch-lovedco-worker),theEIleadernotonly empathizes with those emotions, but also expresses them for the group.Thatkindof resonance reinforces synchrony justasmuchasenthusiasmdoes,becauseitleavespeoplefeelingunderstoodandcaredfor.

UndertheguidanceofanEIleader,peoplefeelamutualcomfortlevel.Theyshare ideas, learn from one another, make decisions collaboratively, and getthings done. They form an emotional bond that helps them stay focused evenamidprofoundchangeanduncertainty.Perhapsmostimportant,connectingwithothersatanemotionallevelmakesworkmoremeaningful.Weallknowwhatitfeelsliketoshareintheexcitementofamoment,theelationofcompletingajobwelldone.Thesefeelingsdrivepeople todo things together thatno individualcouldorwoulddo.Andit is theEIleaderwhoknowshowtobringabout thatkindofbonding.

Ontheotherhand,ifaleaderlacksresonance,peoplemaybegoingthroughthemotions of their work but doingmerely a “good enough” job rather than

giving their best. Without a healthy dose of heart, a supposed “leader” maymanage—buthedoesnotlead.

TheDiscordantLeaderDissonance,initsoriginalmusicalsense,describesanunpleasant,harshsound;in both musical and human terms, dissonance refers to a lack of harmony.Dissonantleadershipproducesgroupsthatfeelemotionallydiscordant,inwhichpeoplehaveasenseofbeingcontinuallyoff-key.2

Just as laughteroffers a readybarometerof resonanceatwork, so rampantanger,fear,apathy,orevensullensilencesignalstheopposite.Suchdissonance,researchfinds, isall toocommonintheworkplace.InasurveyofmorethanathousandU.S.workers, for example, 42percent reported incidencesof yellingand other kinds of verbal abuse in their workplaces, and almost 30 percentadmittedtohavingyelledataco-workerthemselves.3

Considerthebiologicalcostsofsuchdissonance.Althoughsurfacinggenuinecomplaints can clear the air—and build resonance—when the personcomplainingdoessowithanger, theencountercaneasilyspiral intoemotionaltoxicity. For example, rather than saying calmly, “When you’re late for ourmeetings, itwastesour time—we’dallbemoreeffective ifyoushowedupontime,”thecomplainerlaunchesintoacharacterattack.

He snarls, “I seeHisHighnesshasdeigned to joinus. I’mglad to seeyoucould fit us into your busy schedule.We’ll try not towaste toomuchof yourtime.”

Such disturbing encounters wreak havoc emotionally, as demonstrated instudies inwhich physiological responsesweremonitored during arguments. 4Such attacks—which send the painful emotional messages of disgust orcontempt—emotionallyhijackthepersontargeted,particularlywhentheattackerisaspouseorboss,whoseopinionscarrymuchweight.

JohnGottman,apsychologistattheUniversityofWashington,usestheterm“flooding” to describe the intensity of the fight-or-flight reaction that such anextrememessageofcontemptcantrigger:Heartratecanleap20to30beatsperminute in a single heartbeat, accompanied by an overwhelming feeling ofdistress.Whenflooded,apersoncanneitherhearwhatissaidwithoutdistortion,nor respond with clarity; thinking becomes muddled and the most readyresponsesareprimitiveones—anythingthatwillendtheencounterquickly.Asa

result, peoplewill often tune out (or “stonewall”) the other person by puttingeitheranemotionalorphysicaldistancebetweenthem.

Although these studies were done with married couples, a dissonantencounter betweenboss and employee takesmuch the same emotional toll. Inonestudy,employeeswereaskedtorecalltimesmanagershadlosttheirtempersat them and launched into a personal attack. Typically the employee becamedefensive, evaded responsibility, or stonewalled, avoiding contact with themanager. And when 108 managers and white-collar workers reported on thecausesofconflictintheirjobs,thenumberonereasonwasineptcriticismbyaboss.5

Inshort,dissonancedispiritspeople,burnsthemout,orsendsthempacking.There’s another personal cost to dissonance: People who work in toxicenvironments take the toxicity home. Stress hormones released during a toxicworkdaycontinuetoswirlthroughthebodymanyhourslater.6

TheVarietiesofDissonanceTherearecountlesskindsofdissonantleaders,whonotonlylackempathy(andso are out of synch with the group) but also transmit emotional tones thatresoundmostofteninanegativeregister.Mostofthoseleaders,wefind,don’tmean to be so discordant; they simply lack the critical EI abilities thatwouldhelpthemleadwithresonance.

In the extreme, dissonant leaders can range from the abusive tyrant, whobawls out and humiliates people, to the manipulative sociopath. Such leadershaveanemotional impactabit likethe“dementors”intheHarryPotterseries,who“drainpeace,hopeandhappinessoutoftheairaroundthem.”7Theycreatewretchedworkplaces,buthavenoideahowdestructivetheyare—ortheysimplydon’tcare.

Somedissonantleaders,however,aremoresubtle,usingasurfacecharmorsocial polish, even charisma, to mislead and manipulate. Those leaders don’ttrulyholdtheirprofessedvalues,ortheylackempathy,caringaboutlittleotherthan their own advancement.When followers sense that kind of insincerity—when a manipulative leader feigns friendliness, for instance—the relationshipdissolvesintocynicismanddistrust.

Dissonantleaderssometimesmayseemeffectiveintheshortrun—theymaygetacovetedpromotion, for instance,by focusingonpleasing theirboss—but

thetoxicitytheyleavebehindbeliestheirapparentsuccess.Wherevertheygoinanorganization,thelegacyoftheirtenuremarksatelltaletrailofdemotivationandapathy,angerandresentment.Inshort,dissonantleadersarethebossesthatpeopledreadworkingfor.

When we see someone leading an organization by stirring such negativeresonance, we know that trouble lies ahead. Despite any short-term rise inperformance, ifa leader resonatesexclusively in thenegativeemotional range,theeffectwillbetoeventuallyburnpeopleout.Suchleaderstransmittheirown—often corrosive—emotions but don’t receive; they neither listen to nor careabout other people. EI leaders, in contrast, follow the more lasting path tomotivationbyevokingpositiveresonance:rallyingpeoplearoundaworthygoal.

THEDEMAGOGUE

GIVENTHATADEPTLEADERSmovefollowerstotheiremotionalrhythm,wefacethedisturbingfact that, throughouthistory,demagoguesanddictatorshaveused thissameability fordeplorableends.TheHitlersandPolPotsof theworldhaveall ralliedangrymobs around a moving—but destructive—message. And therein lies the crucialdifferencebetweenresonanceanddemagoguery.Compared with resonant leaders, demagogues spread very different emotionalmessages,ones thatelicit negativeemotions,particularlyamixof fearandanger: thethreat to “us” from “them,” and the dread that “they” will take what “we” have. Theirmessagepolarizes people rather than uniting them in a common cause.Such leadersbuild their platform foractiononanegative resonance—on thedisturbing fight-or-flightsurvivalemotionsthatstreamthroughthebrainwhenpeoplefeelthreatenedorenraged.TheSerbianleaderSlobodanMilosevic,forexample,wasamasteratfanningtheflamesofethnichatred,unitinghisfollowersbehindabannerofresentments,fears,andrage—tobothhisownandhisnation’sdetriment.Demagoguerycastsitsspellviadestructiveemotions,arangethatsquelcheshopeandoptimism as well as true innovation and creative imagination (as opposed to cruelcunning). By contrast, resonant leadership grounded in a shared set of constructivevalueskeepsemotionsresoundinginthepositiveregister.Itinvitespeopletotakealeapoffaiththroughawordpictureofwhat’spossible,creatingacollectiveaspiration.Luckily,thedemagogueisararetypeinbusiness;politicsseemsthedemagogue’smorenatural ecological niche. Still, some business leaders do resort to nefarious tactics.Workplaceleadershipbuiltonnegativeresonance—forinstance,cultivatingfearorhatredofsome“enemy”—amounts toacheaptrick,aquickanddirtywaytomobilizeagrouptowardacommongoal.Itmayberelativelyeasytogetpeopletohateorfearsomethingtogether; these emotions come readily, given the right threat. But from a biologicalperspective,theseemotionsweredesignedforshort,intenseburstsmeanttoprepareusto fightorrun. If they last too longorarecontinuallyprimed, theyexhaustusorslowlyburnusout.Angerorfear,then,maygetaleaderthroughthecrisisoftheday,buttheyareshort-livedmotivators.

Therearealsotheleaderswecall“clueless,”whotrytoresonateinapositivetone but are out of touch with the unpleasant fact that their subordinates arestuckinanegativeemotionalregister.Inotherwords,theorganizationalrealitymakes people angry or anxious or otherwise unhappy, but the leader remainsobliviousandsosendsanupbeatmessagethatresonateswithnoone.

Oneexecutiveweknowdescribeshisorganizationalvisionthisway:“Wearenimblymovingintoacomplexfuture,leadingourindustryaswereachfornewheights.Our leaders look foropportunitiesat every turnandourmanagersareblastingthecompetition.Wedelightinourcustomers’satisfaction.”

Atfirstglanceitmaysoundprettygood—butonsecondthought,it’sastringofemptyplatitudes.Wedon’tknowwhathereallymeant (doyou?),butwhenwe began to look at the culture and the leadership practices,we couldn’t findmuch flexibility; tolerance for ambiguity, risk taking, or innovation; orattunement to customers.We foundgroupsofpeople focusedon the same oldroutineandcynicalabout thevision their leaderdescribed.Thesadfact is thatbusiness jargon can be a smokescreen, so that a leader never has a realconversation about what people are actually doing in the organization—andneverhastochange.

Self-absorbed leaders can often be clueless. For instance, a group ofmanagers at a consumer goods company requested ameetingwith their CEObecause they were deeply troubled by what they saw happening at theircompany.Though the companywas still ranked in the top ten comparedwithothers in their industry, the trend linespointeddownward.Thesemanagers, soclosetothework,wantedtohelptheirCEOmovethingsintherightdirection.

ButwhentheCEOmetwiththemanagers,hedidn’tseemtohearthem.Hisreplytotheirconcerns:“Peoplewantahero—theyneedone—andthat’swhatIamtotheemployees.I’mlikeamoviestar—peoplewanttoseemeandlookuptome.That’swhyIthoughtitwasagoodideaforyoutocomehere,soyoucanhearwhatIhavetosayandtelleveryonewhatI’mreallylike.”

Therewasastunnedsilenceintheroomashespoke—asilencethattheCEOnodoubt tookasagreement.Forhim, thiswasnotabout“us”butabout“me.”The dark side of ambition is that it can focus a leader’s attention on himself,leading him to ignore the worries of the people who he needs to make himsuccessful—andbreedingdissonance.8

By contrast, emotionally intelligent leaders build resonance by tuning into

people’s feelings—their own and others’—and guiding them in the rightdirection. To understand the mechanisms that drive emotionally intelligentleadership,andsocreateresonance,welooktonewfindingsinbrainresearch.

LeadershipandtheBrain’sDesignNocreaturecanflywithjustonewing.Giftedleadershipoccurswhereheartandhead—feelingandthought—meet.Thesearethetwowingsthatallowaleadertosoar.

All leaders need enough intellect to grasp the specifics of the tasks andchallengesathand.Ofcourse,leadersgiftedinthedecisiveclaritythatanalyticand conceptual thinking allow certainly add value.We see intellect and clearthinking largely as the characteristics that get someone in the leadership door.Without those fundamental abilities, no entry is allowed. However, intellectalonewill notmake a leader; leaders execute a visionbymotivating, guiding,inspiring, listening, persuading—and, most crucially, through creatingresonance.AsAlbertEinsteincautioned,“Weshouldtakecarenottomaketheintellect our god. It has, of course, powerful muscles, but no personality. Itcannotlead,itcanonlyserve.”

Thecrucialemotionalregulatorycircuitryrunsfromtheprefrontalareatotheamygdala,locatedoneithersideofthemid-brainaspartofthelimbicsystem.

The neural systems responsible for the intellect and for the emotions areseparate,buttheyhaveintimatelyinterwovenconnections.9Thisbraincircuitrythat interweaves thought and feeling provides the neural basis of primalleadership.And,despitethegreatvaluethatbusinesscultureoftenplacesonanintellect devoid of emotion, our emotions are, in a very real sense, morepowerfulthanourintellect.Inmomentsofemergency,ouremotionalcenters—thelimbicbrain—commandeertherestofthebrain.

There’sgoodreasonforthisspecialpotencyofemotions.They’recrucialforsurvival,beingthebrain’swayofalertingustosomethingurgentandofferinganimmediateplan for action: fight, flee, freeze.The thinkingbrain evolved fromthelimbicbrainandcontinuestotakeordersfromitwhenweperceiveathreator are under stress. The trigger point for these compelling emotions is theamygdala,alimbicbrainstructurethatscanswhathappenstousfrommomenttomoment, ever on the alert for an emergency. 10 As our radar for emotionalemergencies, theamygdalacancommandeerotherpartsof thebrain, includingrationalcentersintheneocortex,forimmediateactionifitperceivesathreat.

This arrangement worked well during the last 100 million or so years ofevolution. Fear guided early mammals through the real dangers of predators;anger mobilized a mother to fight to protect her young. And social emotionssuchas jealousy,pride, contempt, andaffectionallplayeda role in the familypoliticsofprimategroups—justas theydo in theunderworldoforganizationallifetoday.

While emotions have guided human survival through evolution, a neuraldilemma for leadership has emerged in the last 10,000 years or so. In today’sadvancedcivilization,wefacecomplexsocialrealities(say, thesensesomeoneisn’ttreatingusfairly)withabraindesignedforsurvivingphysicalemergencies.Andsowecanfindourselveshijacked—sweptawaybyanxietyorangerbettersuitedforhandlingbodilythreatsthanthesubtletiesofofficepolitics.(Justwhothehelldoesthisguythinkheis!I’msomadIcouldpunchhim!)

Fortunately, such emotional impulses follow extensive circuitry that goesfromtheamygdalatotheprefrontalarea,justbehindtheforehead,whichisthebrain’sexecutivecenter.Theprefrontal area receivesandanalyzes information

from all parts of the brain and thenmakes a decision about what to do. Theprefrontalareacanvetoanemotionalimpulse—andsoensurethatour responsewill bemore effective. (Remember, he’s giving your annual review—just relaxandseewhatelsehesaysbeforeyoudosomethingyoumightregret.)Withoutthatveto,theresultwouldbeanemotionalhijack,wheretheamygdala’simpulseisactedupon.Thishappenswhentheprefrontalzonecircuitryfailsinitstaskofkeepingtheseemotionalimpulsesincheck.

The dialogue between neurons in the emotional centers and the prefrontalareasoperatesthroughwhatamountstoaneurologicalsuperhighwaythathelpstoorchestratethoughtandfeeling.Theemotionalintelligencecompetencies,socrucial for leadership,hinge on the smooth operation of this prefrontal–limbiccircuitry. Studies of neurological patients with damaged prefrontal–limbiccircuitry confirm that their cognitive capacitiesmay remain intact,while theiremotional intelligence abilities are impaired. 11 This neurological fact clearlyseparates these competencies from purely cognitive abilities like intelligence,technicalknowledge,orbusinessexpertise,whichresideintheneocortexalone.

Biologically speaking, then, the art of resonant leadership interweaves ourintellect and our emotions. Of course, leaders need the prerequisite businessacumen and thinking skills to be decisive. But if they try to lead solely fromintellect,they’llmissacrucialpieceoftheequation.

Take, forexample, thenewCEOofaglobalcompanywho tried tochangestrategicdirections.Hefailed,andwasfiredafterjustoneyearonthejob.“Hethoughthe could change the company through intellect alone,withoutmovingpeopleemotionally,”aseniorvicepresidentat thecompanytoldus.“Hemaderadical strategic changeswithout bothering to get buy-in from thepeoplewhowouldexecute thosechanges.Astormofe-mails fromemployees to theboardcomplainedofhistuned-outleadership,andtheCEOwasfinallyousted.”

HowtheFourCoreEIDomainsInteractWearebynomeans the first to suggest that themain tasksof a leader are togenerate excitement, optimism, and passion for the job ahead, as well as tocultivate an atmosphere of cooperation and trust. 12Butwewish to take thatwisdom one step further and demonstrate how emotional intelligence enablesleaders to accomplish those fundamental tasks. Each of the four domains ofemotionalintelligence—self-awareness,self-management,socialawareness,and

relationshipmanagement—addsacrucialsetofskillsforresonantleadership.These domains are, of course, closely intertwined, with a dynamic

relationshipamongthem.Forinstance,aleadercan’tmanagehisemotionswellifhehaslittleornoawarenessofthem.Andifhisemotionsareoutofcontrol,then his ability to handle relationships will suffer. Our research has found asystem underlying this dynamic. 13 In short, self-awareness facilitates bothempathy and self-management, and these two, in combination, allow effectiverelationshipmanagement. EI leadership, then, builds up from a foundation ofself-awareness.

Self-awareness—oftenoverlookedinbusinesssettings—isthefoundationforthe rest:Without recognizingourownemotions,wewill bepoor atmanagingthem,andlessabletounderstandtheminothers.Self-awareleadersareattunedto their inner signals. They recognize, for instance, how their feelings affectthemselves and their job performance. Instead of letting anger build into anoutburst,theyspotitasitcrescendosandcanseebothwhat’scausingitandhowto do something constructive about it. Leaders who lack this emotional self-awareness,ontheotherhand,mightlosetheirtemperbuthavenounderstandingofwhytheiremotionspushthemaround.Self-awarenessalsoplaysacrucialrolein empathy, or sensing how someone else sees a situation: If a person isperpetuallyoblivioustohisownfeelings,hewillalsobetunedouttohowothersfeel.

Social awareness—particularly empathy—supports the next step in theleader’sprimal task:drivingresonance.Bybeingattunedtohowothers feel inthemoment, a leader can say and do what’s appropriate, whether that meanscalmingfears,assuaginganger,or joiningingoodspirits.Thisattunementalsoletsaleadersensethesharedvaluesandprioritiesthatcanguidethegroup.

Bythesametoken,aleaderwholacksempathywillunwittinglybeoff-key,and so speak and act inways that set off negative reactions. Empathy,whichincludeslisteningandtakingotherpeople’sperspectives,allowsleaderstotuneintotheemotionalchannelsbetweenpeoplethatcreateresonance.Andstayingattunedletsleadersfine-tunetheirmessagetokeepitinsynch.

Finally,onceleadersunderstandtheirownvisionandvaluesandcanperceivethe emotions of the group, their relationship management skills can catalyzeresonance.Toguide theemotional toneofagroup,however, leadersmustfirsthave a sure sense of their owndirection and priorities—which brings us backagaintotheimportanceofself-awareness.

ThesedynamicrelationsamongthefourEIdomainsareofpractical,notjust

theoretical, importance. They’re the basic ingredients of effective primalleadership—ofresonance.Nextwe’llexploretheneuralanatomythatunderliestheEIabilitiesthatallowleaderstoprimeresonanceinthepeopletheylead.

CHAPTERTHREE

THENEUROANATOMYOFLEADERSHIP

RESONANCE, in terms of brain function,means that people’s emotionalcentersareinsynchinapositiveway.Oneofthemostpowerfulandmostdirectways to make that resonant brain-to-brain connection, remember, is throughlaughter.

Consider the implications for the neuroanatomyof leadership of a difficultmoment at a meeting of top management at a large retailer. Judging by themarket research data that everyone held in their hands, the vice president formarketinghadmadeapoordecisionaboutalargeadvertisingbuy.Asthegrouppored over the data, the silent consensus was clear: Themarketing chief hadgoofed.

Afteralong,tensemoment, thesilencewasbrokenbyanotherexecutiveinthe room, who quipped,��Maybe you just didn’t have your glasses on.”Everyonelaughed.

Thatsmalljokeservedtwopurposes:Itimplicitlyaffirmedforeveryonethatthe marketing chief had indeed erred, while softening that critical message—bypassing the need to spend time disagreeing or arguing about it. The groupseamlessly moved on to the next decision, which was how to remedy thepredicament.

Everythingknownabouttheneurophysiologyofhumorandtheopenloop(as

we saw in chapter 1) suggests that the quip by the executive pitched themanagement team’s emotional centers into a positive range of activity. This,presumably,helpedthegroupavoidbecomingemotionallyhijackedbyfixatingontheproblem—themarketingchief’serror—thuslettingthemswiftlymoveonto the solution.And the executive did all thatwithout having to say anythingexplicitlyabouthowhewaskeepingthemontrackinapositivemode.

As we have already noted, the artful use of humor typifies effectiveleadership. That doesn’tmean that you should always avoid disagreements orconflicts. But the best leaders have a sense of when spending time airinggrievanceswillbeusefulandwhenitwillnot.

Peopledon’tneedacomedian’ssenseoftimingorhugecomicrepertoiretousehumoreffectively.Whatmay later seema rather feeble joke can still be apowerfulemotionalprodinatensemoment—ifitgetsalaughorsmile.Thedatalinking leadership effectiveness to laughter come from hundreds of actualincidents like the tension-relieving jokeabout themarketingchief. 1Take, forexample, one study of executives interviewing for leadership positions,whichlooked at howoften each candidate got a laughduring the interview and thentracked the candidates’ careers for two years to seewhich ones became stars.Thefindingwasthatoutstandingleadersgottheinterviewertolaughwiththemtwiceasoftenasthejust-averageexecutives.(Theleaders’successwasdefinedby two elements: They were in the top third of bonuses reflecting financialperformance,andtheywereratedas“excellent”by90percentoftheirpeersandbosses.)

The researchers also interviewed high-level leaders, almost half of whomwereCEOsorgeneralmanagersfromtheUnitedStatesandabroad,abouthighand low points in their careers. During the interview, the outstanding leadersused three timesmore humorous comments—about one every fourminutes—thantheaverageleaders.

Themost effective leaders, then, usehumormore freely, evenwhen thingsaretense,sendingpositivemessagesthatshifttheunderlyingemotionaltoneoftheinteraction.Althoughthewordsthatleadersspeakmaydealwithdrydetails—clausesinacontract,thenumbersinabusinessplan—thegoodfeelingsthatalaughbringskeepaleader’srelationshipssimpatico.

EICompetencies:TheVehiclesofPrimalLeadership

What’s particularly telling, though, was that these successful leaders’ use ofhumorstronglycorrelatedwiththeveryemotionalintelligencecompetencieswehave found to be key to a leader’s superior performance. 2 These EIcompetenciesarethevehiclesofprimalleadership.

Toreviewourearlierwork,asignificantpartofthecompetenceresearchbasewe rely on stems from a then-radical proposalmade back in 1973 by the lateHarvard professor David McClelland. 3 Writing in the flagship psychologyjournal,McClellandproposedthatifanorganizationwantedtohireorpromotethebestpersonforaspecificjob,suchasaleadershipposition,itshoulddiscardwhat were then the standard criteria. Instead of testing people for their IQ,technical skills, or personality—or just looking at their résumés—McClellandproposedfirststudyingemployeeswhowerealreadyoutstandingperformers inthatjobandsystematicallycomparingthemwiththosewhowerejustaverageatit.

Thatanalysisyieldsnotjustthethresholdabilitiesfortheposition(thebasicskillseveryonemusthavetodothejob)but,moreimportant,thedistinguishingcompetencies: abilities that the stars exhibited and the average performers didnot.Then,saidMcClelland,choosepeoplewhohavethosesamecompetencies—orhelpyourpeopledevelop thosestrengths.Thatproposal spawnedwhat istoday standard practice in world-class organizations: developing a leadership“competencymodel”toidentify,train,andpromotelikelystars.

Take, for example, the leadership competence model developed by LyleSpencer,alongtimeassociateofMcClelland,foranindustrialcontrolsfirm(a$2billion global division of Siemenswith 400 branches in fifty-six countries). 4Thefirststepwastoidentifythepoolofstarleaders,whosegrowthinrevenuesandreturnonsalesputtheirperformanceinthetop10to15percent.5

Next, thestarswerecomparedwithmanagerswhoseperformancewasonlyaverage,andthe twogroupsunderwent intensive interviewsdesigned toassesstheir competencies. Four competencies of emotional intelligence—but not asingle technical or purely cognitive competency—emerged as the uniquestrengthsof the stars: thedrive toachieve results, theability to take initiative,skillsincollaborationandteamwork,andtheabilitytoleadteams.

Then,withaclear ideaofwhichEIcompetencies to target,anotherpoolofbranch managers was trained to cultivate these same strengths. They becamefamiliar with andwere evaluated on each competence, and they set goals forimprovingthosecompetencies—andtherebytheirbusinessperformance.

The result was that the leaders increased their effectiveness and reapedsignificantly improved profits. The revenue growth in their branches that yearaddedanadditional$1.5millionprofit,doublethatofacomparisongroupwhohadnotraining.

Leaders:TheNextGenerationWhenwe talk about the value of an emotionally intelligent leader,we do notintend to revive the discredited claim that an organization’s—or nation’s—success rises or falls on a single charismatic leader. As the sociologist MaxWeberarguedacenturyago, institutions that endure thrivenotbecauseofoneleader’scharisma,butbecausetheycultivateleadershipthroughoutthesystem.

That’sespeciallytruewhenitcomestocreatingcompaniesthatare“builttolast”: The ones that thrive for decades know how to incubate generations ofeffective leaders.6Consider, forexample,acompellingstudyon the futureofleadershipatJohnson&Johnson(J&J),theglobalpharmaceuticalscompany.

Looking at the company’s growth projections, CEORalph Larsen realizedthatJ&Jwouldneedincreasinglymoreleadersifitweretosucceed;infact,heconsideredsuchleadershipdevelopmenttheorganization’smostcriticalbusinessissue.Hisresearchteambeganby lookingat358midcareerexecutivesatJ&J,halfofwhomhadbeenidentifiedas“highpotentials,”thatis,managerswho’ddemonstrated early success; the rest comprised a less high-performingcomparisongroup.7The358executives,45percentofwhomwerewomenand55percentmen,werecarefullychosentoreflectaglobalspread,representingtheAmericas,Europe,theMiddleEast,Africa,Asia,andAustralia.Eachwasratedinconfidencebythreeexecutivesfamiliarwithhisorherwork,usingboththecompany’s leadershipmodel and the emotional intelligencecompetencies.Theresearchers evaluated this talent pool through the lens of the leadershipcompetencies assessed in the ECI (Emotional Competence Inventory), a 360-degreemeasureofemotionalintelligenceinleadership.8

Managers in the high-potential groupwere found to exhibit virtually everyone of the competencies, while the executives in the comparison grouppossessed few of those competencies. 9 In other words, EI competencies, theleadership capabilities that drive resonance,markeddistinctive abilities of thisselect group.Moreover, the cross-cultural differences proved insignificant; EIcompetenciescouldbe identifiedequallywell throughout theworld, indicating

thattheseabilitiesmatterandcanbeassessedanywhereacompanyoperates.

TheFourDimensionsofEmotionalIntelligenceOur thinking about the dimensions of emotional intelligence, and theiraccompanying competencies, has evolved and been streamlined as we’veanalyzednewdata.Readers familiarwithearlierversionsof theEImodelwillnoticesomechangeshere.Wherewe formerly listed fivemaindomainsofEI,we now have simplified the model into four domains—self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management—with eighteencompetenciesinsteadoftheoriginaltwenty-five(seethechart).10Forinstance,anEIdomainwouldbesocialawareness;acompetencyinthatdomainwouldbeempathy or service. The result is an emotional intelligence model that moreclearlylinksspecificclustersofcompetenciestotheunderlyingbraindynamicsthatdrivethem.

Recentfindingsaboutemotionsandthebrainmakeclearertheneurologicalbasis of these competencies. 11 This lets us sketch their dynamics morethoroughly,whileprovidingpracticalguidelinesforbuildingleadershipskills.

An important note, which we will develop later in this book: These EIcompetencies are not innate talents, but learned abilities, each ofwhich has aunique contribution to making leaders more resonant, and therefore moreeffective.

That fact speaks to an urgent business need, one with great impact onfinancial results: helping leaders to leadmore effectively.Now, guided by theneurology underlying the emotional intelligence framework, we can make asharp distinction between what works and what doesn’t when it comes tolearningtheartofleadership—ourtopicinPartIIofthisbook.

Ourbasicargument,inanutshell,isthatprimalleadershipoperatesatitsbestthrough emotionally intelligent leaders who create resonance. Underlying thatproposition isa theoryofperformance,one thatsurfaces the linksbetween theneurology of the four fundamentals of emotional intelligence and the EIcompetencies that build on those fundamentals. These EI competencies are inturn the building blocks of themodes of leadership that prime resonance in agroup.12

Interestingly,noleaderwe’veeverencountered,nomatterhowoutstanding,hasstrengthsacrosstheboardineveryoneofthemanyEIcompetencies.Highly

effectiveleaderstypicallyexhibitacriticalmassofstrengthinahalfdozenorsoEI competencies. 13Moreover, there’s no fixed formula for great leadership:There are many paths to excellence, and superb leaders can possess verydifferent personal styles. Still, we find that effective leaders typicallydemonstrate strengths in at least one competence from each of the fourfundamentalareasofemotionalintelligence.

Emotional Intelligence Domains and AssociatedCompetencies(seeAppendixBfordetails)PERSONALCOMPETENCE:Thesecapabilitiesdeterminehowwemanageourselves.

SELF-AWARENESS• Emotional self-awareness: Reading one’s own emotions and recognizing theirimpact;using“gutsense”toguidedecisions

•Accurateself-assessment:Knowingone’sstrengthsandlimits•Self-confidence:Asoundsenseofone’sself-worthandcapabilities

SELF-MANAGEMENT•Emotionalself-control:Keepingdisruptiveemotionsandimpulsesundercontrol•Transparency:Displayinghonestyandintegrity;trustworthiness•Adaptability:Flexibilityinadaptingtochangingsituationsorovercomingobstacles• Achievement: The drive to improve performance to meet inner standards ofexcellence

•Initiative:Readinesstoactandseizeopportunities•Optimism:Seeingtheupsideinevents

SOCIALCOMPETENCE:Thesecapabilitiesdeterminehowwemanagerelationships.

SOCIALAWARENESS•Empathy: Sensing others’ emotions, understanding their perspective, and takingactiveinterestintheirconcerns

•Organizationalawareness:Readingthecurrents,decisionnetworks,andpoliticsattheorganizationallevel

•Service:Recognizingandmeetingfollower,client,orcustomerneeds

RELATIONSHIPMANAGEMENT•Inspirationalleadership:Guidingandmotivatingwithacompellingvision•Influence:Wieldingarangeoftacticsforpersuasion

•Developingothers:Bolsteringothers’abilitiesthroughfeedbackandguidance•Changecatalyst:Initiating,managing,andleadinginanewdirection•Conflictmanagement:Resolvingdisagreements•Teamworkandcollaboration:Cooperationandteambuilding

Self-AwarenessSimply put, self-awareness means having a deep understanding of one’semotions, as well as one’s strengths and limitations and one’s values andmotives. People with strong self-awareness are realistic—neither overly self-critical nor naively hopeful. Rather, they are honest with themselves aboutthemselves.Andtheyarehonestaboutthemselveswithothers,eventothepointofbeingabletolaughattheirownfoibles.

Self-aware leaders also understand their values, goals, and dreams. Theyknowwhere they’re headed andwhy.They’re attuned towhat “feels right” tothem. For example, they’re able to be firm in turning down a job offer that’stempting financially but doesn’t fit with their principles or long-term goals.Conversely, a person lacking self-awareness will likely make decisions thattriggerinnerturmoilbytreadingonburiedvalues.“ThemoneylookedgoodsoIsigned on,” someonemight say two years into a job, “but theworkmeans solittle to me that I’m constantly bored.” Because the decisions of self-awarepeoplemeshwiththeirvalues,theymoreoftenfindtheirworkenergizing.

Perhaps the most telling (though least visible) sign of self-awareness is apropensity for self-reflection and thoughtfulness. Self-aware people typicallyfindtimetoreflectquietly,oftenoffbythemselves,whichallowsthemtothinkthings over rather than react impulsively. Many outstanding leaders, in fact,bringtotheirworklifethethoughtfulmodeofself-reflectionthattheycultivateintheirspirituallives.Forsomethismeansprayerormeditation;forothersit’samorephilosophicalquestforself-understanding.

Allofthesetraitsofself-awareleadersenablethemtoactwiththeconvictionandauthenticitythatresonancerequires.

ASenseofWhatMattersMostIn a technical sense, our guiding values are represented in the brain as a

hierarchy of emotionally toned thoughts, with what we “like” and findcompelling at the top, and what we loathe at the bottom. The strength and

directionofthoseemotionsdeterminewhetheragoalappealstousorrepelsus.If the thought of helping disadvantaged children, for example, or of workingwithpeopleatthetopoftheirgame,thrillsus,itwillbehighlymotivating.

All of this occurs in the brain’s prefrontal areas—the seat of attention andhenceofself-awareness—whichmonitorfeelingsaboutpreferences.Circuitsinthat part of brain, then, harbor our positive feelings, quietly bringing them tomind over and over as we struggle toward a goal. Pleasant thoughts therebyoperate as a sort of cheering section,urgingusonover the longhaul.Fromaneurological standpoint,whatkeepsusmoving towardourgoals in life comesdown to themind’s ability to remind us of how satisfiedwe’ll feel whenweaccomplish those things—a capacity residing in the circuitry between theamygdalaandtheleftprefrontallobe.14

Nomatterwhat drives our passion to doour bestwork—whether it be thepureexcitementitbrings,thesatisfactionoflearningtodosomethingbetter,orthejoyofcollaboratingwithhighlytalentedcolleagues(orsimplythemoneyweearn)—allthemotivatorsshareacommonneuralpathway.Passionforwork,atthebrainlevel,meansthatcircuitslinkedtotheleftprefrontalcortexpumpoutafairlysteadystreamofgoodfeelingaswedoourwork.

At the same time, left prefrontal-based brain circuits perform anothermotivational favor: They quiet the feelings of frustration or worry that mightdiscourageusfromcontinuing.Thismeanswecantakeinstridetheinevitablesetbacks,frustrations,andfailuresthatanyworthygoalbringsus.Wecanseethehiddenopportunityortheusefullessoninareversalandkeepgoing.

Howwellthoseprefrontalcircuitsprimemotivatingfeelingsandcontrolthediscouraging ones makes the difference between a pessimist, who dwells toomuch on what’s wrong and so loses hope, and an optimist, who keeps goingdespitedifficultiesbyholdinginmindthesatisfactiontocomewhenthegoalismet.

Howdoesallof thisapply to leadersandorganizations?Motivationon thejob toooften is taken forgranted;weassumepeoplecareaboutwhat theydo.Butthetruthismorenuanced:Whereverpeoplegravitatewithintheirworkroleindicateswhere their real pleasure lies—and that pleasure is itselfmotivating.Althoughtraditionalincentivessuchasbonusesorrecognitioncanprodpeopletobetterperformance,noexternalmotivatorscangetpeopletoperformattheirabsolutebest.

TheSmartGuess

Intuition,thatessentialleadershipabilitytoapplynotjusttechnicalexpertisebutalsolifewisdominmakingbusinessdecisions,comesnaturally to theself-aware leader.Whyshouldan intuitive sensehaveanyplace inbusiness today,amid the plethora of hard data available to leaders? Because attuning to ourfeelings,accordingtoneurologicalresearch,helpsus find themeaning indata,andsoleadstobetterdecisions.Ouremotionalmemorybanksthusenableustojudge information efficiently. 15 Emotions, science now tells us, are part ofrationality,notopposedtoit.

The smart guess matters to leaders nowmore than ever precisely becausetheyfacesuchadelugeofdata—oftenwithnoclearmapofwhatitportendsforthe future. As Richard Fairbank, CEO at Capital One, put it, “Finding avisionary strategy you believe as a leader is a very intuitive thing. There aremanythingsaleadercan’tpredictusingdata.Howdoyouknowwhatyouwillneed to have in three years?Yet you’ve got to start development now or youwon’thave itwhenyouneed it.Ourcompanyhiresbrilliantdataanalysts;wehaveoneofthebiggestOracledatabasesintheworld.Butattheendoftheday,Ifind that all the data does is push us out farther on the frontier where it’suncertainalloveragain.”

Today,asleadersarecalledontobuildtheircompaniesbycreatingthefutureratherthaninvestinginthepast,visionmattersmorethanever.Visionrequireswhatlookstootherslikealeapoffaith:theabilitytogobeyondthedataandtomakeasmartguess.

On theother hand, intuition alone sometimes can leadpeople tomakebaddecisions.Intuitionworksbest,itseems,whenagutsensecanbeusedtobuildonotherkindsofdata.Forinstance,inastudyofsixtyentrepreneurswhobuilt—and led—highlysuccessfulcompanies inCalifornia,virtuallyall said that inmaking business decisions they weighed the relevant information in terms oftheirintuitivegutfeelings.16If,forinstance,abusinessplanlookedgoodonthebasisofthedatabutdidnot“feelright,”they’dproceedwithgreatcaution—ornotatall.Gutfeelings,theyrecognized,aredatatoo.

Evencompaniesatthetopoftheirgametodaycanfail inthefutureiftheirleadersmake thewrongbets.The challenge is notunlike trying topredict theweather.Indeed,inasimulationofjustsuchcomplexdecisionmaking,scientistshad volunteers try to predict the weather based on clues frommeteorologicaldata.17The relationship between those clues and their effects on theweatherwasburiedinsuchacomplexprobabilisticfunctionthatevenanalyticreasoning

wasuseless.Aseachpersonmadeguessesbasedontheseclues,heorshewastoldwhether theguesseswere right or not. In otherwords, theywere given achancetolearnwhatworkedandwhatdidn’t—justashappensnaturallytoanyleaderoverthecourseofacareer.

Surprisingly, even though no one could ascertain the specific connectionsbetween thecluesand theweather,after fifty trialspeoplewereguessing rightabout70percentof the time.Theyhadgraduallygaineda“feel”forwhatwasgoing on; their brains had quietly picked up the accumulated lessons. Thoughtheirlogicalintellectwasstillstumped,thosepeoplehadgraspedtheessenceofthe solution intuitively. It just felt right—their intuition told themwhat to do,basedonthelessonslearned.

Thisstudyoffersanelegantmicrocosmof thecumulative learning thatanyleaderacquiressimplythroughongoingexperienceoflife’strialsanderrors.Thebrainconstantlyregistersdecisionrulesaboutwhatworksandwhatdoesn’t:howpeoplerespondtothisleadershipapproachortoanother,whattacticsucceedsina given situation.With the eagerness of a constant learner, the brain soaks uplife’slessonstobetterprepareusforthenexttimewefaceasimilarchallenge,uncertainty,ordecisionpoint.

Because this kind of learning goes on largely in a deep zone of the brainoutsidethereachofwords(inthebasalganglia,aprimitivepartofthebrainatopthespinalcord),leadersneedtolearntotrusttheirintuitivesensetoaccesstheirlifewisdom.18The circuitry involved in puzzling decisions, in fact, includesnot just the basal ganglia, but also the amygdala, where the brain stores theemotionsassociatedwithmemories.19Whenitcomestodrawingonalifetimeofsilentlearningaswefacedecisionpointsagainandagain,it’snottheverbalpartofthebrainthatdeliversthebestcourseofaction—it’sthepartthatwieldsourfeelings.

Every day that a leader spends in a given business or career, his brainautomatically extracts the decision rules that underlie one turn of events oranother, or the operating cause-and-effect sequences. As the brain continuallylearnsinthistacitmode,aleaderaccumulatesthewisdomfromalife’son-the-jobexperience.Thiswisdomincreasesthroughoutaleader’scareer,evenastheabilitiestopickupnewtechnicalskillsmaywane.

Wheneverwefaceamomentinwhichthesedecisionrulespertain,thebrainapplies them silently, coming to its wisest conclusion. Accordingly, the brainwon’t inform us of these judgments with words; instead, the emotional brain

activates circuitry that runs from the limbic centers into thegut, givingus thecompelling sense that this feels right. The amygdala, then, lets us know itsconclusionsprimarily throughcircuitry extending into thegastrointestinal tractthat,literally,createsagutfeeling.20Gutfeelingsofferaguidewhenfacingacomplex decision that goes beyond the data at hand.Gut feeling, in fact, hasgained new scientific respect because of recent discoveries about implicitlearning—thatis,thelessonsinlifewepickupwithoutbeingawarethatwe’relearningthem.

Inshort,intuitionoffersEIleadersadirectpipelinetotheiraccumulatedlifewisdomonatopic.Andittakestheinnerattunementofself-awarenesstosensethatmessage.

TheLeader’sPrimalChallenge:Self-ManagementFromself-awareness—understandingone’semotionsandbeingclearaboutone’spurpose—flows self-management, the focused drive that all leaders need toachieve their goals. Without knowing what we’re feeling, we’re at a loss tomanage those feelings. Instead, our emotions control us. That’s usually fine,whenitcomestopositiveemotionslikeenthusiasmandthepleasureofmeetingachallenge.Butnoleadercanaffordtobecontrolledbynegativeemotions,suchasfrustrationandrageoranxietyandpanic.

The problem is that such negative emotional surges can be overwhelming;they’re the brain’sway ofmaking us pay attention to a perceived threat. Theresultisthatthoseemotionsswampthethinkingbrain’scapacitytofocusonthetaskathand,whether it’s strategicplanningordealingwithnewsof adrop inmarketshare.

Abrainscanofsomeonewhoisupsetoranxiousshowshighactivityintheamygdala and the right side of the prefrontal area in particular, among otherareas.Thispicturedepictsanamygdalahijack:Theemotionalcentersaredrivingorreverberatingwiththehighactivityintheprefrontalzone,whichmakesusfixourattentionon,andobsessabout,thecauseofourdistress.Butwhenthescanshowssomeoneinanupbeatmood,thekeycircuitryrunsfromtheleftprefrontalcortex down to the amygdala. The brain circuitry that generates good moodsconcentrates in the left prefrontal area and inhibits the actionof the amygdalaandconnectedareasthatdrivedistress.

Theleftsideoftheprefrontalarea,researchersbelieve,ispartofakeycircuit

thatinhibitsneuronsintheamygdala,andsokeepsapersonfrombeingcapturedbydistress.21Thiscircuitryhelpsaleadertocalmrockyemotionsandmaintainaconfident,enthusiastictone.

Self-management,then—whichresemblesanongoinginnerconversation—isthecomponentofemotional intelligence that freesus frombeingaprisonerofour feelings. It’s what allows the mental clarity and concentrated energy thatleadershipdemands,andwhatkeepsdisruptive emotions from throwingusofftrack.Leaderswithsuchself-masteryembodyanupbeat,optimisticenthusiasmthattunesresonancetothepositiverange.

Allofthisiscriticallyimportanttoemotionalintelligence.Becauseemotionsaresocontagious—especiallyfromleaderstoothersinthegroup—leaders’firsttasksaretheemotionalequivalentofgoodhygiene:gettingtheirownemotionsin hand.Quite simply, leaders cannot effectively manage emotions in anyoneelsewithoutfirsthandlingtheirown.Howaleaderfeelsthusbecomesmorethanjustaprivatematter;giventherealityofemotionalleakage,aleader’semotionshavepublicconsequences.

Thatdoesn’tmean,ofcourse,thataleaderwillneverreelfromlife’sslingsand arrows. A divorce, a struggling child, or the illness of a loved one willinevitably trouble anyone. But the key is whether the urgencies of a leader’sprivatelifespilloverintorelationshipsonthejob.

Leaders who freely vent their anger, catastrophize, or otherwise let theirdistressingemotionsrunamokcan’talsoleadthegroupintoapositiveregister,wherethebestworkgetsdone.Again,thebrainplaysacriticalrole:Inasense,whenever two people have an encounter, there is a dance of amygdalas thatcreateseitherresonanceordissonance.Inthisneuraltug-of-war,thepersonwithstrongeremotionalself-managementabilitiestendstowin.Whenapersonwithapronounced left prefrontal tilt—that is, a person who is perennially upbeat—talkswithsomeoneknowntobeconfrontationalabout issues theydisagreeon,theunflappablepersontypicallyendsupcalmingtheirritableone.

The secret? Typically, disagreeable people provoke irritation in those theyencounter, who then start to feel angry in return. In otherwords, in the openloop, the irritated amygdala draws the other into perturbation. But when theother person does not return aggression in kind—in fact, remains firmly in apositive register—then the personwith the aroused amygdala has a chance tocalm down, or at least not become more provoked. Indeed, in one study theirritable person reported afterward that he just couldn’t be confrontationalbecausetheotherpersonkeptrespondingwithpositivity.

Similarly, leaders who can stay optimistic and upbeat, even under intensepressure,radiatethepositivefeelingsthatcreateresonance.Bystayingincontrolof their feelingsandimpulses, theycraftanenvironmentof trust,comfort,andfairness.Andthatself-managementhasatrickle-downeffectfromtheleader.Noonewantstobeknownasahotheadwhenthebossconsistentlyexudesacalmdemeanor.

Notsurprisingly,self-managementisalsoimportantforcompetitivereasons.Inthecurrentambiguousenvironment,wherecompaniescontinuallymergeandbreak apart and technology transforms work at a dizzying pace, leaders whohavemasteredtheiremotionsarebetterabletorollwiththechangesandhelptheorganizationtoadjust.

Self-management also enables transparency,which is not only a leadershipvirtue but also an organizational strength. 22 Transparency—an authenticopennesstoothersaboutone’sfeelings,beliefs,andactions—allowsintegrity,orthe sense that a leader can be trusted. At a primal level, integrity hinges onimpulsecontrol,keepingusfromactinginwaysthatwemightregret. Integrityalsomeans thata leader liveshisvalues.Such leadersstrikeothersasgenuinebecause theyarenotmakingapretenseofbeingother than theyare. Integrity,therefore,boilsdowntoonequestion:Iswhatyou’redoinginkeepingwithyourown values? EI leaders, we find, hold to an integrity that makes themcomfortablewiththequestionstransparencyposes.

Ultimately,themostmeaningfulactofresponsibilitythatleaderscandoistocontrol their own state of mind. The original sense of the hipster term coolreferred to thecapacityofAfricanAmerican jazzmusicianswhocouldcontroltheirrageat theracismofthetimes,evenas theychanneled thatanger intoanextraordinary expression of deep feeling. 23 Effective leadership demands thesamesortofcapacityformanagingone’sownturbulentfeelingswhileallowingthefullexpressionofpositiveemotions.

SocialAwarenessandtheLimbicTangoAfter self-awareness and emotional self-management, resonant leadershiprequiressocialawarenessor,putanotherway,empathy.Theabilitytoempathize,in itsmostbasic form, stems fromneurons inextendedcircuitryconnected to,andin,theamygdalathatreadanotherperson’sfaceandvoiceforemotionandcontinually attune us to how someone else feels aswe speakwith them. This

circuitrysendsoutasteadystreamofbulletins—he’sgettingabitupsetbythatlast remark … looks a little bored now … he liked hearing that—which theprefrontalzoneandrelatedareasusetofine-tunewhatwesayordonext.24

By keeping us posted on how the other person has just responded, theamygdalaandconnectedcircuitskeepus insynchasakeyrelaystation in theinterpersonalopenloopforemotions.Thiscircuitryalsoattunesourownbiologyto the dominant range of feelings of the person we are with, so that ouremotional states tend to converge. One term scientists use for this neuralattunement is limbicresonance, “a symphonyofmutual exchangeand internaladaptation”whereby twopeopleharmonize their emotional state.25Any timewe have a genuine connection with someone where we’ve felt “on the samewavelength”—whether apleasant timeor evenagoodcry together—it signalsthatwe’ve just experienced such an interlockingof brains.This tacit harmonyoccurs in any good human connection—between a mother and child, withfriends over a cup of coffee, among teammembers laughing together as theywork.It’stheresonancethatcantriggerasweepofemotionthroughagrouporcrowd,whether the feeling is grief, such as at a funeral, or excitement after asuccessfulIPO.

While empathy represents a necessary ingredient of EI leadership, anotherlies in leaders’ ability to express their message in a way that moves others.Resonanceflowsfromaleaderwhoexpressesfeelingswithconvictionbecausethoseemotionsareclearlyauthentic,rootedindeeplyheldvalues.

EI leaders spread emotions in the positive register: They move people byarticulatingadreamtheyholdthatelicitsoptimism,orcompassion,orasenseofconnection—aspirations that point toward a hopeful future.At the brain level,such messages emanate upbeat emotions, a range of feeling centered in thecircuitrytoandfromtheleftprefrontalarea.Thiszoneofthebrainalsoholdsthekeytomotivation;asthesepositivevisionsspread,agroupcatchesfirearoundthatcommongoal.26Think,forexample,ofMartinLutherKingJr.mobilizingtheAmericancivilrightsmovementwithhispowerfulrefrain“Ihaveadream,”whichenvisionedaworldwhereallpeoplewouldhaveequalopportunities.

Social awareness—particularly empathy—is crucial for the leader’s primaltaskofdrivingresonance.Bybeingattunedtohowothersfeelinthemoment,aleadercansayanddowhat’sappropriate—whetheritbetocalmfears,assuageanger,orjoiningoodspirits.Thisattunementalsoletsaleadersensethesharedvaluesandprioritiesthatcanguidethegroup.Bythesametoken,aleaderwho

lacksempathywillunwittinglybeoff-key,andsospeakandactinwaysthatsetoff negative reactions. Empathy—which includes listening and taking otherpeople’s perspectives—allows leaders to tune into the emotional channelsbetweenpeople that create resonance.And staying attuned lets them fine-tunetheirmessagetokeepitinsynch.

Empathy:TheBusinessCaseOfallthedimensionsofemotionalintelligence,socialawarenessmaybethe

most easily recognized.Wehave all felt the empathy of a sensitive teacher orfriend;wehaveallbeenstruckbyitsabsenceinanunfeelingcoachorboss.Butwhenitcomestobusiness,werarelyhearpeoplepraised,letalonerewarded,fortheirempathy.Theverywordseemsunbusinesslike,outofplaceamidthetoughrealitiesofthemarketplace.

But empathy—the fundamental competence of social awareness—doesn’tmeanakindof“I’mokay,you’reokay”mushiness.Itdoesn’tmeanthatleadersshouldadoptotherpeople’semotionsastheirownandtrytopleaseeverybody.Thatwouldbeanightmare—itwouldmakeactionimpossible.Rather,empathymeanstakingemployees’feelingsintothoughtfulconsiderationandthenmakingintelligent decisions that work those feelings into the response. And, mostcrucially, empathy makes resonance possible; lacking empathy, leaders act inwaysthatcreatedissonance.

Empathybuildsonself-management,butthatmeansexpressingemotionsasappropriate,notstifling them.EI leaders’ability toempathizesometimes leadsthem to tearuporcrywhen theiremployeeshavecried,whetherbecauseofapersonal tragedy or even during a reprimand or firing. Alternatively, while aconsidered response doesn’t necessarily signal a lack of passion, leaderswhoswallowtheiremotionscanappearemotionallyaloof.

Whenleadersareabletograspotherpeople’sfeelingsandperspectives,theyaccessapotentemotionalguidancesystemthatkeepswhat theysayanddoontrack.Assuch,empathyisthesinequanonofallsocialeffectivenessinworkinglife. Empathetic people are superb at recognizing and meeting the needs ofclients, customers, or subordinates. They seem approachable, wanting to hearwhat people have to say.They listen carefully, pickinguponwhat people aretrulyconcernedabout,and theyrespondon themark.Accordingly,empathy iskey to retaining talent. Leaders have always needed empathy to develop andkeepgoodpeople,butwheneverthereisawarfortalent,thestakesarehigher.Ofallthefactorsinacompany’scontrol,tuned-out,dissonantleadersareoneof

themainreasonsthattalentedpeopleleave—andtakethecompany’sknowledgewiththem.

Finally, in thegrowingglobal economy, empathy is a critical skill forbothgettingalongwithdiverseworkmatesanddoingbusinesswithpeoplefromothercultures. Cross-cultural dialogue can easily lead to miscues andmisunderstandings.Empathy is an antidote that attunes people to subtleties inbodylanguage,orallowsthemtoheartheemotionalmessagebeneaththewords.

RelationshipManagementThetriadofself-awareness,self-management,andempathyallcometogetherinthefinalEIability:relationshipmanagement.Herewefindthemostvisibletoolsofleadership—persuasion,conflictmanagement,andcollaborationamongthem.Managing relationships skillfully boils down to handling other people’semotions. This, in turn, demands that leaders be aware of their own emotionsandattunedwithempathytothepeopletheylead.

Ifaleaderactsdisingenuouslyormanipulatively,forinstance,theemotionalradar of followers will sense a note of falseness and they will instinctivelydistrust that leader. The art of handling relationships well, then, begins withauthenticity:acting from one’s genuine feelings.Once leaders have attuned totheirownvisionandvalues,steadiedinthepositiveemotionalrange,andtunedinto the emotions of the group, then relationship management skills let theminteractinwaysthatcatalyzeresonance.

Handlingrelationships,however,isnotassimpleasitsounds.It’snotjustamatteroffriendliness,althoughpeoplewithstrongsocialskillsarerarelymean-spirited.Rather,relationshipmanagementisfriendlinesswithapurpose:movingpeopleintherightdirection,whetherthat’sagreementonamarketingstrategyorenthusiasmaboutanewproject.

Thatiswhysociallyskilledleaderstendtohaveresonancewithawidecircleofpeople—andhaveaknackforfindingcommongroundandbuildingrapport.That doesn’t mean they socialize continually; it means they work under theassumptionthatnothingimportantgetsdonealone.Suchleadershaveanetworkin placewhen the time for action comes.And in an erawhenmore andmorework is done long distance—by e-mail or by phone—relationship building,paradoxically,becomesmorecrucialthanever.

Given theprimal taskof leadership, the ability to inspire andmovepeoplewith a compelling vision looms large. Inspirational leaders get people excited

aboutacommonmission.Theyofferasenseofpurposebeyondtheday-to-daytasksorquarterlygoalsthatsooftentaketheplaceofameaningfulvision.Suchleaders know that what people value most deeply will move them mostpowerfully in theirwork.Because theyareawareof theirownguidingvalues,they can articulate avision that has the ringof truth for those they lead.Thatstrong sense of the collectivemission also leaves inspirational leaders free todirectandguidewithfirmness.Asoneproductdirectorputit,“I’macompanyofone—Ihavenoteam,nopower;Isharepeoplewithotherprojects.Ican’ttellpeoplewhattodo—butIcanconvincethembyappealingtotheiragenda.”27

Finally,as the tasksof leadershipbecomemorecomplexandcollaborative,relationship skills become increasingly pivotal. For instance, every largeorganization must distribute its leadership among its division heads, and thatcreates a de facto team. Beyond that, as organizations realize that the oldfunctionalsilos—marketingoverhere,strategythere,compensationhere—mustbebrokendown,moreleadersroutinelyworkwiththeirpeersaspartofcross-functionalteams.Ifanygroupneedstomaximizeitseffectiveness,it’stheteamat the top. And that means establishing close and smooth relations so thateveryonecanshareinformationeasilyandcoordinateeffectively.

Relationshipskillsallowleaderstoputtheiremotionalintelligencetowork.But there’s more to it than that. When it comes to getting results, thecompetencies that distinguish the best leaders operate in well-orchestratedunison, becoming distinctive leadership styles—as we shall see in the nextchapter.

CHAPTERFOUR

THELEADERSHIPREPERTOIRE

RESONANCESTEMSNOTJUSTfromleaders’goodmoodsorabilitytosaytherightthing,butalsofromwholesetsofcoordinatedactivitiesthatcompriseparticular leadership styles. Typically, the best, most effective leaders actaccordingtooneormoreofsixdistinctapproachestoleadershipandskillfullyswitchbetweenthevariousstylesdependingonthesituation.

Fourofthesestyles—visionary,coaching,affiliative,anddemocratic—createthe kind of resonance that boosts performance,while two others—pacesettingand commanding—althoughuseful in somevery specific situations, should beappliedwithcaution,asweshallsee.

To find out how particular leadership styles affect an organization and itsemotional climate, we drew from research on a global database of 3,871executivesinwhichseveralkeyfactorsthatinfluencedtheworkingenvironmentwereassessed.1

Analysiswentonestepfurthertolookathowtheclimatethatresultedfromvarious leadership styles affected financial results, such as return on sales,revenue growth, efficiency, and profitability. Results showed that, all otherthingsbeingequal,leaderswhousedstyleswithapositiveemotionalimpactsawdecidedly better financial returns than those who did not. Perhaps mostimportant, leaderswith thebest resultsdidn’tpractice justoneparticular style.

Rather,onanygivendayorweek, theyusedmanyof the sixdistinct styles—seamlessly and in different measures—depending on the business situation.Imaginethestyles,then,asthearrayofclubsinagolfpro’sbag.Overthecourseofamatch,thepropicksandchoosesfromhisbagbasedonthedemandsoftheshot.Sometimeshehastoponderhisselection,butusuallyitisautomatic.Thepro“senses”thechallengeahead,swiftlypullsouttherighttool,andelegantlyputsittowork.That’showhigh-impactleadersoperatetoo.

Although these styles of leadership (see the chart) have all been identifiedpreviouslybydifferentnames,what’snewaboutourmodelof leadership isanunderstanding of the underlying emotional intelligence capabilities that eachapproach requires, and—most compelling—each style’s causal link withoutcomes.Theresearch,inotherwords,allowsustoseehoweachstyleactuallyaffectsclimate,andthereforeperformance.Forexecutivesengagedinthedailybattleofgettingresults,suchaconnectionaddsamuch-neededdoseofsciencetothecriticalartofleadership.

We’ll lookfirstat thosefour leadershipstyles that foster resonance, thenatthetwothattooreadilygeneratedissonancewhennotusedeffectively.

TheVisionaryLeaderWhen Shawana Leroy took over as director of a social work agency forimpoverished families in a large city, there were clearly problems—most alegacyfromherpredecessor,a longtimecivilservantwithapenchantforrulesandregulations.Theagency’smissionattractedtalentedemployeesandfosteredtremendous commitment—at least when they first came on board. Typically,though,thatenthusiasmgotlostasworkersbecamemiredinthebyzantinerulesestablishedforcarryingouttheirjobs.Themissionbecamehardtofindbehindthe regulations. Despite increasing needs for the agency’s services—andcomplaintsfromfunders—thepaceofworkwasslowandeffectivenessabysmal.

TheLeadershipStylesinaNutshell

VISIONARYHOWITBUILDSRESONANCE:MovespeopletowardshareddreamsIMPACTONCLIMATE:MoststronglypositiveWHENAPPROPRIATE:Whenchangesrequireanewvision,orwhenacleardirection

isneeded

COACHINGHOWITBUILDSRESONANCE:Connectswhatapersonwantswiththeorganization’sgoals

IMPACTONCLIMATE:HighlypositiveWHENAPPROPRIATE: To help an employee improve performance by building long-termcapabilities

AFFILIATIVEHOWITBUILDSRESONANCE:CreatesharmonybyconnectingpeopletoeachotherIMPACTONCLIMATE:PositiveWHEN APPROPRIATE: To heal rifts in a team, motivate during stressful times, orstrengthenconnections

DEMOCRATICHOW ITBUILDSRESONANCE:Valuespeople’s inputandgets commitment throughparticipation

IMPACTONCLIMATE:PositiveWHEN APPROPRIATE: To build buy-in or consensus, or to get valuable input fromemployees

PACESETTINGHOWITBUILDSRESONANCE:MeetschallengingandexcitinggoalsIMPACTONCLIMATE:Becausetoofrequentlypoorlyexecuted,oftenhighlynegativeWHEN APPROPRIATE: To get high-quality results from a motivated and competentteam

COMMANDINGHOW IT BUILDS RESONANCE: Soothes fears by giving clear direction in anemergency

IMPACTONCLIMATE:Becausesooftenmisused,highlynegativeWHEN APPROPRIATE: In a crisis, to kick-start a turnaround, or with problememployees

As a first step, Leroy talked to employees, one-on-one, to find out whatworkedandwhatpeoplewereproudofintheagency.Peopleseemedrelievedtohave a chance to talk about how meaningful their work felt, and about thefrustrationstheyfacedtryingtogetthingsdone.Leroyfoundshewasnotalonein feeling a commitment to the mission of helping poor families, and shegambledthatthisvisionwouldsustainpeopleduringthechangestocomeattheagency.

Bystartingtheconversationonthispositivenote,Leroygavepeopleasenseof thedream theywanted to reach for, andwhy.Shegot people talking abouttheir hopes for the future, and she tapped into the compassion and dedicationthey felt. She then articulated this vision whenever the opportunity arose,voicingthesharedvaluesthathadbroughtthemallthere.

Asanextstep,Leroycalledonpeopletoquestionwhethertheywerereallyliving themissionofhelping thepoor,andsheguided them in lookingathowwhat theydid,day today,affected theagency’sability tomeet thatgoal.Thatprocessofinquiryhadanotherpayoff:buildingpeople’ssenseof initiativeandtheirbeliefthattheyhadtheanswersinsidethemselves.

Examining the agency’s problems got down to specifics, as itmust:whichmanagementpracticesweregettingintheway,whichrulesmadenosense,andwhichoutdatedsystemsneededtogo.Meanwhile,Leroymadesureshemodeledthe principles of the new organization she wanted to create: one that wastransparent and honest; one that focused on rigor and results. Then, as theprocessmovedfromtalktoaction,Leroyandherteamtackledsomeofthemostrigid bureaucratic practices and changed them with the support of almost allstaff.Withheratthehelm,theagency’semotionalclimatechangedtoreflectherpassionandcommitment;shesetthetonefortheentireorganization.

TheVisionaryResonatesShawana Leroy, of course, exemplifies the visionary style, which strongly

drivesemotionalclimateupwardandtransformsthespiritoftheorganizationatmany levels.For instance, visionary leaders articulatewhere agroup is going,butnothowitwillget there—settingpeople free to innovate, experiment, andtakecalculatedrisks.Knowingthebigpictureandhowagivenjobfitsingivespeople clarity; they understand what’s expected of them. And the sense thateveryoneisworkingtowardsharedgoalsbuilds teamcommitment:Peoplefeelprideinbelongingtotheirorganization.

Visionary leaders reap another benefit: retaining their most valuedemployees.To theextent thatpeople resonatewitha company’svalues, goals,andmission,thatcompanybecomestheirpreferredemployer.Asmartcompanyrealizesthatit’svisionandmissionoffersitspeopleaunique“brand,”awayofdistinguishingitselfasanemployerfromothercompaniesinthesameindustry.

Moreover, by framing the collective task in terms of a grander vision, thisapproachdefinesastandardforperformancefeedbackthatrevolvesaroundthatvision. Visionary leaders help people to see how their work fits into the big

picture,lendingpeopleaclearsensenotjustthatwhattheydomatters,butalsowhy.Suchleadershipmaximizesbuy-infortheorganization’soveralllong-termgoals and strategy. This is the classicmold of leadership, the onemost oftendescribedinbusinessschoolcourses.

ConsidertheexampleofBobPittman,then-CEOofSixFlagsEntertainment.Hearingthatthejanitorsattheamusementparkswerebeingsurlytocustomers,Pittmandecidedtogetagrounds-eyeviewoftheproblem:Hewentundercoverasajanitor.2Whilesweepingthestreets,hebegantounderstandtheproblem.Although managers were ordering janitors to keep the parks immaculate,customers kept the workers from accomplishing that mission by continuallylitteringintheparks,thuscreatingheadachesforjanitors.

Pittman’svisionarystrategywastohavemanagersredefinethejanitors’mainmission:Itwouldnowbetokeepcustomershappy.Andsinceadirtyparkwouldmakethingslessenjoyableforcustomers,thejanitors’jobwastocleanup—butinafriendlyspirit.With thisreframing,Pittmantied thesmallpart the janitorsplayedintoalargervision.

Ofthesixleadershipstyles,ourresearchsuggeststhatoverall,thisvisionaryapproach is most effective. By continually reminding people of the largerpurposeoftheirwork,thevisionaryleaderlendsagrandmeaningtootherwiseworkaday,mundanetasks.Workersunderstandthesharedobjectivesasbeinginsynchwiththeirownbestinterests.Theresult:inspiredwork.

WhatMakesaVisionaryInspirationalleadership,ofcourse, is theemotionalintelligencecompetence

thatmoststronglyundergirdsthevisionarystyle.(ForafullerdescriptionoftheEIcompetencies,seeAppendixB.)UsinginspirationtogetherwiththeEItriadof self-confidence, self-awareness, and empathy, visionary leaders articulate apurpose that rings true for themselves and attune it to values shared by thepeople they lead.And because they genuinely believe in that vision, they canguide people toward it with a firm hand. When it comes time to changedirections, competencies in self-confidence and in being a change catalystsmooththetransition.

Transparency,anotherEIcompetence, iscrucial too; tobecredible, leadersmusttrulybelievetheirownvisions.Ifaleader’svisionisdisingenuous,peoplesenseit.Moreover,transparencymeanstheremovalofbarriersorsmokescreenswithin the company. It’s a movement toward honesty and toward sharing

information and knowledge so that people at all levels of the company feelincluded and able tomake the best possible decisions.While somemanagersmighthave themisimpression thatwithholding information gives thempower,visionaryleadersunderstandthatdistributingknowledgeisthesecrettosuccess;asaresult,theyshareitopenlyandinlargedoses.

Of all the EI competencies, however, empathy matters most to visionaryleadership. The ability to sense how others feel and to understand theirperspectives means that a leader can articulate a truly inspirational vision. Aleaderwhomisreadspeople,ontheotherhand,simplycan’tinspirethem.

Because of its positive impact, the visionary style works well in manybusinesssituations.Butitcanbeparticularlyeffectivewhenabusinessisadrift—during a turnaround or when it is in dire need of a fresh vision. Notsurprisingly,thevisionarymodecomesnaturallyto“transformational”leaders—thosewhoseektoradicallychangeanorganization.3

Powerfulasitis,however,thevisionarystyledoesn’tworkineverysituation.It fails, for instance,whena leader isworkingwitha teamofexpertsorpeerswhoaremoreexperiencedthanhe—andwhomightviewaleaderexpoundingagrandvision as pompous or simply out of stepwith the agenda at hand. Thiskind of misstep can cause cynicism, which is a breeding ground for poorperformance. Another limitation: If a manager trying to be visionary insteadbecomes overbearing, he can undermine the egalitarian spirit of team-basedmanagement.

Thesecaveatsaside,anyleaderwouldbewisetograbforthevisionary“golfclub”moreoften thannot. Itmaynotguaranteeahole inone,but it certainlyhelpswiththelongdrive.

TheArtoftheOne-on-One:TheCoachingStyleShewasnewatthefirm,andeightmonthspregnant.Stayinglateonenight,shelookedupfromherworkandwasstartled toseeherbossstandingoutsideherdoor.Heaskedhowshewasdoing, satdown, and started to talkwithher.Hewantedtoknowallaboutherlife.Howdidshelikeherjob?Wheredidshewanttogoinhercareer?Wouldshecomebacktoworkaftershehadthebaby?

These conversations continued daily over the nextmonth, until thewomanhadherbaby.ThebosswasDavidOgilvy,thelegendaryadvertisingexecutive.Thepregnant newcomerwasShelleyLazarus, nowCEOofOgilvy&Mather,

thehugeadagencythatOgilvyfounded.OneofthemainreasonsLazarussaysshe’sstillthere,decadeslater,isthebondssheforgedwithhermentorOgilvyinthosefirstafter-hoursconversations.4

Ogilvy’sleadershipincludedalargedoseofthecoachingstyle:havingadeepconversationwithanemployeethatgoesbeyondshort-termconcernsandinsteadexplorestheperson’slife,includingdreams,lifegoals,andcareerhopes.Despitethe commonlyheld belief that every leader needs to be a good coach, leaderstendtoexhibitthisstyleleastoften.Inthesehigh-pressure,tensetimes,leaderssay they “don’t have the time” for coaching. By ignoring this style, however,theypassupapowerfultool.

Even though coaching focuses on personal development rather than onaccomplishing tasks, the style generally predicts an outstandingly positiveemotional response and better results, almost irrespective of the other styles aleader employs. By making sure they have personal conversations withemployees, coaching leaders establish rapport and trust. They communicate agenuineinterestintheirpeople,ratherthanseeingthemassimplytoolstogetthejob done. Coaching thereby creates an ongoing conversation that allowsemployees to listen toperformance feedbackmoreopenly, seeing it as servingtheirownaspirations,notjusttheboss’sinterests.

As Patrick O’Brien, president of Johnson Outdoors, an outdoor recreationcompany,toldus,“Gettingtoknowpeopleindividuallyismoreimportantthanever.Ifyouhavethatone-hourpersonalconversationatthestartwithsomeone,sixmonthslater,onaFridayat4P.M.,they’rejumpingwithyou.”

TheCoachinActionWhatdoesablecoachinglooklikeinaleader?Coacheshelppeopleidentify

theiruniquestrengthsandweaknesses, tying those to theirpersonalandcareeraspirations. They encourage employees to establish long-term developmentgoals, and help them to conceptualize a plan for reaching those goals, whilebeing explicit about where the leader’s responsibility lies and what theemployee’srolewillbe.Aswediscussedearlier,peopletendtogravitatetowardtheaspectsoftheirjobtheylikethemost,namely,theaspectsthattieintotheirdreams, identity,andaspirations.Bylinkingpeople’sdailyworktotheselong-termgoals,coacheskeeppeoplemotivated.Onlybygettingtoknowemployeesonadeeper,personallevelcanleadersbegintomakethatlinkareality.

Coaches are also good at delegating, giving employees challenging

assignments that stretch them, rather than tasks that simply get the job done.(That kind of stretching, by the way, has a particularly positive impact on aperson’smood;there’saspecialsweetnesstosuccessthatpushespeoplebeyondtheir abilities. 5 ) Further, coaches usually tolerate a short-term failure,understandingthatitcanfurtheranemployee’sdreams.

Not surprisingly, coachingworks bestwith employeeswho show initiativeandwantmoreprofessionaldevelopment.Ontheotherhand,coachingwillfailwhentheemployeelacksmotivationorrequiresexcessivepersonaldirectionandfeedback—orwhen the leader lacks the expertiseor sensitivityneeded tohelptheemployeealong.Whenexecutedpoorly, thecoachingapproachlooksmorelikemicromanagingorexcessivecontrolofanemployee.Thiskindofmisstepcanundermineanemployee’sself-confidenceandultimatelycreateadownwardperformance spiral. Unfortunately, we’ve found that many managers areunfamiliar with—or simply inept at—the coaching style, particularly when itcomes to giving ongoing performance feedback that builds motivation ratherthanfearorapathy.

Forexample,leaderswhoarealsopacesetters—focusedexclusivelyonhighperformance—often think they’re coaching when actually they’remicromanagingorsimplytellingpeoplehowtodotheirjobs.Suchleadersoftenconcentrate solely on short-term goals, such as sales figures. That solution-orientedbentkeeps themfromdiscoveringemployees’ long-termaspirations—andemployees, in turn,canbelieve that the leadersees themasmere tools foraccomplishing a task, which makes them feel underappreciated rather thanmotivated.

Whendonewell,however,coachingboostsnot justemployees’capabilitiesbut also their self-confidence, helping them function bothmore autonomouslyandatahigherperformancelevel.

WhatMakesaCoachCoachingexemplifies theEIcompetenceofdevelopingothers,which letsa

leader act as a counselor, exploring employees’ goals and values and helpingthemexpand their own repertoire of abilities. Itworks hand in handwith twoother competencies that research shows exemplify the best counselors:emotionalself-awarenessandempathy.

Emotional self-awareness creates leaders who are authentic, able to giveadvice that is genuinely in the employee’sbest interest rather than advice that

leaves the person feeling manipulated or even attacked. And empathy meansleaders listen first before reacting or giving feedback, which allows theinteraction to stayon target.Goodcoaches, therefore,oftenask themselves: Isthisaboutmyissueorgoal,ortheirs?

Coaching’s surprisingly positive emotional impact stems largely from theempathy and rapport a leader establishes with employees. A good coachcommunicatesabeliefinpeople’spotentialsandanexpectationthattheycandotheirbest.The tacitmessage is, “I believe in you, I’m investing in you, and Iexpectyourbestefforts.”Asa result,peoplesense thata leadercares, so theyfeelmotivatedtoupholdtheirownhighstandardsforperformance,andtheyfeelaccountableforhowwelltheydo.

Sometimescoachingtakestheformofanactivementoringprogram.Andat“built-to-last” companies, which have thrived over decades, the ongoingdevelopment of leadership marks a cultural strength as well as a key tocontinued business success. 6 In a time when more and more companies arefinding it difficult to retain themost talented and promising employees, thosecompanies that provide their people nourishing development experiences aremoresuccessfulincreatingloyalemployees.Inshort,thecoachingstylemaynotscream“bottom-lineresults,”but,inasurprisinglyindirectway,itdeliversthem.

RelationshipBuilders:TheAffiliativeStyleJoeTorremightbecalledboththeheartandsouloftheNewYorkYankees.AsthemanagerofthatvenerablebaseballteamasitwonyetanotherWorldSeriesin1999,Torrewascreditedwith tendingably to thepsychesofhisplayers asthey went through the emotional pressure cooker of the drive to win thechampionship. In a job often filled by notorious exemplars of unruly tempersand insensitivity,Torrestandsoutasanexception,exemplifying the teamworkandcollaborationcompetenceinaction.

Takethecelebrationonthefieldrightafterthefinal1999game.Torresoughtoutparticularplayerstoembrace,especiallyPaulO’Neill,whosefatherhadjustdied at age 79.Thoughhe had barely received the newsof his father’s death,O’Neillchose toplay in thedecisivegame thatnight—andburst into tears themomentthegameended.Later,atthevictorypartyintheclubhouse,Torremadea point of acknowledging O’Neill’s personal struggle, praising him as “awarrior.”

Torre sought out two other players, as well—both of whom also had lostfamily members during the season. One, Scott Brosius, had repeatedly beenpraised by Torre over the previousmonths for willing himself to stay upbeatwhen at work with the team, even as he worried about his father’s terminalillness.Finally,Torreusedthespotlightthatthevictorycelebrationofferedtogoto bat for two players whose return the following year was threatened bycontractdisputes.Hesingledoutbothplayersforpraise,tomakeapointtohisownboss,theclub’sowner,thattheywerejusttoovaluabletolose.

Tobesure,Torre isnosofty:He’s firmwith reprimandswhenneeded.Buthe’salsoopenabouthisownfeelingswiththoseheleads.Theyearhisbrotherwas near death while awaiting a heart transplant, Torre did little to hide hisconcern,sharinghisworrieswithhisplayers—ashedidabouthisowntreatmentforprostatecancerthespringbeforehisteamwonthepennant.

Suchopen sharingof emotions isonehallmarkof the affiliative leadershipstyle,whichTorreexemplifies.Theseleadersalsotendtovaluepeopleandtheirfeelings—puttinglessemphasisonaccomplishingtasksandgoals,andmoreonemployees’ emotional needs. They strive to keep people happy, to createharmony,and—asTorredidsowell—tobuildteamresonance.

Althoughlimitedasadirectdriverofperformance,theaffiliativestylehasasurprisinglypositiveimpactonagroup’sclimate,behindonlythevisionaryandcoachingstylesinimpellingallmeasuresupward.Byrecognizingemployeesaspeople—forexample,offeringthememotionalsupportduringhardtimesintheirprivate lives—such leaders build tremendous loyalty and strengthenconnectedness.

When does the affiliative style make sense? Its generally positive impactmakes it a good all-weather resonance builder, but leaders should apply it inparticular when trying to heighten team harmony, increase morale, improvecommunication,orrepairbrokentrustinanorganization.

Many cultures place tremendous value on strong personal ties, makingrelationshipbuildingasinequanonofdoingbusiness.InmostAsiancultures—aswellasinLatinAmericaandsomeEuropeancountries—establishingastrongrelationship is a prerequisite for doing business. This step comes naturally toleaderswhoexhibittheaffiliativestyle.

WhatMakesanAffiliativeLeaderTheaffiliativestylerepresents thecollaborativecompetence inaction.Such

leaders are most concerned with promoting harmony and fostering friendly

interactions, nurturing personal relationships that expand the connective tissuewiththepeopletheylead.Accordingly,affiliativeleadersvaluedowntimeintheorganizationalcycle,whichallowsmoretimetobuildemotionalcapitalthatcanbedrawnfromwhenthepressureison.

When leaders are being affiliative, they focus on the emotional needs ofemployees even over work goals. This focus makes empathy—the ability tosense the feelings, needs, and perspectives of others—another fundamentalcompetencehere.Empathyallowsa leader tokeeppeoplehappybycaringforthewholeperson—notjusttheworktasksforwhichsomeoneisresponsible.Aleader’s empathy makes the affiliative approach a booster of morale parexcellence,liftingthespiritsofemployeesevenastheytrudgethroughmundaneor repetitive tasks.Finally, theaffiliative style sometimesalso relieson theEIcompetence of conflict management when the challenge includes knittingtogether diverse or even conflicting individuals into a harmonious workinggroup.

WHENBEING“NICE”ISN’TENOUGH

“WEDON’TKNOWhowtobebothkindandcandidhere,”aseniorvicepresidentata$6 billion global consumer products company told us. “We’re a family-owned,relationship-orientedcompany.Ourleadersfocusonvaluingandrespectingpeople.Ifweerr,it’sinbeingtooconcernedaboutkeepingthingsharmonious.We’reoverlynice.Sincewe tend toshyaway fromconfrontation,wedon’tgive thekindof feedback thathelpspeoplegrow.”There’s an obvious flaw when a leader relies solely on the affiliative approach:Worktakessecondplacetofeelings.Leaderswhooverusethisstyleneglecttooffercorrectivefeedback on performance that could help employees improve. They tend to be overlyworriedaboutgettingalongwithpeople,oftenat theexpenseof the taskathand.This“anxious”typeofaffiliationhasbeenfoundtodrivedowntheclimateratherthanraiseit.7Stewingaboutwhetherthey’relikedornot,suchleaders’avoidanceofconfrontationcanderailagroup,steeringthemtofailure.Such leaders can easily become clueless, their overly affiliative stance creating asituationwhere they’re the last tohearbadnews. Incrisesorwhenpeopleneedcleardirectives tosteer throughcomplexchallenges,clueless leaders—chummy though theymaybe—leavefollowersrudderless.

Despiteitsbenefits,theaffiliativestyleshouldnotbeusedalone.Thestyle’sexclusive focus on praise can allow poor performance to go uncorrected, andemployees may perceive that mediocrity is tolerated. In addition, because

affiliativeleadersrarelyofferconstructiveadviceonhowtoimprove,employeesareleftontheirowntofigureouthowtodoso.

Perhaps that’swhymany affiliative leaders—including JoeTorre—use thisstyleincloseconjunctionwiththevisionaryapproach.Visionaryleadersstateamission,setstandards,andletpeopleknowwhethertheirworkisfurtheringthegroupgoals.Allythatwiththecaringapproachoftheaffiliativeleader,andyouhaveapotentcombination.

Let’sTalkItOver:TheDemocraticStyleTheprivateCatholicschool,locatedinanimpoverishedneighborhoodofalargemetropolitanarea,hadbeenlosingmoneyforyears.Nolongerabletoaffordtokeep the school going, the archdiocese ordered Sister Mary, who headed theCatholicschoolsysteminthearea,toshutitdown.

Butratherthanimmediatelylockingthedoors,SisterMarycalledameetingof the teachers and staff and explained the details of the financial crisis thatthreatenedtheschool.Sheaskedfortheirideasonwaystohelpkeeptheschoolopen,andhowtohandletheclosing,shoulditcometothat.Andthenshesimplylistened. She did the same thing at later meetings for school parents, for thecommunity, and then during a successive series of meetings for teachers andstaff.

Bytheendofaroundofmeetingsthatlastedseveralmonths,theconsensuswas clear: The school would have to close. Students whowished to attend aschoolintheCatholicsystemwouldbetransferred.

Although the final outcome was no different than if Sister Mary hadimmediately closed the school herself, the process she used made all thedifference. By allowing the school’s constituents to reach that decisioncollectively, Sister Mary received none of the backlash that would haveaccompanied such a move. People mourned the loss of the school, butunderstooditsinevitability.Virtuallynooneobjected.

Compare SisterMary’s approachwith that of a priestwho headed anotherCatholic school, alsogiven theorder toclose.Thepriest immediately shut theschool down—by fiat. The result: Parents filed lawsuits, teachers and parentspicketed,andlocalnewspapersraneditorialsattackinghisdecision.Thedisputeskepttheschoolopenafullyearbeforeitcouldfinallyclosedown.

In contrast, Sister Mary’s democratic style of getting buy-in from herconstituentsbuiltfeelingsoftrustandrespect—and,inaword,commitment.By

spending time one-on-one and in meetings listening to the concerns ofemployees (or, as with Sister Mary, of stakeholders such as parents), thedemocraticleaderkeepsmoralehigh.Theresultingimpactonclimateispositiveacrosstheboard.

WhentoBeDemocraticA democratic approach works best when, like Sister Mary, the leader is

uncertainaboutwhatdirectiontotakeandneedsideasfromableemployees.That seems to have been the case with Louis Gerstner Jr., who became

chairman of IBM in 1993 when the company was on the brink of death. Anoutsider to the computer industry,Gerstner had to rely on a democratic style,turningtomoreseasonedcolleaguesforadvice.Intheend,eventhoughhehadtocut$9billionayearinexpensesandlayoffthousandsofemployees,Gerstnerledasensationallysuccessfulturnaround,chartinganewstrategiccourseforthecompany.Lookingback,Gerstnermusedthathisday-to-daydecisionshadbeenbasedon“gettingsomegoodadvicefrommycolleagueswhoknewaheckofalotmoreaboutIBMandthisindustrythanIwouldeverknow.”8

Even if a leader has a strong vision, the democratic style works well tosurfaceideasabouthowtoimplementthatvisionor togeneratefreshideasforexecuting it.Forexample,DavidMorgan,CEOofWestpacBank inAustralia,spendsuptotwentydayseachyearmeetingwithvariousgroupsofhistop800people,40atatime.“It’sasessionwheretheygivemefeedback,”Morgantoldus.“Iwanttoknowhowitreallyis.Ifitwasevertruethatsomeonesittinginanisolatedcornerofficecouldrunthisbusiness,it’snottruetoday.Thegreatestriskisbeingoutoftouchwithwhat’sgoingon.”

For such feedback sessions to be useful, the leader must be open toeverything—badnewsaswellasgood.“Youhavetolistentosomeprettytoughstuff,”Morganadds.“ButthefirsttimeIchopsomeone’sheadofffortellingmethehardtruth, that’swhenthey’llstop talking tome.Ihave tokeepitsafeforeveryone to speak up. There’s no problemwe can’t solve if we can be openaboutit.”

Ofcourse, thedemocratic style canhave itsdrawbacks.One resultwhenaleader overrelies on this approach is exasperating, endless meetings in whichideasaremulledover,consensusremainselusive,andtheonlyvisibleoutcomeistoscheduleyetmoremeetings.Aleaderwhoputsoffcrucialdecisions,hopingto thrash out a consensual strategy, risks dithering.The cost canbe confusion

andlackofdirection,withresultingdelaysorescalatingconflicts.It almost goes without saying, of course, that seeking employees’ advice

when they’re uninformed or incompetent can lead to disaster. Similarly,consensus building is wrong-headed in times of crisis, when urgent eventsdemand on-the-spot decisions. Take the case of a CEO we observed whosecomputer company was threatened by a changing market, yet he persisted inseeking consensus about what to do. As competitors stole customers—andcustomers’ needs changed—this CEO continued to appoint committees toconsideralternativeresponses.Then,whenthemarketsuddenlyshiftedbecauseofanewtechnology,theCEOfrozeinhistracks.Beforehecouldconveneyetanothertaskforcetoconsiderthesituation,theboardreplacedhim.

WhatMakesaDemocraticLeaderThe democratic style builds on a triad of emotional intelligence abilities:

teamwork and collaboration, conflict management, and influence. The bestcommunicators are superb listeners—and listening is the key strength of thedemocratic leader. Such leaders create the sense that they truly want to hearemployees’ thoughts and concerns and that they’re available to listen.They’realsotruecollaborators,workingasteammembersratherthantop-downleaders.And they know how to quell conflict and create a sense of harmony—forinstance,repairingriftswithinthegroup.

TheEI competence of empathy also plays a role in democratic leadership,especiallywhenthegroupisstronglydiverse.Withouttheabilitytoattunetoawiderangeofpeople,aleaderwillbemorepronetomiscues.

The first four leadership styles—visionary, coaching, affiliative, anddemocratic—aresure-fireresonancebuilders.Eachhas itsownstrong,positiveimpact on the emotional climate of an organization. The last two styles—pacesetting and commanding—also have their place in a leader’s tool kit.Buteach must be used carefully and with skill if it is to have a positive impact.Whenpacesettingorcommandingleadersgotoofar,relyingonthesestylestoooften or using them recklessly, they build dissonance, not resonance—as weshallseeinthenextchapter.

CHAPTERFIVE

THEDISSONANTSTYLES

ApplywithCaution

THESPECTACULARRISEofEMC,thedatastoragesystemscompany,fromnonentity toworld leader illustrates classic entrepreneurial zeal.Foryears, thecompany’stopmanagementleditssalesforceonanintentionallyfrenziedracetooutdo thecompetition. In fact,CEOMichaelRuettgerssaid thatheselectedsalesmanagersbasedon thatdrive towin,andheattributesEMC’ssuccess totheaggressivenessofitsmarketingforce.AsoneEMCsalesexecutivetoldus,“We’relikepitbulls—butthedifferenceispitbullsletgo.”

Thattenacityreapedenormousreturns:In1995,thefirstyearEMCshippedopen-storagesystems,salesreached$200million.By1999,EMC—thecompanythat hadn’t been on anyone’s radar—was one of only four U.S. companiesearningtopratingsforshareholderreturn,salesgrowth,profitgrowth,netprofitmargin,andreturnonequity.1

Ruettgersandhismanagementteamembodythepacesettingstyleinaction:leaderswhoexpectexcellenceandexemplifyit.Thisstylecanworkextremelywell,particularlyintechnicalfields,amonghighlyskilledprofessionals,or—asatEMC—withahard-drivingsalesteam.Pacesettingmakessense,inparticular,

duringtheentrepreneurialphaseofacompany’slifecycle,whengrowth isall-important.Any time that groupmembers are all highly competent,motivated,and need little direction, the style can yield brilliant results. Given a talentedteam,thepacesettingleadergetsworkdoneontime,orevenaheadofdeadline.

Pacesetting:UseSparinglyEvenso,whilethepacesettingapproachhasitsplaceintheleader’stoolchest,itshouldbeusedsparingly,restrictedtosettingswhereittrulyworks.Thatadvicerunscounter tocommonwisdom.Afterall, thehallmarksofpacesettingsoundadmirable:Theleaderholdsandexemplifieshighstandardsforperformance.Heisobsessiveaboutdoingthingsbetterandfaster,andasksthesameofeveryone.He quickly pinpoints poor performers, demandsmore from them, and if theydon’trisetotheoccasion,rescuesthesituationhimself.

Butifappliedpoorlyorexcessively,orinthewrongsetting,thepacesettingapproachcanleaveemployeesfeelingpushedtoohardbytheleader’srelentlessdemands.Andsincepacesetterstendtobeunclearaboutguidelines—expectingpeople to“justknowwhat todo”—followersoftenhave to second-guesswhatthe leader wants. The result is that morale plummets as employees see theirleaderasdrivingthemtoohard—orworse,feeltheleaderdoesn’ttrustthemtogetthejobdoneintheirownway.What’smore,pacesetterscanbesofocusedontheir goals that they can appear not to care about the people they rely on toachievethosegoals.Thenetresultisdissonance.

Ourdata show that,moreoften thannot,pacesettingpoisons theclimate—particularlybecauseoftheemotionalcostswhenaleaderreliesonittoomuch.Essentially,thepacesetter’sdilemmaisthis:Themorepressureputonpeopleforresults,themoreanxietyitprovokes.Althoughmoderatepressurecanenergizepeople—the challenge of meeting a deadline, for instance—continued highpressure can be debilitating.As people shift away from pursuing an inspiringvision, pure survival issues take hold. The pressure constricts their talent forinnovativethinking.Althoughpacesettersmaygetcompliance—andthereforeashort-termupwardblip in results—theydon’tget trueperformance thatpeoplewillsustain.

Take,forexample,anexecutivewe’llcallSam.Academically,Sam’scareerbegan brilliantly; he graduated at the top of his class. Then, as an R&Dbiochemist at a large pharmaceutical company, his superb technical expertisemade him an early star:Hewas the one everyone else turned to for technical

advice.Drivenbyhighstandardsofexcellenceandachievement,hewasalmostobsessiveinhissearchforbetterwaystodohisjob.

When he was appointed to head a team developing a new product, Samcontinuedtoshine,andhisteammateswere,byandlarge,ascompetentandself-motivated as their new head. Sam’smétier as team leader became setting thepace, working late, and offering himself as a model of how to do first-classscientificworkundertremendousdeadlinepressure.Histeamcompleteditstaskinrecordtime.

ButwhenSamwaspickedtoheadR&Dforhisentiredivision,hebegantoslip. His tasks had shifted to the larger mission of leadership—articulating avision,delegatingresponsibility,andhelpingtodeveloppeople—butSamdidn’ttrust that his subordinates were as capable as he was. He often refused todelegaterealpower,becomingamicromanagerwhowasobsessedwithdetails,takingoverforotherswhentheirperformanceslackenedratherthantrustingtheycould improve with guidance. Finally, at his own boss’s suggestion—and toSam’srelief—hereturnedtohisoldjobasheadofaproductdevelopmentteam.

Sam’sstorydemonstratestheclassicsignsofapacesetter:exceptionallyhighstandardsofexcellence,impatiencewithpoorperformance,aneagernesstorolluphissleevestogetthejobdone,andareadinesstotakeoverforpeoplewhentheyget intodifficulties.This isnot to say that thepacesettingapproachcan’tworkwell.Itcan—butonlyintherightsituations,namely,whenemployeesareself-motivated,highlycompetent,andneedlittledirection.

EffectivePacesetting:TheIngredientsWhat does it take to be a successful pacesetting leader? The emotional

intelligence foundation of this style lies in the drive to achieve by continuallyfindingways to improveperformance—alongwitha largedoseof initiative inseizing opportunities. The achievement competencemeans pacesetting leadersstrivetolearnnewapproachesthatwillraisetheirownperformanceandthatofthose they lead. It also means these leaders are motivated not by externalrewards,suchasmoneyortitles,butratherbyastrongneedtomeettheirownhighstandardsofexcellence.Pacesettingalsorequiresinitiative,thego-getter’sreadiness to seize or create opportunities to do better. But if it arises in theabsenceofothercrucialEIcompetencies,thisdrivetoachievecangoawry.Theabsence of empathy, for example, means such leaders can blithely focus onaccomplishingtaskswhileremainingoblivioustotherisingdistressinthosewhoperformthem.Similarly,anabsenceofself-awarenessleavespacesettersblindto

theirownfailings.Othercompetenciessuchleadersoftenlackincludetheabilitiestocollaborate

or communicate effectively (particularly the knack for providing timely andhelpful performance feedback). The most glaring lack is emotional self-management,adeficitthatmanifestsaseithermicromanagingorimpatience—orworse.

By and large, pacesetting can work well in tandem with other leadershipstyles such as the passion of the visionary style and the team building of theaffiliative style. Themost common problemswith pacesetters emergewhen astar“techie”getspromotedtomanagement,ashappenedinourexampleofSam,thegiftedbiochemistwhofailedasheadofresearch.Infact,Samexhibitedtheclassic symptomsof thePeterPrinciple,promotedbeyondhiscompetence.Hehadallthetechnicalskillsheneededforhisoldposition,buttoonarrowasliceof the leadershiponesheneeded forhisnewone.Sohebecamea leaderwhotakes over for peoplewhen they falter,who can’t delegate because he doesn’ttrustthatotherscanperformaswellashe,andwhoisalltooquicktocondemnpoorperformancebutstintsonpraiseforworkwelldone.AnothersignofPeterPrinciplepacesettersisthattheyexcelatthetechnicalaspectsoftheworktheymanagebutdisdainthecooperativebentthatleadershipdemands.

When leaders use the pacesetting style exclusively or poorly, they lacknotjust vision, but also resonance.Toooften, such leaders are drivenbynumbersalone—whicharen’talwaysenoughtoinspireormotivatepeople.

DoItBecauseISaySo:LeadingbyCommandThecomputercompanywashemorrhaging:Salesandprofitswerefalling,stockwas losingvalueprecipitously, and shareholderswere in anuproar.Theboardbrought in a newCEOwith a reputation as a turnaround artist, and he set towork chopping jobs, selling off divisions, and making the tough, unpopulardecisionsthatshouldhavebeenexecutedyearsbefore.

Intheend,thecompanywassaved—atleastintheshortterm—butatahighprice.Fromthestart,theCEOcreatedareignofterror,mostacutelyamonghisdirect reports. A modern-day Genghis Khan, he bullied and demeaned hisexecutives, roaring his displeasure at the least misstep. Frightened by histendencyto“murder”thebearerofbadnews,hisdirectreportsstoppedbringinghimanynewsatall.Soonhistoptalentdefected—andtheCEOfiredmanywhoremained.Throughoutthecompany,moralewasnonexistent,afactreflectedin

anotherdownturn in thebusiness after the short-term recovery.Eventually, theCEOwasfiredbytheboardofdirectors.

Tobesure, thebusinessworld is rifewithcoercive leaderswhosenegativeimpacton those they leadhasyet tocatchupwith them.For instance,whenamajorhospitalsystemwaslosingmoney,theboardhiredanewpresidenttoturnthebusiness around—and the effectwas disastrous.As one physician told us,“Hecutbackstaffmercilessly,especiallyinnursing.Thehospital lookedmoreprofitable, but itwasdangerouslyunderstaffed.We just couldn’t keepupwithpatientdemand,andeveryonefeltdemoralized.”

No surprise, then, that patient-satisfaction ratings plummeted. When thehospitalbegantolosemarketsharetoitscompetition,thepresidentgrudginglyrehiredmanyof thepeoplehe’d fired.“But to thisdayhe’sneveradmittedhewastooruthless,”thephysicianreported,“andhecontinuestomanagebythreatand intimidation. The nurses are back, but morale is not. Meanwhile, thepresidentcomplainsaboutpatient-satisfactionnumbers—butfailstoseethathe’spartoftheproblem.”

TheCommandingStyleinActionWhatdoes thecommandingapproach—sometimescalled thecoercive style

—look like in action?With amotto of “Do it because I say so,” such leadersdemand immediate compliance with orders, but don’t bother explaining thereasonsbehindthem.Ifsubordinatesfailtofollowtheirordersunquestioningly,theseleadersresorttothreats.And,ratherthandelegateauthority,theyseektightcontrol of any situation and monitor it studiously. Accordingly, performancefeedback—ifgivenatall—invariablyfocusesonwhatpeopledidwrongratherthanwhattheydidwell.Inshort,it’saclassicrecipefordissonance.

Notsurprisingly,ofalltheleadershipstyles,thecommandingapproachistheleasteffectiveinmostsituations,accordingtoourdata.Considerwhatthestyledoestoanorganization’sclimate.Giventhatemotionalcontagionspreadsmostreadilyfromthetopdown,anintimidating,coldleadercontaminateseveryone’smood, and the quality of the overall climate spirals down. And althoughsomeone like the coercive hospital CEO might not perceive a connectionbetweenhisleadershipstyleandthedownwarddirectionofpatientsatisfaction,the linksare there.His interactionswithnurses anddoctors spoil theirmoods,and they in turn are less able to exhibit the cheery playfulness that lifts themoodsofpatientsandmakesallthedifferenceinhowpatientsexperiencetheirmedicalcare.

By rarely using praise and freely criticizing employees, the commandingleader erodes people’s spirits and the pride and satisfaction they take in theirwork—the very things that motivate most high-performing workers.Accordingly,thestyleunderminesacriticaltoolthatallleadersneed:theabilitytogivepeoplethesensethattheirjobfitsintoagrand,sharedmission.Instead,peopleare leftfeelinglesscommitted,evenalienatedfromtheirownjobs,andwondering,Howdoesanyofthismatter?

In spite of its many negative effects, however, coercive leaders thrive theworld over in surprisingly large numbers, a legacy of the old command-and-controlhierarchiesthattypifiedtwentieth-centurybusinesses.Suchorganizationsadoptedamilitarymodelofleadership(topdown,“Iorderyou”)thatreallywasmostappropriatetothebattlefield.Yetevenintoday’smoremodernizedmilitaryorganizations,thecommandingstyleisbalancedbyotherstylesintheinterestsofbuildingcommitment,espritdecorps,andteamwork.

The medical community offers another example. In America today manymedical organizations face a crisis of leadership inpart because thecultureofmedicinehas favoredpacesetting and commanding styles.These styles are, ofcourse, appropriate in, say, the operating or the emergency rooms. But theirpredominance means that many medical people who rise to positions ofleadershiphavehadtoofewchancestolearnafullerrepertoireofstyles.

In most modern organizations, then, the “do-it-because-I-say-so” boss hasbecomeadinosaur.AsoneCEOofatechnologycompanyputit,“Youcanbeatpeopleintothegroundandmakemoney,butisthatcompanygoingtolast?”

WhenCommandingWorksDespiteitsnegativeinclinations,thecommand-and-controlstylecanholdan

importantplaceintheEIleader’srepertoirewhenusedjudiciously.Forexample,leaders managing a business crisis such as an urgent turnaround can find thecommandingstyleparticularlyeffective—especiallyatfirst—tounfreezeuselessbusiness habits and shock people into new ways of doing things. Similarly,during a genuine emergency, such as a fire in the building or an approachinghurricane—orwhenfacingahostiletakeover—leaderswithatake-controlstylecan help everyone through the tumult.Moreover,when all else has failed, thestylesometimesworkswhendealingwithproblememployees.

Oneexecutive inour researchused thecommanding styleartfullywhenhewasbrought inasdivisionpresident tochangethedirectionofamoney-losingfood company. He began by acting forcefully in his first weeks to signal the

changeshemeanttoengineer.Forexample,thetopmanagementteammetregularlyinaveryformal,rather

intimidatingconferenceroomandsatingiganticchairsaroundamarble-coveredtable that “looked like thedeckof theStarshipEnterprise” from the televisionshow Star Trek, as the new division president put it. The distances betweenpeople stifled spontaneous talk, and themeetings themselveswerestilted—noonedaringtoeverrocktheboat.Inshort, theconferenceroomsymbolizedthelackofdialogueandtruecollaborationamongtheseniormanagementteam.Tosignalashift towardopenness, thenewpresidenthad theroomdemolished—aclear command-style move—with positive effects. From that moment on, themanagement team met in an ordinary conference room, “where people canactuallytalktoeachother,”asthenewpresidentputit.

Heusedthesameapproachregardingasetofverydetaileddecision-makingmanuals that specifiedwho had to concur before amanagement decisionwasmade. The new caveat: no more manuals and endless paper passing. “I wantpeopletotalktoeachother,”thepresidentexplainedtous.“Anyonewhoneedsto can come to the executive committee meeting to tell us, ‘here’s what I’mworkingon—Ineedyourhelpandideas.’Iwantustobemoreofaresourcetopeoplethanmerelyarubberstamp.”

Insendingthesemessages,thenewpresidentwasforcefulandstrong.Buthisstrong tactics worked because he attacked the old culture—not the people. Infact,hemadeitclearthathevaluedtheirtalentsandabilities;itwastheirwayofdoingthingsthathefeltneededtochangedramatically.

WhatItTakesSuch an effective execution of the commanding style draws on three

emotional intelligence competencies: influence, achievement, and initiative.And, aswith the pacesetting style, self-awareness, emotional self-control, andempathy are crucial to keep the commanding style from going off track. Thedrivetoachievemeansaleaderexertsforcefuldirectionintheserviceofgettingbetterresults.Initiative,inthecommandingstyle,oftentakestheformnotjustofseizing opportunities, but also of employing an unhesitating “command” tone,issuingordersonthespotratherthanpausingtoponderacourseofaction.Thecommanding leader’s initiative also shows up as not waiting for situations todrivehim,buttakingforcefulstepstogetthingsdone.

Perhaps most important in the skillful execution of this style is emotionalself-control.Thisallowstheleadertokeephisangerandimpatienceincheck—

oreventousehisangerinanartfullychanneledoutburstdesignedtogetinstantattentionandmobilizepeopletochangeorgetresults.Whenaleaderlackstheself-awareness thatwould enable the required emotional self-control—perhapsthemostcommonfailinginleaderswhoemploythisstylepoorly—thedangersof the commanding style are greatest. Coercive leaders who display not justangerbutalsodisgustorcontemptcanhaveadevastatingemotionalimpactontheirpeople.

Evenworse,ifaleader’sout-of-controloutburstsgohandinhandwithalackofempathy—anemotional tonedeafness—thestyle runsamok:Thedictatorialleader barks orders, oblivious to the reactions of people on the receiving end.Executingthecommandingstyleeffectively,therefore,requirestheleader“tobeangrywiththerightperson,intherightway,attherighttime,andfortherightreason,”asAristotleputit.

Thatsaid, thecommandingstyleshouldbeusedonlywithextremecaution,targetedatsituationsinwhichitisabsolutelyimperative,suchasaturnaroundorimpendinghostiletakeover.Ifaleaderknowswhenconditionsdemandastronghandatthe top—andwhentodropit—thenthatskillful firmnesscanbe tonic.Butiftheonlytoolinaleader’skitisachainsaw,he’llleaveanorganizationinshambles.

TheSOBParadoxDespite the evidence that unduly commanding (orpacesetting)bosses create adisastrousdissonance,everyonecannamearude,hard-hittingCEOwho,byallappearances, epitomizes the antithesis of resonance yet seems to reap greatbusinessresults.Ifemotional intelligencematterssomuch,howdoweexplainthosemean-spiritedSOBs?

First, let’s take a closer look at those SOBs. Just because a particularexecutiveisthemostvisible,ishethepersonwhoactuallyleadsthecompany?ACEOwhoheadsaconglomeratemayhavenofollowerstospeakof;rather,it’sthe division heads who actively lead people and affect profitability most. It’sbeensaidthatBillGatesandhiscompany,Microsoft,runinthiskindoffashion.He can be an effective pacesetter because his direct reports are technicallybrilliant, self-motivated, and driven. In turn, his direct reports tend to employresonantleadershipstyleswithintheirowndivisions,wheresucharepertoireisamusttofostertheteamworkthecompanydependsonforresults.

Then there are leaders whose success rests on an illusion, such as a high

marketcapitalizationortoo-drasticrestructuring,thathidesaruinousturnoverofkey people that will cost the company severely in the future. Often, thoseexecutivesturnouttobeego-drivennarcissistswhoareactuallyterribleleaders.

Take, for example, Al Dunlap, who boasted in his autobiography, MeanBusiness, that his leadership as CEO of Scott Paper would “go down in theannalsofAmericanbusinesshistoryasoneof themostsuccessful turnaroundsever.” Although Dunlap exalted toughness, even meanness, as a tool ofleadership while he fired thousands of employees, later analyses saw hiscutbacksastooexcessive,damagingthecompany’sabilitytodobusiness.Andhisapparentshort-termsuccesses,atleastinhissubsequentpositionatSunbeam,seem due to other tactics: Within two years after being fired as CEO ofSunbeam, Dunlap and other executives were indicted by the Securities andExchange Commission on a charge of “orchestrating a fraudulent scheme tocreatetheillusionofasuccessfulrestructuringofSunbeamandfacilitatethesaleofthecompanyataninflatedprice.”2

Leaderswithsuchgargantuanegos typicallyhaveablinder-likefixationonimmediate financial goals, without any regard for the long-term human ororganizationalcostsofhowtheyachievethosegoals.3Andtoooften,aswithAlDunlap, the companies they leave behind may show all the signs of steroidabuse: pumped up for an intense period to show high profitability, but at theexpense of the long-term human and economic resources essential to sustainthoseprofits.4

Finally, the boss in question might have one or two highly noticeableweaknessesinEIabilities,whilestillhavingenoughcounterbalancingstrengthstobeeffective.Inotherwords,noleaderisperfect,nordoesheneedtobe.Ouridealizationsofleaderscanleadustosetunreasonablestandards,wantingthemtobeparagonsofeveryvirtue.

WhenexaminingtheSOBquestion,weneedtoconsideraswellwhethertheleaderhasimportantstrengthsthatcounterbalancethecausticbehaviorbut thatmightnotgetasmuchattention in thebusinesspress. InhisearlydaysatGE,Jack Welch exhibited a strong hand at the helm as he undertook a radicalcompanyturnaround.Atthattimeandinthatsituation,hisfirm,top-downstylewasappropriate.WhatgotlesspresswashowWelchinsubsequentyearssettledintoamoreclearlyEIleadershipstyle,especiallyinarticulatinganewvisionforthecompanyandmobilizingpeopletofollowit.

ClearingAwaytheSmokeInshort, it’sall tooeasyforaskeptic tomakeaspeciousargumentagainst

theutilityofEIbytellingananecdoteabouta“roughandtough”leaderwhosebusiness results seemgooddespite his abrasiveness.Such a naïve argument—thatgreatleaderssucceedbybeingmean-spiritedandruthless(orinspiteofit)—canbemadeonlyintheabsenceofharddataaboutwhatkindsof leadershiptrulygetsresults.

Ascientificstudyofleadersbeginsbyclearingawaythesmoke,levelingtheplaying field tomake systematic comparisons.Suchobjectivemethodscontrolforthefalseortransientsuccessesamean-spiritedleadermayseemtobeabletoclaimcreditforbutwhichareactuallydue,say,totheluckofanentireindustry’shigh-growthperiodortosuchshort-termmaneuversascutbacksorfiddlingwithaccountingmethods.

In a rare spirit of open inquiry, for instance, a trade association of U.S.insurancecompaniescommissionedastudyoftheleadershipqualitiesofCEOsand the business performance of the companies they led. A research teamtracked the financial results achieved by nineteen CEOs of major insurancecompaniesandsplit theminto twogroups—“outstanding”and“good”—onthebasisofmeasuressuchas theircompany’sprofitandgrowth.5Then the teamconducted intensive interviews to assess the capabilities that distinguished theoutstanding CEOs from those who merely did a good enough job. The teamevaluatedeachCEO,andalsosoughtcandid(andconfidential)evaluationsfromtheirdirectreports.

The singular talent that set the most successful CEOs apart from othersturnedouttobeacriticalmassofemotionalintelligencecompetencies.ThemostsuccessfulCEOsspentmore timecoaching their seniorexecutives,developingthemas collaborators, andcultivatingpersonal relationshipswith them.Of theabilitiesconspicuouslyabsentintheSOB-styleleader,ofcourse,highonthelistareempathy,artfulcollaboration,andcaringaboutdevelopingthebestinpeople.Moreover, when the company’s CEO exhibited EI strengths, profits andsustainedgrowthwerehighest—significantlyhigher than for companieswhereCEOslackedthosestrengths.

WhoWantstoWorkforanSOB?Another little secret about those SOBs: They drive away talent. The best

people inanyfield—thetalentedfewwhocontributegreatestbusinessvalue—

simply don’t have to put upwith themisery perpetuated by a bad boss.And,increasingly,theyleaveforother jobs.Thenumberonereason thatpeopleciteforquittingisdissatisfactionwiththeboss.Inatightlabormarket,whenpeoplehave theability toget anequivalent jobeasily, thosewithbadbossesare fourtimesmore likely to leave thanare thosewhoappreciate the leader theyworkfor.6

Indeed, interviews with 2 million employees at 700 American companiesfoundthatwhatdetermineshowlongemployeesstay—andhowproductivetheyare—isthequalityoftheirrelationshipwiththeirimmediateboss.“Peoplejoincompanies and leavemanagers,” observesMarcus Buckingham of the GallupOrganization,whoanalyzedthedata.

The conclusion from the data seems all too clear: The SOB leader mustreformorgo.

TheBusinessImpactofFlexibleStylesBy expanding their repertoire of leadership abilities, dissonant leaders canindeedreform.RememberthatHarvardprofessorDavidMcClellandfoundthatleaderswith strengths in a criticalmass of six ormore EI leadership abilitieswerefarmoreeffectivethanpeerswholackedsuchstrengths.7Healsofoundthatvariouskindsofstarleadersfosteredresonancefromuniquelydifferentsetsof leadershipcompetencies.Forexample,one leadermight excel through self-confidence,flexibility,initiative,thedrivetoachieve,empathy,andaknackfordevelopingthetalentsofothers,whereasanotherleader’sstrengthsmightbeinself-awareness,integrity,stayingcalmunderpressure,organizationalawareness,influence,andcollaboration.

Having a larger repertoire of emotional intelligence strengths can make aleadermoreeffectivebecause itmeans that leader is flexibleenough tohandlethe wide-ranging demands of running an organization. Each style draws ondifferentemotionalintelligenceabilities;thebestleadersareabletousetherightapproach in the rightmoment, and flip fromone to another asneeded.Peoplewholacktheunderlyingabilitieshaveanarrowedleadershiprepertoire,andsoare toooftenstuck relyingona style that’s illmatched to thechallengeof themoment.ConsideragainthatstudyofnineteenCEOsintheAmericaninsuranceindustry. The research, as we saw, found that the most successful companieswere ledbyCEOswithacriticalmassofemotional intelligencecapabilities—

such as the drive to improve, an ability to catalyze change, the capacity forempathy, anda talent fordevelopingother leaders.But that researchwentonestepfurther:TheresearchteamaskedkeyemployeeswhatitwasliketoworkatthecompaniesthesenineteenCEOsled,focusingonareasthatdirectlyaffectedpeople’sabilitytodotheirjobswell—notjusthow“satisfied”theywere.

TherewasamarkeddifferencebetweenthefeeloforganizationsledbythoseCEOswhosebusinessresultswereoutstandingandthosewhohadlesssterlingresults. The organizations led by the outstanding CEOs did better on everymeasureofclimate,fromclarity incommunicatingstandards tomakingpeoplefeelflexibleandfreetoinnovateingettingtheirjobsdone.Thehigh-performingCEOsencouragedworkers to feelownershipand responsibility for theirwork,theysethigherperformancestandards,andtheymobilizedpeopletomeetmoredemanding“stretch”goals.Inshort,theseCEOscreatedaclimatewherepeoplefeltenergized and focused, hadpride in theirwork, lovedwhat theydid—andstuckaround.

Leadership drives performance in organizations of every kind—not justbusinesses.IntheUnitedKingdom,thegovernmentcommissionedastudythatanalyzed leadership styles in forty-two schools and discovered the styles thatdrove students’ academicachievement.8 In69percentof thehigh-performingschools, the school’s headmaster exhibited four or more resonance-buildingleadershipstylesasneeded.Butintwo-thirdsofthelow-performingschools,theheadreliedonjustoneor twoleadershipstyles—typicallydissonantones.Thehidden link was climate: When school leaders were flexible in their stylerepertoire—able to take a teacher aside for a one-on-one, or to articulateinspiring goals for the whole group, or to just listen, as needed—the climateamongteacherswasmostpositive.Whentheleader’sstylewasrigid—stuckinthecommand-and-controlmode—teachersweremostdemoralized.

Themoreofthesixstylesaleadercandeploy,then,thebetter.Leaderswhohavemasteredfourormore,ourdatasuggest—especiallytheresonance-buildingstyles—foster theverybestclimateandbusinessperformance.Moreover, styleswitchingwasusedbothbyseasonedveterans,whocouldexplainexactlyhowandwhytheyled,andbyentrepreneurswhoclaimedtheyledby“gut”alone.

Considerhowsuchfluidleadershiplooksinaction.

LeadingwithStyle—TheRightOneattheRightTimeJoan,thegeneralmanagerofamajordivisionataglobalfoodandbeverage

company, was appointed to her job while the division was in deep crisis. Ithadn’tmadeitsprofittargetsforsixyears,mostrecentlymissingby$50million.Morale among topmanagementwasmiserable;mistrust and resentmentswererampant.Joan’sdirectivefromabovewasclear:Turnthedivisionaround.

Joandidsowithanimblenessinswitchingamongstylesthatwefindmarksthe performance of star leaders. From the start, she realized she had a smallwindowtodemonstrateeffectiveleadershipandtoestablishrapportandtrust—and that she urgently needed to learn aboutwhatwasn’tworking.During herfirstweekonthejob,therefore,shehadlunchanddinnermeetingsonebyonewith each member of the management team. Joan sought each person’sunderstanding of the current situation from a business and organizationalstandpoint.Butherfocuswasnotsomuchonhowagivenmanagerdiagnosedtheproblemsasongettingtoknoweachasaperson.Employingtheaffiliativestyle,sheexploredtheirlives,theirdreams,andaspirations.

Shealsosteppedintothecoachingrole,lookingforwaysshecouldhelpeachgetwhattheysoughtforhisorhercareer.Forinstance,onemanagerwhooftenreceivedfeedbackthathewasapoorteamplayerconfidedhisworriestoher.Hefelt he was actually a good team member, but was plagued by persistentcomplaintsthatheknewhehadtodispelifheweretosucceedatthecompany.Recognizing that this was a talented executive and a valuable asset to thecompany, Joanmadeanagreementwithhim topointoutwaysheunderminedhisteamabilities.Shesensedthathecouldsometimesbeabrasive,inadvertentlysayingsomethingthatwouldangersomeone—andshepromisedshewouldtakehimasideafterameetingwhereshesawthishappen, tohelphimgetbetteratrecognizingthebehaviorhimself.

Joan then followed up these one-on-one meetings with a three-day offsitemeetingforthemanagementteam.Hergoalwasteambuilding,sothateveryonewould own whatever solution emerged for the business problems. Using aninitialstanceofthedemocraticleader,sheencouragedeverybodytoexpresstheirfrustrations and complaints freely in, as she put it, a “kind of cleansing ofeverythingthat’swrong.”

Thenextday, Joan felt thegroupwas ready to focuson solutions, and sheaskedeachpersontoproposethreespecificideasaboutwhatshouldbedone.AsJoanclusteredthesuggestions,anaturalconsensusemergedaboutprioritiesforthebusiness,such as cutting costs.As the group cameupwith specific actionplansforeachpriority,Joangotthecommitmentandbuy-inshesought.

Withthatvisionforthefutureinplace,Joanshiftedintothevisionarystyle,

assigning accountability for each follow-up step to specific executives andholding them responsible for their accomplishment. For example, the divisionhad been dropping prices on products but getting no increase in volume; oneobvioussolutionwastoraisepricesabit.Thepreviousvicepresidentforsaleshad dithered, letting the problem fester; the new sales vice president nowhadspecificresponsibilitytoadjustthepricepointstofixtheproblem.

Overthefollowingmonths,Joancontinuedtoleadmainlywiththevisionarystyle, continually articulating thegroup’s newmission in away that remindedeachpersonofhowcrucialheorshewastoachievingit.Still,especiallyduringthefirstfewweekswhentheplanwasputinplace,Joanfeltthattheurgencyofthebusinesscrisisjustifiedanoccasionalshiftintothecommandingstyleshouldsomeonefailtomeethisorherresponsibility.Assheputit,“Ihadtobebrutalaboutthisfollow-uponwhatwehadtodo.Itwasgoingtotakedisciplineandfocus.”

Sevenmonths later,whenour research team interviewed Joan, thedivisionwas $5million dollars ahead of its yearly profit target—up from lagging $50milliontheyearbeforeJoansteppedin.Itwasthefirsttimethedivisionhadmetitstargetinfiveyears.

TheRightToolsfortheJobHowdoyouknowwhentoapplywhichleadershipstyle?Themostresonantleadersgobeyondamechanicalprocessofmatchingtheir

styles tofitachecklistofsituations; theyarefarmorefluid.Theyscanpeopleindividuallyandingroups,readingcuesinthemomentthattipthemtotherightleadershipneed,andtheyadjusttheirstyleonadime.Thismeanstheycanapplynot just the four sure-fire resonance-building styles, but also be pacesetters oreven exhibit the positive side of the commanding style—with strong, urgentdirection—asappropriate.Butwhen they lead through thesemore riskystyles,theydosowith therequisitedoseofself-disciplineso that theyavoidcreatingdissonancebyactingwithangerorimpatienceorbygivingintotheimpulsetoattackcharacter.Asaresult,theseleadersnotonlygetperformanceresults,butalsobuildcommitmentandenthusiasminthosetheylead.

Giventhecrucialimportanceforeffectiveleadershipofawiderepertoireofleadership styles, one immediate lesson applies to hiring, promotions, andsuccessionplanning.Simplyput,whenitcomestofillingaleadershipposition,itpaystofindsomeonewhohastheflexiblerepertoireoffourormorestylesthatmarks themostoutstanding leader.Failing that,askwhether thepersonyou’re

consideringforagivenleadershipslotatleasthasmasteredthespecificstyleorstylesthataremostobviouslysalienttoyourbusinessreality.

Forexample,aleaderrequiredforaturnaroundneedstheskillsofavisionary—the ability to articulate a new vision that will drive change. If the positiondemands emergency steps, such as quick and radical surgery of incompetentpeople,thepersonwillneedtostepintothecommandingstyleforthetimebeing—and then stepout again.When thebusinessneed requiresgettingconsensusfromemployees,buildingcommitment,orjustgeneratingnewideas,thepersonwill need to leaddemocratically. Ifwhat’s required is simplyguidingahighlycompetentandself-motivatedteam—sayoflawyersorresearchpharmacologists—theleader’srepertoireshouldincludejudicioususeofthepacesettingstyle.

Whatevera leader’s repertoireofstyles today, itcangrowwider tomorrow.Thekeyliesinstrengtheningtheunderlyingemotionalintelligenceabilitiesthatdriveagivenstyle.Leadershipis learnable—asweshallseeinthenextpartofthisbook.Theprocess isnoteasy. It takes timeand,mostofall,commitment.But the benefits that flow from leadership with a well-developed emotionalintelligence, both for the individual and the organization, make it not onlyworthwhilebutinvigorating.

PARTTWO

MAKINGLEADERS

CHAPTERSIX

BECOMINGARESONANTLEADER

TheFiveDiscoveries

THEENTIRETOPTEAMoftheretailchainwasinflux—movingup,down,or out as the company struggled to reinvent itself.Not surprisingly, therewasmore than theusualamountof intrigue,political jostling,andevensubterfuge.AndBill,thehumanresourcesmanager,wassmackinthemiddleofit,involvinghimself ineveryconversationanddebate.Hemadesurehe leteveryoneknowwhathethought—andthoughtthatheknew—settinghimselfupas“theguyintheknow.”

SomeofthetopteamwentalongwithBill’shighlydevelopedsenseofself-importance, humoring him because it served their own purposes. Others justavoidedhim.Then,atonepointinthemiddleofthetransitiondebacle,theboardaskedaprominent,butcoercive,executivecommitteemembertostepdown—anupsettingeventforthewholeteam.Billrespondedbyanalyzingthesituationadnauseumwithanyonewhowouldlisten.Hecastaspersionsandspreadrumors.When his boss got wind of one of these conversations, he was heard to sayruefully,“Billisignoranceonfire.”

Yet neither that boss nor any other member of top management had ever

taken Bill aside and offered him an honest assessment of his behavior—something thatwouldhavehelpedhimbegin to improve.Meanwhile,Bill sawhimself as the “go-toguy”anda respectedmemberof the team.Notknowinghowtoreadhiscomplexenvironment,letalonemanagehimselfinit,Bill’slackof self-awareness was matched only by his spectacular deficit in politicalawarenessandempathy.

Howcanahigh-levelleaderlikeBillbesooutoftouchwiththetruthabouthimself?It’smorecommonthanyouwouldimagine.In fact, thehigherup theladderaleaderclimbs,thelessaccuratehisself-assessmentislikelytobe.Theproblem is anacute lackof feedback, aswas the casewithBill.Leadershavemore trouble than anybody else when it comes to receiving candid feedback,particularly about how they’re doingas leaders.More specifically—given theclear contribution of emotional intelligence to outstanding leadership—leadersneedtoknowwheretheycanimproveontheEIcompetencies.Bill’sspreadingofrumorsgeneratedtensionintheorganization,whilehisexcessiveanalysiswasboring.Aresultwasthatpeopledidnottakehimseriously.

The paradox, of course, is that the higher a leader’s position in anorganization,themorecriticallytheleaderneedsthatverykindoffeedback.

CEODisease“IsooftenfeelI’mnotgettingthetruth,”theCEOofaEuropeancompanytoldus.“Icanneverputmyfingeronit,becausenooneisactuallylyingtome.ButIcan sense that people are hiding information, or camouflaging key facts so Iwon’tnotice.Theyaren’tlying,butneitheraretheytellingmeeverythingIneedtoknow.I’malwayssecondguessing.”

ThisisaclearcaseofCEOdisease:theinformationvacuumaroundaleadercreatedwhenpeoplewithholdimportant(andusuallyunpleasant)information.1Whyareleadersdeniedaccurateinformationaboutvitalmatters?Sometimesthepeoplewhoshouldprovidethefactsfeartheleader’swrath—particularlywhenthe leader’smain style is commanding or pacesetting. Anyone delivering badnewstosuchaleadercouldbesymbolicallyexecutedforbeingthemessenger.Some offer the leader only positive information as a way of being a “goodcitizen” or teamplayer—or for fear of seeming a blasphemous heretic if theyspokeagainstthepartyline.Ortheymayjustwanttobeseenasupbeat,andsotheysuppressnegativefacts.

Whateverthemotives,theresultisaleaderwhohasonlypartialinformationabout what’s going on around him. This disease can be epidemic in anorganization—not just amongCEOs,but also formosthigh-level leaders. It isfedbythenaturalinstincttopleasetheboss,resultinginawidespreadtendencytogivepositivefeedbackandwithholdthenegativewheneverinformationflowsupward.

Whenitcomestoleadersreceivinghelpfulfeedbackspecificallyabouttheirown performance, the problemworsens. Itmay take a small act of courage toconfront thebosswithbadnews about the company, but you have to be evenbravertoletthebossknowhe’soutoftouchwithhowpeoplearefeeling,orthathis“inspiring”talksfallflat.

Ofcourse,manypeople—not just leaders—complain that theyget too littleusefulperformancefeedback.But topexecutives typicallyget theleastreliableinformationabouthowtheyaredoing.Forinstance,ananalysisof177separatestudies that assessed more than 28,000 managers found that feedback onperformance became less consistent the higher the manager’s position or themore complex the manager’s role. 2 The problem is compounded for leaderswho are women or belong to aminority. 3Women, in general, get even lessusefulfeedbackontheirperformanceinanyposition—asaleaderorotherwise—than do men. The same is true for members of visible minority groups,whethertheybeChinesemanagersinMalaysiaorSikhexecutivesinLondon.

Peopledeprivetheirco-workers—whetherbossesorsubordinates—ofhonestperformance feedback for several reasons, chief of which is that it can beuncomfortabletogivesuchfeedback.We’reafraidofhurtingothers’feelingsorotherwiseupsettingthem.Yet,whilewetendtokeepthetruthabouthowothersare actually doing to ourselves (oddly, not just the negatives, but also thepositives), all of us generally crave that kind of appraisal. Candid evaluationsmatterdeeply,inawaythatotherinformationdoesnot.

CanEveryoneBeBetterThanAverage?Butwhat about the role of self-assessment in theCEO disease?Without a

doubt, a leader’s self-awareness and ability to accurately perceive hisperformanceisasimportantasthefeedbackhereceivesfromothers.Yetthereinliesperhapsthemostperniciousstrainoftheillness:Whilemostpeopletendtooverestimatetheirownabilitiestosomeextent,it’stheverypoorestperformerswho exaggerate their abilities themost. 4 This all-too-human foible can have

greatconsequences,notjustforleaders,butalsoforthecompaniestheylead.For instance,astudyofCEOsofhealthservicescompaniesbyEricHarter,

CEOofHealthCarePartnersinLexington,Kentucky,foundthatself-awarenessofleadershipabilitieswasgreatestforCEOsof thebest-performingcompaniesandpoorestforCEOsoftheworstperformers.5Harter,aCEOwithascholarlybent, went to graduate school to research the qualities that separate the mosteffectiveexecutivesintoppositionsfromtheleasteffective.HestudiedCEOsofhealth services companies that showed ten years of positive financialperformance (measured by balance sheet results and return on equity) andcompared them with their peers at companies with negative financialperformanceformanyofthesametenyears.

Focusing on levels of self-awareness, he compared the CEOs’ ownassessments of their performance on ten leadership abilities with assessmentstheir subordinates made of the leaders on those same abilities (including, forexample, self-confidenceandempathy).Tellingly, theCEOs from the poorest-performingcompaniesgave themselves thehighest ratingson sevenof the tenleadership abilities. But the pattern reversed when it came to how theirsubordinates rated them:Theygave theseCEOs low ratingson thevery sameabilities.Ontheotherhand,subordinatessawtheCEOsofthebest-performingcompaniesasdemonstratingalltenoftheseleadershipabilitiesmostoften.

Harter’sdata fitourownfindingson787people, inpositionsrangingfromlowtohighlevels,inawidevarietyoforganizations.6Whenweanalyzedthedatabyorganizationallevel,astrikingeffectemerged:High-levelexecutivesandmanagers, compared with those in the lower rungs, were more likely to ratethemselvesmoregenerouslyontwentyEIcompetenciesthanothersratedthoseleaderson thesamecompetencies.Thehigher leaderswere inanorganization,thegreatertheinflationrate—thatis,thenumberoftimestheysawthemselvesas doing better on a competence than did those around them.A result of thismisperceptionwas that thegapbetweenhowtheexecutivesandmanagerssawthemselves and how others saw them was greater for those higher in theorganization.Thoseatthehighestlevelshadtheleastaccurateviewofhowtheyactedwithothers.

Clearly, then, seeking honest information on leadership capabilities can bevitaltoaleader’sself-awarenessand,therefore,hisgrowthandeffectiveness.Sowhy don’t more top leaders solicit and encourage accurate feedback? It isn’tbecausethey’remonumentallyvainorthinkthey’reinfallible.Ourconversations

withleadersleadustobelievethatit’softenbecausetheytrulybelievethattheycan’t change. So even if they did receive good feedback about how theirleadershipstylesaffectedtheteamororganization,andeveniftheysawthetruthof that feedback, in theirhearts theywouldn’tbelieve that theycouldalter theway they’ve done things for somany years—inmany cases formost of theirlives. The parallel often appears with the people around the leader: If theybelieve the leader cannot truly change, then why go through the trouble ofofferingdistastefulandawkwardnegativefeedback?

Yet we have seen evidence that points emphatically to the contrary: Oldleaderscanlearnnewtricks.Leaderscananddomakesignificant,insomecaseslife-altering, changes in their styles that ripple into their teams and triggerimportantchangesthroughouttheentireorganization.

NurtureoverNatureNickMimken had been the star at his insurance agency, consistentlywinningawardsforhissalesmanship.Butwhenhewasmadetheheadofanagencyinanewcity,with twenty-fivesalespeopleasdirect reports,hewouldn’thavewonanyawardsforhisleadershipabilities.Hecouldseethathimselfearlyon—andheknewhecouldn’taffordtomakeamistake:Hisnewagencywasrankedinthebottom quartile of sales performance among his company’s offices across theUnitedStates.

WhenleadershipconsultantsMcBer&Company,nowtheHayGroup,beganworkingwith himwithin a fewmonths of starting his job, feedback from hissubordinatesrevealedthatMimken’ssuccessasasalesmanhadtranslatedintoapacesettingleadershipstyle.Hewasrelyingonthesamehigh-pressuredrivetoimprove results thatmade him so good at sales.But in his newoffice, it wasdemotivating his salespeople.Worse yet, when stress increased and deadlinesloomed,Mimkenslippedintousingacommandingstyle,tellingpeoplethesalestargetstheyshouldhaveinsteadofsettingrealistictargetstogether.Meanwhile,theagency’satmospherewasgrowingincreasinglytense.

As a first step, Mimken was encouraged to focus on his salespeople’sperformance, rather thanonhisown.Thatmeant findingways tohelpeachofhis reports develop themselves—in short, to use the coaching and visionaryleadership styles. Fortunately, those styles draw on many of the abilities thatMimkenalreadypossessed—thesameonesthathadmadehimsoeffectiveasasalesman—such as empathy, self-management, and inspirational leadership.

Nowheneededtolearntousethemtoleadhisstaff.Overtime,hebegantoseizeopportunitiesforone-on-onecoachingsessions

with his salespeople, which included ongoing dialogue about goals andperformance.Heworkedatmanaginghisimpulsetojumpinandtakeoverwhenhegot impatientwithasalesperson’swork,andhemadesure thathebalancedcriticismwithpositivereinforcement.Accordingly,hefoundwaystocouchtheagency’sgoalsintermsofvaluesandavisionsharedbyall.

Eighteenmonths later, therewereclear signsofprogress.Evaluations fromMimken’s subordinates showed that he had shifted his dominant styles frompacesetting and commanding to a coaching style, and he was beginning todevelop the visionary style.Moreover, a survey showed that these shiftswerepaying off: Salespeople reported a dramatic increase in their feelings thatrewardswere fair and thatworkwasmotivating.Theyalsohadgreater clarityabouttheirpriorities,thankstoMimken’sguidance.

Withinthreeyears,asMimkencontinuedtodevelopleadershipstrengths,hisagencywonthefirstoftwoconsecutivenationalawardsforgrowth,oneofjusteight awarded among the 100 agencies nationwide. Mimken was one of theyoungest recipients of the award in the company’s history. Within five yearsfromthedaythathewalkedintotheofficeasthenewmanager,theagencyhadmovedfromthebottomtothetopquartileinproductivity.

We’veseenstoriessuchasMimken’sagainandagain(seethebox“LeadersAreMade,NotBorn”).Theydemonstratenotonlythatleaderscanbemade,butalso that emotional intelligence can be learned—just as Mimken was able tolearnandapplymoreresonantleadershipstyles.

Still,thequestionremains:Aresomepeoplesimplybornwithcertainlevelsofempathyordotheylearnit?Theanswerisboth.Thereisageneticcomponentto emotional intelligence, to be sure, but nurture plays a major role as well.Althoughpeoplemaydifferintheinitialleveloftheirnaturalabilities,everyonecanlearntoimprove,nomatterwhereheorshestartsout.

Sometimes it’s just a question of building on skills one already has. Forinstance,whereMimken-the-salesmanhadbeenusingempathywithhisclientsforyears,Mimken-the-bosshad thepacesetter’sweakness for fixatingonwhathissubordinatesdidwrong rather thanonwhat theyneeded todobetter.Withpractice,hedramaticallyincreasedhisempathywithhissalespeoplesothattheycame to feel that he understood their needs.Mimken alsomastered tools thatbuttressed the leadership styles he was developing. For instance, he becameadept at constructing performance plans, and as he coached his salespeople to

achievethem,theybegantobelieveinhisabilitytohelpthemsucceed.What’smore,Mimken’s changes in the office carried over to his home life.Hiswifereportedthathehadbecomemuchmoreattunedtoherandhisfamily’sneeds.

Mimken’s story illustrates another critical point: Not only can emotionalintelligence be learned, but it also can be retained over the long term. Ourresearchhasshownthatthereareveryspecificstepsforleaderstotaketoensuresuchlearningwilllast.Wehavetrackedtheseleadershipgainsuptosevenyearsbeyondtheirinitialdevelopment—pastwhatissometimescalledthehoneymooneffect.

BeyondtheHoneymoonEffectWecontinuallyseethekindoflearningthatlasts—anditsimpactonbusiness

performance—that Mimken’s story demonstrates. These are dramatic resultscomparedwiththeall-too-familiarhoneymooneffectofmosttraining,whereanimmediate improvement fades almost entirelywithin three to sixmonths. Thefamiliarcyclegoessomethinglikethis:Apersonleavestheprogramenthusiasticandcommittedtoimproving.But,backintheoffice,dozensofe-mails,letters,and calls await him. The boss and a subordinate have each called with anemergency,andheissuckedintotheswampofdemands.Allofthenewlearningslipsawayasold,knee-jerk responses takeover.Soonhe isacting thewayhealways has—not the new way committed to at the end of the training. Thehoneymoonhascometoanabruptend.

Humanresourceprofessionalshavebeenfrustratedby thisphenomenonfordecades. They’ve watched again and again how people emerge from trainingenthusiastic, only to have their good intentions atrophy over time. Althoughstudieshave shown that realchangecan result from training,mostof the timethe change doesn’t seem to be sustained, which is why it is often called thehoneymoon effect. 7 Considering the more than $60 billion dollars spent inNorthAmericaaloneontraining,thisisasoberingobservation.

Possiblybecauseof thiswidespreadbelief that the effectsof trainingdon’tlast,therehavebeenrelativelyfewstudiesoftheimpactoftrainingonpeople’sbehavior.8Of the few studies examining the improvement in theway peopleact, even fewer have tested people before and after the training or comparedtheseeffectswiththebehaviorofpeoplenotgoingthroughthetraining.9

Thereareexceptions.Ithasbeenshownthatwecancreateimprovementsinaperson’s presentation and communication skills. One study of sales branch

managers showeda37percent improvement in effectivecommunication skillsoneweek following training. 10Butwe cannot infer sustainable change fromoneweek.

When a broader array of self-management and relationship managementskills that represent the emotional intelligence competencies discussed in thisbookareexamined,trainingprogramstypicallyhavealessdramaticimpact.11Studies of this broad array of EI skills find about a 10 percent improvementmeasuredbetweenthreemonthsandayearandahalfaftertraining.12Withsomuchmoneyandeffortinvested,whyaretheresultssomeager?

When itcomes tobuilding leadershipskills that last,motivationandhowapersonfeelsabout learningmatters immensely.People learnwhat theywant tolearn.Iflearningisforcedonus,evenifwemasterittemporarily(forinstance,bystudyingfora test), it is soonforgotten.Thatmaybewhyonestudyfoundthatthehalf-lifeofknowledgelearnedinanMBAcoursewasaboutsixweeks.13 So when a company requires people to go through a one-size-fits-allleadership development program, participants may simply go through themotions—unlesstheytrulywanttolearn.Infact,awell-establishedprincipleofbehavior change tells us that when a person has been forced to change, thechangewillvanishoncethebrowbeatingends.16

LEADERSAREMADE,NOTBORNHehadjustcometoAmerica,and,asa13-year-oldinanewschool,waseagertofitin

andbeliked.Sohejoinedthelacrosseteam.Afair—butnotgreat—lacrosseplayer,hedecidedthat,ratherthanplayontheteamhimself,he’dcoachthenewplayersinlearningthegame.Thatwasthefirsttimehebecameawareofwhat’sinvolvedinhelpingothersdeveloptheirabilities.Then,at24, inhisfirst jobaftercollege,hewasmadeheadofasalesteam.Hehadtolearntheropeshimself—nooneshowedhimhowtomakeasalescall.Butoncehegotthehangofit,hestartedtakinghisteammembersondemocallstohelphonetheirabilities.Later,whenhejoinedapharmaceuticalfirm,hewassogoodatteachingthathewasaskedtomakeavideotobeusedforsalestraining.Bythetimehebecameamanager,he’dbecomeamasteratdevelopingpeople.

Incollege,asamemberofaninternationalbusinessclub,theyoungwomansawthatmanymembers’objectiveswereatoddswiththoseoftheclub—andshefoundawaytoget everyone tobuy intoa commongoal. Later, in her first jobafter collegeas a lonesalesrep,shehadtocreateavirtualteamwithotherrepsbyphoneande-mail—andsolearnedhow tomotivatepeople to cooperate.Then,whenshebecamea team leader,she learnedaboutbuilding teamspirit fromadirect reportwhohadaknack forfindingways to recognize members’ contributions. Finally, as part of a cross-functional top

leadershipteam,hermasteryatpavingthewayforsmoothconsensuswasapparent inthewayshewouldseekoutandtalktokeystakeholdersbeforemajordecisionsweretobemade.

I N BROAD STROKES, these two tales illustrate how many top-performing leadersnaturallymaster theEI competencies thatmake themsoeffective.ThesalesmanagerandtheteamleaderweretwoofnineoutstandingexecutivesstudiedbyaresearchteamatJohnson&Johnson,ledbyMatthewManginoandChristineDreyfus, to findouthowpeople become masters of the building blocks of leadership. 14 The same patternemergedoverandover:Leaders’firstawarenessofacompetencecameinlatechildhoodor adolescence; then, in their first jobs, orwhen some other radical transitionmade itcrucialforsurvival,theyusedthecompetencemorepurposefully.Astheyearswentby,andas theycontinued topractice theskill, theybecame increasinglybetterat it; thereweredistinctmomentswhentheyfirstusedthesecompetenciesandusedthemregularly.Theprogressionfromaperson’sfirstawarenessofacompetencetothepointofmastery—inotherwords,beingable touse thecompetence regularlyandeffectively—offersafine-grainedlookathowleadershipexcellencedevelopsinlife.Althoughitmayseemthatthe leaders in our examples were “born” because they acquired leadership strengthstacitly andmostly invisibly, neither was born knowing how to lead a team or developstrengthsinothers.Theylearnedhow.Greatleaders,theresearchshows,aremadeasthey gradually acquire, in the course of their lives and careers, the competencies thatmakethemsoeffective.Thecompetenciescanbelearnedbyanyleader,atanypoint.Thechallengeofmastering leadership isaskill likeanyother, suchas improvingyourgolfgameorlearningtoplayslideguitar.Anyonewhohasthewillandmotivationcangetbetteratleading,onceheunderstandsthesteps.Indeed,inanalysisofdatafromtheECI,wefindthatoverthecourseofacareer,peopletendnaturallytodevelopmorestrengthinEIcompetencies—theygetbetterwithage.15This shows up not just in better self-evaluations as people get older, but—moreconvincingly—inothers’evaluationsofthem,whichalsoimproveovertime.But beware: That general trend toward improvement by nomeans guarantees that allleaderswill naturally develop theEI competencies to the levels they need, when theyneedthem.That’swhyasoliddiagnosisofagivenleader’sstrengthsandweaknesses—andaplanfordevelopment—remainscrucial.

The good news is that, even though many leadership programs lose theirimpact over time, if leadership building follows the right basic principles,improvements can last. Pacesetters can reform themselves, cultivating abilitiesas coaches and visionary leaders. Greater empathy can be built—and remain.What this requires is intentional effort, motivation, and an emotionalcommitmentfromparticipants.

What’smore,weevenknowhowthatkindoflearningoccursinthebrain.

HowtheBrainMatters

Emotionalintelligence,aswesawinchapters2and3,involvescircuitrythatrunsbetweenthebrain’sexecutivecentersintheprefrontallobesandthebrain’slimbicsystem,whichgovernsfeelings,impulses,anddrives.Skillsbasedinthelimbic areas, research shows, are best learned through motivation, extendedpractice,andfeedback.17Compare thatkindof learningwithwhatgoesoninthe neocortex, which governs analytical and technical ability. The neocortexgrasps concepts quickly, placing them within an expanding network ofassociationsandcomprehension.Thispartofthebrain,forinstance,canfigureoutfromreadingabookhowtouseacomputerprogram,orthebasicsofmakinga sales call.When learning technical or analytic skills, the neocortex operateswithmagnificentefficiency.

The problem is that most training programs for enhancing emotionalintelligence abilities, such as leadership, target the neocortex rather than thelimbicbrain.Thus,learningislimitedandsometimescanevenhaveanegativeimpact. Under a microscope, the limbic areas—the emotional brain—have amore primitive organization of brain cells than do those in the neocortex, thethinkingbrain.Thedesignoftheneocortexmakesitahighlyefficientlearningmachine, expanding our understanding by linking new ideas or facts to anextensivecognitivenetwork.Thisassociativemodeoflearningtakesplacewithextraordinary rapidity: The thinking brain can comprehend something after asinglehearingorreading.

The limbicbrain,on theotherhand, isamuchslower learner—particularlywhenthechallengeistorelearndeeplyingrainedhabits.Thisdifferencemattersimmenselywhen trying to improve leadershipskills:At theirmostbasic level,those skills come down to habits learned early in life. If those habits are nolongersufficient,orholdapersonback, learningtakeslonger.Reeducating theemotional brain for leadership learning, therefore, requires a different modelfromwhatworksforthethinkingbrain:Itneedslotsofpracticeandrepetition.

If the rightmodel is used, training can actually alter the brain centers thatregulate negative and positive emotions—the links between the amygdala andthe prefrontal lobes. For example, researchers at the University ofWisconsintaught“mindfulness”toR&Dscientistsatabiotechfirmwhowerecomplainingaboutthestressfulpaceoftheirjobs.18Mindfulnessisaskillthathelpspeoplekeenly focus on the present moment and drop distracting thoughts (such asworries)ratherthangettinglostinthem,thusproducingacalmingeffect.Afterjusteightweeks, theR&Dpeople reportednoticeably lessstress,and theyfelt

more creative and enthusiastic about their work. But most remarkably, theirbrains had shifted toward less activity in the right prefrontal areas (whichgenerate distressing emotions) and move in the left—the brain’s center forupbeat,optimisticfeelings.

These findings—and many more like them—belie the popular belief thatstartingearlyinadulthood,neuralconnectionsinevitablyatrophyandcannotbereplaced (and the corollary belief that as adults, it’s too late to change ourfundamental personal skills). Neurological research has shown quite theopposite. Human brains can create new neural tissue as well as new neuralconnectionsandpathwaysthroughoutadulthood.Forexample,researchershavefoundthatLondontaxidrivers,famousfortheirnavigationalfeatsinamazeofone-way streets and clock-stopping traffic, show brain plasticity as they learntheirtrade.OvertheiryearsofdrivingthroughLondon,thepartofthebrainthathandlesspatialrelationships(i.e.,howtonavigate)growsinsizeandstrengthofactivity.19Atanypointinlife,neuralconnectionsusedoverandoverbecomestronger,whilethosenotusedweaken.20

Clearly, then, the act of learning is the key to stimulating new neuralconnections.21Whenitcomestodevelopingleadership,ittakesanemotionallyintelligent approach to create theseneural changes: one thatworksdirectlyontheemotionalcenters.Asscientistshaveconcluded,“Whenalimbicconnectionhasestablishedaneuralpattern,ittakesalimbicconnectiontoreviseit.”22

Theoriginalwindowofopportunityforlearningeffectiveleadershipabilitiesextendsthroughadolescenceintotheearlytwenties.Duringthisperiod,thebrain—thelastorganofthebodytodevelopanatomically—continuestolaydowntheoriginalcircuitry for emotionalhabits.Youngpeoplewhoworkatmasteringadisciplineofanykindorwhoaremembersofteamsorwhohavethechancetohonepublicspeakingskillsarelayingdownaneuronalscaffoldthat,laterinlife,will offer crucial support for leadership. This early learning will supportcompetencies such as self-control and the drive to achieve, collaboration, andpersuasion.

If people lack the previous experiences that allow them tomaster a givenleadership competence, however, it is still not too late—but it requiresmotivation.Thebrain’sabilitytosproutfreshconnectionscontinuesthroughoutlife.Itjusttakesmoreeffortandenergytolearninadulthoodlessonsthatwouldhavecomemorereadily inourearlyyears,because thesenewlessonsfightanuphill battle against the ingrained patterns the brain already has in place. The

task is doubled—wehave to undohabits that do notwork for us, and replacethem with new ones that do. That’s why motivation becomes crucial forleadershipdevelopment:Wehave toworkharderand longer tochangeahabitthan when we learned it in the first place. Building emotional intelligencehappens only with sincere desire and concerted effort. A brief seminar won’thelp,anditcan’tbelearnedthroughahow-tomanual.Becausethelimbicbrainlearnsmore slowly—and requiresmuchmore practice—than the neocortex, ittakesmoreefforttostrengthenanabilitysuchasempathythan,say,tobecomeadeptatriskanalysis.Butitcanbedone.

SustainableLearning:TheEvidenceBecause the kind of limbic-brain learningwe’ve just described takesmore

timeandpractice,it’salsomuchmorelikelytoberetained.Sopeoplenotonlycan improve on the emotional intelligence competencies, but also can sustainthosegains for years, as data fromaunique series of longitudinal studies stillunderwayattheWeatherheadSchoolofManagementatCaseWesternReserveUniversityhavealreadyshown.Thestudies,conductedwithstudentssince1990aspartofarequiredcourseoncompetencebuilding,23allowstudentstoassesstheir emotional intelligence competencies (as well as some cognitive ones),choose which competencies they wish to strengthen, and be guided by anindividualized learning plan to strengthen the targeted skills. Objectiveassessmentsofstudentsatthebeginningofthecourse,againatgraduation,andagainyears later in their jobshave allowed a uniqueopportunity to gauge thelong-termpowerofthisapproachtoleadershipdevelopment.24

The results have been impressive. In contrast to the honeymoon effect ofmost leadership development programs, the gains lasted years for theseMBAstudents. Up to two years after going through the change process, they stillshowed47percent improvement on self-awareness competencies such as self-confidence,andonself-managementcompetenciessuchasadaptabilityandthedrivetoachieve.Whenitcametosocialawarenessandrelationshipmanagementskills, improvements were even greater: 75 percent for competencies such asempathyandteamleadership.

These gains are also in stark contrast to results from standard MBAprograms,where there is little tonoattempt toenhanceemotional intelligenceabilities.Thebestdatahere come froma researchcommitteeof theAmericanAssembly of Collegiate Schools of Business. 25 In its study of two highly

ranked business schools, it found that, compared with when they began theirMBAprograms,graduatingstudentsshowedimprovementsofonly2percentinemotionalintelligenceskills.Infact,whenstudentsfromfourotherhigh-rankingMBAprogramswereassessedonamorethoroughrangeoftests,theyshowedagainof4percentinself-awarenessandself-managementabilitiesbutadecreaseof3percent insocialawarenessand relationshipmanagement (see the figure).26

LookingagainattheWeatherheadstudy,gainsinemotionalintelligencewerealsofoundinpart-timeMBAstudents,whotypicallytakethreetofiveyearstograduate. By the end of their program, these groups showed 67 percentimprovement in self-awareness and self-management competencies and 40percent improvement in social awareness and relationship managementcompetencies.Buteventwoyearsafter thesepart-timershadgraduated(whichwas between five and seven years since they had taken the courses), JaneWheeler, a professor at Bowling Green State University, found that the gainscontinued: 63 percent showed improvement on the self-awareness and self-management competencies, and 45 percent had improved on the socialawarenessandrelationshipmanagementcompetencies.

Among full-time MBA students, the improvements documented in thesestudies showed up across the spectrum of all fourteen emotional intelligencecompetencies assessed. There was not a single competence in which studentswerenotabletoimprove,providedtheytargeteditintheirlearningplans.27

These remarkable results are the first to demonstrate gains sustained overmanyyearsintheemotionalintelligencebuildingblocksofresonantleadership.Theyarehopeful in lightof the10percent improvementsshownfromtrainingprogramsovertheone to twoyears inwhich theresultswere tracked,or the2percentimprovementinemotionalintelligencecompetenciesshownfromtypicalMBAprograms.Buttherewasyetanother,unexpected,bonusthatJaneWheelerfound in her data: Five to seven years after the original course, people wereshowing improvements on additional competencies, not just those on whichthey’d already improved after three to five years. In otherwords, once they’dlearned how to improve the emotional intelligence abilities that make leadersgreat, they continued developing new strengths on their own. That findingprovides solid evidence that these competencies can continue to be acquiredthroughoutlife.

PercentageImprovementofEmotionalIntelligence

Moreevidenceofthiskindoflifelonglearningcomesfromastudydonewithsenior executives in the Professional Fellows Program at Case WesternWeatherhead School of Management. The program, designed for experiencedexecutives and advanced professionals (with an average entering age of 48,versus 27 forMBA students), attracts top executives, lawyers, and physicianswhowanttohonetheirbusinessandleadershipskills.Inlongitudinalstudiesofthese senior executives up to three years after the program, improvementwasfoundontwo-thirdsofemotionalintelligencecompetencies.28

Clearly, then, leaders can bemademore effective—if they are offered theright tools for learning.Suchdeep learning,however, goesevenbeyondusingtherighttools.Itisaprocessthatisn’tnecessarilylinearandsmooth;rather,itisajourneyfullofsurprisesandmomentsofepiphany.

AWake-upCallAsheclickedhismouseonSend,NolanTaylor realizedhehad just senta

scathinge-mailcriticizingthecompany’srecentannouncementof layoffs—andhisboss’sroleinit—nottohisfriendinanotherdivision,ashe’dintended,buttohisboss.Yetevenashewastryingtothinkofwayshecouldsomehowretrievethemessagebeforehisbossreadit,thelargerissuethatthise-mailrepresented

struckhim.Itwasashockingmomentofawakening:Herealizedthathewasnotactinglikethepersonhewantedtobe.

Foryears,NolanTaylorhadvowedtocontrolhisoutburstsandfindwaystoincreasehis self-control.The shockof suchaglaringmisstep, and its possibleconsequences,resultedinadifferent,muchstrongercommitmenttohisgoal.Hewantedtoincreasehisoptimismandtoseethepositivepossibilitiesindauntingsituations without resorting immediately to cynicism and criticism of others.With that sent e-mail, he had to confront a discontinuity—the glaring gapbetweenhisidealselfandthereality.Andinthatmomenthecommittedhimselftochanging.

Suchdiscontinuitiescanleadtopowerfulchange,eveninthenaturalworld.Complexity,orchaos,theorystatesthatmanyprocessesarebetterdescribedasabrupt changes rather than as smooth transitions.An earthquake, for example,occursasa sudden fractureof the earth, even though thepressurebeneath theearth’ssurfacemayhavebuiltovertime.

Likewise, in building leadership, sudden, shocking discoveries about ourlives may shake us into action,���wowing” us with a stark truth aboutourselvesandofferingnewclarityaboutourlives.Suchstartlingdiscontinuitiescan be frightening or enlightening. Some people react by running from them.Somesimplydenytheirpowerandshrugthemoff.Othershearthewake-upcall,sharpen their resolve, and start to transform self-defeating habits into newstrengths.Buthowdotheyactuallymakethosechanges?

Self-DirectedLearningThe crux of leadership development that works is self-directed learning:intentionallydevelopingorstrengtheninganaspectofwhoyouareorwhoyouwanttobe,orboth.Thisrequiresfirstgettingastrongimageofyouridealself,aswell as an accurate picture of your realself—who you are now. Such self-directed learning is most effective and sustainable when you understand theprocessofchange—andthestepstoachieveit—asyougothroughit.

This model of learning was developed by Richard Boyatzis during threedecadesofworkinleadershipdevelopment,bothasaconsultanttoorganizationsandasanacademicresearcher.29Thefigurebelowoutlinestheprocessofself-directedlearning.30

TheFiveDiscoveriesSelf-directed learning involves five discoveries, each representing a

discontinuity.Thegoal,ofcourse,istouseeachdiscoveryasatoolformakingthechangesneededtobecomeanemotionallyintelligentleaderontheeighteenEIleadershipcompetenciesreviewedearlierinthisbook(seethechartinchapter3).

This kind of learning is recursive: The steps do not unfold in a smooth,orderlyway, but rather followa sequence,with each stepdemandingdifferentamountsof timeandeffort.The resultsofpracticingnewhabitsover timearethattheybecomepartofyournewrealself.Often,withchangesinyourhabits,EI, and leadership styles, come changes in your aspirations and dreams, yourideal self. And so the cycle continues—a lifelong process of growth andadaptation.

Whenyougothroughthediscoveryofuncoveringanidealvisionofyourself,you feel motivated to develop your leadership abilities. That is, you see thepersonyouwant tobe.Whether thisvisionactuallycomes toyou inadream,throughgettingintouchwiththevaluesandcommitmentsthatguideyourlife,or through simple reflection, the image is powerful enough to evoke yourpassionandhope.Itbecomesthefuelthatmaintainsthedriveyouneedtoworkatthedifficultandoftenfrustratingprocessofchange.

Boyatzis’sTheoryofSelf-DirectedLearning

The seconddiscovery is akin to looking intoamirror todiscoverwhoyouactually are now—how you act, how others view you, and what your deepbeliefscomprise.Someoftheseobservationswillbeconsistentwithyouridealself, and can be considered strengths; otherswill represent gaps betweenwhoyou are andwho youwant to be. This realization of your strengths and gapspreparesthewayforchangingyourleadershipstyle.Thisis theantidotetotheCEOdiseasewedescribedearlier.

But for that change to succeed, you’ll need to develop an agenda forimprovingyourabilities,whichisthethirddiscovery.Aplanofactionneedstobe constructed that providesdetailedguidanceonwhatnew things to try eachday,buildingonyourstrengthsandmovingyoucloser toyour ideal.Theplanshould feel intrinsically satisfying, fitting your learning preferences aswell astherealitiesofyourlifeandwork.

Thefourthdiscoverycomesinpracticingnewleadershipskills.Thefifthdiscoverymayoccuratanypointintheprocess.Itisthatyouneed

otherstoidentifyyouridealselforfindyourrealself,todiscoveryourstrengthsandgaps, todevelopanagenda for the future,and toexperimentandpractice.Leadership development can only occur in the tumult and possibilities of ourrelationships.Othershelpusseethingswearemissing,affirmwhateverprogresswehavemade, test ourperceptions, and let usknowhowwe are doing.Theyprovide the context for experimentation and practice. Although the model iscalledaself-directedlearningprocess,itactuallycannotbedonealone.Withoutothers’involvement,lastingchangecan’toccur.

To summarize the process, people who successfully change in sustainablewayscyclethroughthefollowingstages:

•Thefirstdiscovery:Myidealself—WhodoIwanttobe?•Theseconddiscovery:Myrealself—WhoamI?Whataremystrengthsandgaps?

• The third discovery: My learning agenda—How can I build on mystrengthswhilereducingmygaps?

•Thefourthdiscovery:Experimentingwithandpracticingnewbehaviors,thoughts,andfeelingstothepointofmastery.

•Thefifthdiscovery:Developingsupportiveandtrustingrelationshipsthatmakechangepossible.

Ideally, the progression occurs through a discontinuity—a moment of

discovery—thatprovokesnot just awareness, but also a senseofurgency.Thefollowing chapters explore each of these discoveries and their corollaryprocessesthatenableleadershipmastery.

CHAPTERSEVEN

THEMOTIVATIONTOCHANGE

ABDINASIRALIwasabouttodiscoverhisdream.Ahydrogeologistforthelast eight years at an integrated-energymultinational in theUnited States,Aliappearedonthesurfacetobeamild-manneredemployeeandasteadyproviderforhisfamily.ButAliwasamanwithaplan—althoughitwasonehe’dalwaysintendedtodeferuntilretirement.

Raisedasoneof twenty-five siblings inMandera,northernKenya,AlihadcometotheUnitedStatessothathecouldraisehischildrenwiththebenefitsofbettereducationandmedicalcare.Butoncethechildrenweregrownandhehadretired,hehopedtoreturntoKenyawithhiswifetoeducatepeopleaboutwatermanagement and to help drill water wells in his village—something that hiscountryseriouslyneeded.

Itwasahopethathaddevelopedwhen,asachild,Aliwitnessedlongperiodsof drought in his native village, located in an arid region near the border ofEthiopia and Somalia. During one especially severe drought, he remembersseeinghundredsofcattle,goats,andcamelsdie;hisfamily,accustomedtoadietofmeatandmilk,hadtosurviveongrain.Inmorerecentyears,thelackofwaterhad also severely affected Mandera’s irrigation projects and the flow ofelectricityfromKenya’shydroelectricdams.

Now,at40,Ali’sdreamtohelphisnativevillageinKenyawasstillatleast

twodecadesaway.Andalthoughhevaluedhisjobandthebenefitshereceivedworkingforalargemultinational,hewasfeelingrestless.Oneconversationwasabouttochangeallofthat.

“Whywait,Ali?”askedhisexecutivecoach.When Ali answered that he wasn’t prepared to give up the benefits he

enjoyedworking for amultinational, his coach asked: “Do anymultinationalshavewater-managementoperationsinKenyaorEastAfrica?”WhenAlirepliedthatnonedid,hewaspressedfurther:Hadheconsideredaskinghiscompany—oranotherone—toorganizeasubsidiarytodevelopwater-resourcemanagementinEasternAfrica?Alisaidthatitwassuchanexpensiveproposition,he’dneverdareask.

“Suppose,”saidthecoach,“thatyouframeditasawayforthecompanytogivebacktothecommunityandregion.”

Atthatsuggestion,Alifellsilent.Slowly,awaveofrecognitionspreadacrosshisface,asifalighthadjustbeenturnedoninadarkroom.Henoddedhishead,leanedbackinhischair,andsmiled.Andhebegantoarticulate, fluidlyandinminute detail, the strategic advantages that a project in water-resourcemanagementwouldpresenthiscompany.Herealizedthathecould tap intohiscompany’s existing Global Social Initiative project to realize his dream. Hespoke with such passion, it was as if he were giving a speech before anenthralled audience. Ali had connected with his dream, and in that instant itbecamealargerdreamthanhehadeverconsidered.

Thatwasa firstcriticaldiscoveryforAli: themomentwhenchangebegan.He had gotten in touch with his passion, and he suddenly felt motivated topursuehisdreamasheneverhadbefore.WhereonceAlicouldseeonlyasinglepath to his vision—whichwas towork hard until he saved enoughmoney toretire—henowsawmanypaths,withmanypossibilities.

Intheensuingdiscussion,Alisawhowhisemotionalintelligencecapabilitiescould help make his vision happen—particularly his strengths in socialawarenessandrelationshipmanagement.He’dalwaysworkedwellwithothersand enjoyed collaboration.As a former engineer, he’d developedmany of theself-management competencies, although he had some difficulty with self-confidenceandadaptability.

To bring his dream to life, Ali knew he would have to act as a changecatalyst, a visionary who could drive home to company executives theadvantages of a water-resource management operation in his company. Thatmeantworkingonhisself-confidence.Andtopromoteanewstrategyamonghis

fellowmanagers and arouse their innovative spirit, hewould have to becomemoreflexiblehimself.AsAli’sdreambecamemorespecific,italsoexpandedinaway that his confidence level hadn’t previously allowed: Instead of helpingonlyhisvillage,hecouldhaveanimpactonKenyaandthatentireregionofEastAfrica.

It had takenonly a fewmoments forAli to reenvision his life’swork.Hisexcitementandhopeaboutthefuturewerepalpable—he’dfoundanewsenseofhis ideal self,ofwhathecouldbecome.Withinaweek,Ali reported thathe’dmadeheadwayathiscompanywithhisnew idea, andmorequickly thanhe’dever thought possible. While this new role would certainly require him toacquire new EI competencies, he had made the all-important first step ofenvisioninghisidealself.

The First Discovery: The Ideal Self—Where ChangeBeginsConnecting with one’s dreams releases one’s passion, energy, and excitementaboutlife.Inleaders,suchpassioncanarouseenthusiasminthosetheylead.Thekey is uncoveringyour ideal self—thepersonyouwould like to be, includingwhatyouwant inyour lifeandwork.That is the“firstdiscovery”of the self-directed learning processmentioned in the last chapter. Developing that idealimage requires a reach deep inside to one’s gut level. You know you havetouched itwhen, likeAli, you feel suddenly passionate about the possibilitiesyourlifeholds.

Tobegin—orsustain—realdevelopmentinemotionalintelligence,youmustfirst engage that power of your ideal self. There’s a simple reason: Changinghabitsishardwork.Oneneedonlythinkbacktoone’ssuccessesorfailureswithNewYear’sresolutionstofindampleevidenceof this.Wheneverpeople try tochangehabitsofhowtheythinkandact,theymustreversedecadesof learningthatresidesinheavilytraveled,highlyreinforcedneuralcircuitry,builtupoveryearsofrepeatingthathabit.That’swhymakinglastingchangerequiresastrongcommitment to a futurevisionofoneself—especiallyduring stressful timesoramidgrowingresponsibilities.

YOU,FIFTEENYEARSFROMNOW

THINKABOUTwhereyouwouldbesittingandreadingthisbookifitwerefifteenyearsfromnowandyouwerelivingyourideallife.Whatkindsofpeoplewouldbearoundyou?Whatdoesyourenvironmentlookandfeellike?Whatmightyoubedoingduringatypicaldayorweek?Don’tworryaboutthefeasibilityofcreatingthiskindofideallife.Justlettheimagedevelop,andplaceyourselfinthepicture.Trydoingsome“freewriting”aroundthisvisionofyourselffifteenyearsfromnow,orelsespeakyourvisionintoataperecorderortalkabout itwithatrustedfriend.Whendoingthisexercise,manypeoplereportthattheyexperienceareleaseofenergy,feelingmoreoptimisticthantheyhadevenmomentsearlier.Thiskindofenvisioningofanidealfuturecanbeapowerfulwaytoconnectwiththerealpossibilitiesforchangeinourlives.

In fact, the very act of contemplating change can fill people with worriesaboutperceivedobstacles.Sometimesafterpeoplehaveexperiencedthatinitialfeelingof excitement about their ideal futures, they immediately lose it again,frustrated because they aren’t already living that dream today. That’s whenrememberingthebrain’sroleinfeelingscanhelp.Asdiscussedinchapter2,it’sthe activation of the left prefrontal cortex that gives us amotivating hope, bylettingus imaginehowgreatwe’ll feel thedaywereach thegoalofour ideal.That’swhatspursuson,despiteobstacles.

Conversely, ifwefixateonwhat’sinourway—ratherthanonthepowerfulimageofourideallife—wepresumablyactivatetherightprefrontalareaandareplungedintoapessimisticviewthatdemotivatesusandcanactuallyhinderoursuccess.

The“Ought”versustheIdealInTheHungrySpirit:BeyondCapitalism,AQuestforPurposeintheModern

World,CharlesHandydescribesthedifficultyofconnectingwithhisidealself:

Ispenttheearlypartofmylifetryinghardtobesomeoneelse.AtschoolIwanted to be a great athlete, at university an admired socialite,afterwardsabusinessmanand,later,theheadofagreatinstitution.Itdidnot takeme long todiscover that Iwasnotdestined tobe successful inany of these guises, but that did not preventme from trying, and beingperpetuallydisappointedwithmyself.

The problem was that in trying to be someone else, I neglected toconcentrate on the person I could be. That ideawas too frightening tocontemplateatthetime.Iwashappiergoingalongwiththeconventionsofthetime,measuringsuccessintermsofmoneyandposition,climbing

ladders which others placed in my way, collecting things and contactsratherthangivingexpressiontomyownbeliefsandpersonality.1

Thatilluminatingconfessioncomesfromapersonwhowasquitesuccessfulasanexecutive in industry,a leader in theLondonBusinessSchool,Chairmanofthe Royal Society of the Arts, and influential worldwide as an author andprofessor.But likeCharlesHandy,over thecourseofabusy lifemanypeoplebecomeseducedbytheideaofpowerorfame,orsuccumbtotheexpectationsofothers.

Whenaparent,spouse,boss,or teacher tellsuswhatweshouldbe, they’regivingustheirversionofouridealself,animagethatcontributestoouroughtself—thepersonwethinkweshouldbecome.Whenweacceptthatoughtself,itbecomes a box within which we are trapped—what sociologist Max Webercalledour “iron cage”—moving around like amimepressing against invisiblewalls. The same effect occurs when, in organizations, the assumption is thatpeoplewant toget aheadbymoving“up”a career ladder atwork, rather thanacknowledgingthatindividualsmighthavetheirowndreamsanddefinitionsofsuccess. Those kinds of assumptions can easily become elements of theworkoughtself.

Overtime,peoplemaybecomeanesthetizedtotheiridealselves;theirvisionbecomes fuzzy, and they lose sight of their dreams. Pressure fromresponsibilitiesofamortgage,payingforthechildren’scollege,andthedesiretomaintain a certain lifestyle can push people ahead on a path, regardless ofwhethertheybelievethatpathwillhelpthemreachtheirdreams.Theybecomenumbtotheirpassion,andsettleformoreofwhattheycurrentlyaredoing.Theclassic example—seen in many professionals who have grown up in highlytraditionalcultures—isthepersonwhofollowsagivencareersimplybecausehisparentssaidheshould.OnemanweknowfromIndiagrewupinsuchafamily;hehadanintensepassionformusic,butdutifullyfollowedhis family’swishesthathebecomeadentist,likehisfatherhad.Eventually,heendedupleavinghispracticeinMumbai,movingtoNewYork,andearningaliving—quitehappily—asasitarplayer.

It canbeall tooeasy toconfuse theoughtwith the ideal self and toact inways that are not authentic. That’swhy, in leadership development processes,taking the step to uncover one’s ideal self is so important. But many suchprograms are based on the assumption that an individual simply wants tomaximizehisperformanceatwork.Theyskipthatvitalexplorationandneglect

to link individuals’ learning goals with their dreams and aspirations for thefuture.Whenthegapbetweenaperson’sidealselfandtheidealimposedbythetrainingbecomesevident,theresultisapathyorrebellion.2

NoVision,NoPassionSofia,aseniormanageratatelecominnorthernEurope,knewsheneededto

develop leadership abilities. She had taken seminars, read books, and workedwithmentors.She’dwrittendevelopmentplansandsetshort-termandlong-termgoals.Sheknewwhatsheneededtodo—butnoneofthoseplanseverseemedtoguideherdevelopment,andaftera fewweekswere inevitably relegated to thebottom of her desk drawer. “Don’t misunderstand,” she told us. “I want tosucceedinmycareer.ButnoneofthosecareerplanshadmuchtodowithwhatIreallycareabout.Developingthiscompetencyorthatone,solelybecausethejobcallsforit,isn’tenoughtokeepmemotivated.”

Sofia’s experience is typical ofmany graduates of leadership developmentprograms.The problem is thatmany of those programs beginwith thewrongassumptions.Realleadershipdevelopmentstartsfromamuchbroaderplacethan“careerplanning”:Itbeginswithaholisticvisionofone’slife,inallitsrichness.To achieve improved business performance, leaders need to be emotionallyengaged in their self-development. And that requires connecting the effort towhatreallymatterstothem.

We askedSofia, therefore, to think about her life at a specific point in thefuture,toletgoandimaginewhatatypicaldaywouldbelike:whatshewouldbedoing,whereshewouldlive,whowasthere,andhowitfelt.Thenweaskedhertopickadateeighttotenyearsfromnow—farenoughsothatlifewouldbedifferent,butcloseenoughtobegintoimagine.SofiachoseadateinAugustof2007, meaningful to her because her eldest child would be leaving to attenduniversitythatyear.SofiathenwroteavisionofherlifeinAugust,2007,inthefirstperson,asifitweretoday.Weaskedhertoconsciouslyconsideralloftheareasofherlife,hervalues,andherdreamsaboutwhatshewantedtodoandbebythattimeinherlife.Hervisionwascompelling:

Ipicturemyself leadingmyowncompany,a tight-knit enterprise staffedby ten colleagues. I’m enjoying a healthy, open relationship with mydaughter, and similarly trusting relationships with my friends and co-workers. Iseemyselfasrelaxedandhappyasa leaderandparent,andlovingandempoweringtoallthosearoundme.

Byreflectingonavisionofherlifeinsuchaholisticway,Sofiabegantoseehowthevariouspartsofherlifeintersected,andhowcraftingaplantomakethisdreamarealitycouldbenotonlymotivatingbutinspiring.AsSofiasaidattheendofthisprocess:“Foryears,I’veneededtoworkonhowIdealwithpeoplewhenI’munderstress.Icanbetoomuchofapacesettingleaderatwork.Now,lookingatthewholepicture,Iseethatsomeofmystruggleswithmydaughterstem from the same set of problems.” Sofia was then able to begin thinkingabout how to translate those insights into development goals for dealingwithstressusingmoreproductivestyles.

We find thatmanyyoung leaders, roughlydefined as thoseunder40, havelearning goals that are more holistic—addressing many aspects of their livesratherthanjusttheirwork—thanwasthecaseinpreviousgenerationsofleaders.Inpartthisshiftreflectsthefactthat,assurveysofGenerationsXandYsuggest,peopleintheir20sand30shaveamorebalancedviewoflifeandworkthanwasseen in previous generations. Not willing tomake some of the sacrifices thattheywatchedtheirparentsmake,theyareseekingabalancedlifealongtheway.They’renotwaitingforaheartattack,divorce,or job loss towake themup totheir relationships,spiritual life,communityresponsibility,andphysicalhealth.Manyoftheiroldercolleaguesarecomingtothesameconclusions,butforthemitispartofaging,midlife,andmidcareercrises.

Philosophy:HowPeopleDetermineValueClearly, values play an important role in uncovering the ideal self. Since

valueschangethroughoutlife,relatedtoeventssuchasmarriage,thebirthofachild,orbeingfired,itisone’sunderlyingphilosophythat’smoreenduring.3Aperson’s philosophy is the way he determines values—and which leadershipstyleshegravitatestoward.Aleaderwhovaluesachievinggoalsaboveallelsewill naturally be a pacesetter, viewing amore democratic style as a waste oftime.Understandingyouroperatingphilosophycanhelpyouseehowyouridealselfreflectsyourvalues.

MYGUIDINGPRINCIPLES

T HINK ABOUT the different arenas of your life that are important, such as family,relationships, work, spirituality, physical health.What are your core values in each ofthoseareas?List five or six principles that guide you in yourwork and life—and think

aboutwhethertheyarevaluesthatyoutrulylivebyorsimplytalkabout.Nowtrywritingapageortwoaboutwhatyouwouldliketodowiththerestofyourlife.Or,youmightwanttonumberasheetofpaper1through27andthenlistallofthethingsyouwanttodoorexperience before you die. Don’t worry about priorities or practicality—just write downwhatevercomestoyou.This exercise is harder than itmay seem, because it’s humannature to thinkmore intermsofwhatonehastodo—bytomorrow,nextweek,nextmonth.Butthatshorthorizonfocusesonlyonwhat’surgent—notonwhat’s important.Whenpeople think in termsoftheextendedhorizon,suchaswhatmightbedonebeforedying,theyopenthemselvesuptoanewrangeofpossibilities.Inourworkwith leaderswhodothisexercise,we’veseenasurprisingtrend:Mostpeople lista fewcareergoals,but80percentormoreoftheirlistshavenothingtodowithwork.Whentheyfinishtheexerciseandbegintostudytheirwriting,theyseepatternsthathelpthembegintocrystallizewhattheirrealdreamsandaspirationsare.

Forexample,aconsultantlists“family”asadominantvalue,butstillspendsfivedaysaweekawayfromhiswifeandtwochildren,travelingforhisjob.Hesayshe’senactinghisvaluebyprovidingenoughmoneyforhisfamily’sneeds.Bycontrast,amanufacturingmanagerwhoalso lists“family”ashisdominantvalue has turned down promotions so he can have dinner each nightwith hiswifeandchildren.

The difference between those twomenmight be in how aware they are oftheirtruevalues,howalignedtheiractionsarewiththosevalues,orinthewaytheyinterpret thevalue.Accordingly, theyrevealdeepdifferences inhowtheyvalue people, organizations, and activities. Such differences may reflectdisparate operating philosophies—the most common of which are pragmatic,intellectual, and humanistic. 4 And although no philosophy is “better” thananother, each drives a person’s actions, thoughts, and feelings in distinctiveways.

The central theme of a pragmatic philosophy is a belief that usefulnessdetermines theworthof an idea, effort, person,ororganization. 5Peoplewiththisphilosophybelieve that theyare largely responsible for theeventsof theirlives, and often measure things to assess their value. No surprise, then, thatamong the emotional intelligence competencies, pragmatics rank high in self-management. Unfortunately, their individualistic orientation often—but notalways—pulls themintousingapacesettingstyleoverademocratic,coaching,oraffiliativestyle.

Take Larry Ellison, the pacesetting CEO at Oracle Corporation. In hisrelentless pursuit of market share, he commonly challenges employees to

“destroy” and “eliminate” rivals from the marketplace. He also constantlybenchmarks the company’s progress against competitors, displaying hispragmaticphilosophyintheabundanceofsuchcomparisonsthathecitesinhisspeechesandinterviews.6

The central theme of an intellectual philosophy is the desire to understandpeople, things, and the world by constructing an image of how they work,thereby providing some emotional security in predicting the future. 7 Peoplewiththisphilosophyrelyonlogicinmakingdecisions,andassesstheworthofsomethingagainstanunderlyingcodeor setofguidelines that stresses reason.Peoplewith thisoutlookrelyheavilyoncognitivecompetencies,sometimes tothe exclusion of social competencies. You might hear someone with anintellectualphilosophysay,forexample,“Ifyouhaveanelegantsolution,otherswillbelieveit.Noneedtotrytoconvincethemaboutitsmerits.”Theycanuseavisionaryleadershipstyle,ifthevisiondescribesawell-reasonedfuture.

JohnChambers, theCEOofCiscoSystems, reflects an intellectualoutlookwhen he describes a future of living better through technology. He talks, forexample, of how integrated electronic systems will adjust the temperature ofclotheswhenpeoplewalkfromaheatedhometoacarinwinter.OftensoundinglikeaBible-thumpingpreacher,hespeaksopenlyofhisbeliefthathiscompanycancreatethismodelofthefuture,therebyallowingeveryonetocontributetoabettersociety.8

The central theme of a humanistic philosophy is that close, personalrelationshipsgivemeaningtolife.9Peoplewiththisphilosophyarecommittedtohumanvalues;familyandclosefriendsareseenasmoreimportantthanotherrelationships.Theyassesstheworthofanactivityintermsofhowitaffectstheircloserelations.Similarly,loyaltyisvaluedovermasteryofajoborskill.Whereapragmatist’sphilosophymightleadhimto“sacrificethefewforthemany,”ahumanistic leader would view each person’s life as important, naturallycultivating the social awareness and relationship management competencies.Accordingly, humanistic leaders gravitate toward styles that emphasizeinteractionwithothers,suchasdemocratic,affiliative,orcoaching.

For example, Narayana Murthy is the inspirational CEO who foundedInfosys Technologies Limited, headquartered in Bangalore, India. Part of hisvisionliesinfullyengagingpeopleintheirwork,usingademocraticleadershipstyle. As a result, he’s made Infosys one of the most desirable companies inwhichtowork in thecustomizedsoftwaredevelopmentandmaintenancefield.

Indeed,Murthydescribeshimselfas“acapitalistinmymind,butasocialist inmyheart.”10

TheEver-ChangingIdealPeople’s dreams and aspirations change as their career unfolds, reshaping

whattheyconsiderimportantinlifeandwork;likewise,theidealselfbecomesmoreproteanaslifegoeson.Thesechangesnotonlydeterminewhichoftheirtalentsorcompetenciespeoplearewillingtouse,butalsowheretheyfeelmostengagedinusingthemandwheretheycancreateresonance.Sometimespeoplecan stray from their calling by just continuing to do the same thing, ignoringchangesintheirdreamsandwhatisimportanttothem.

That’swhyoneoften sees leaders inmiddleage jumpship to start anothercareer. When leaders reach a point in their career where they feel mastery,havingcompletedmostoftheircareergoals,theycanloseenthusiasmforwhatthey’vebeendoing.Often at that point such leaders find renewed energy in anew ideal—for example, by giving back to others. Peter Lynch was such aleader.Whenhewasatthepeakofhisgame,headofthedramaticallysuccessfulFidelityMagellanFund,LynchannouncedthathewasleavingFidelity—nottotakeoveracompany,buttocreateaphilanthropicfundwithhiswife.Hesaidhewantedto“dogood”sincehehad“donewell.”Andhewantedtodoitatatimewhenhefeltenergeticandinnovative.11

Again and again we’ve seen how the abilities that have made leaderssuccessful inbusinesscanfindnewenergy inothersettings,as their life focusshifts. John Macomber, former CEO of Celanese, moved on to take agovernmentpositionasheadoftheExport-ImportBank.12RexAdams,headofhumanresourcesatMobil,becamedeanattheFuquaSchoolatDukeUniversity.Bothareexamplesofhowtheidealselfcanchangeoverthecourseofacareer.

Our ideal self-image engages our passion, emotion, and motivation. Apersonalvisionisthedeepestexpressionofwhatwewantinlife,andthatimagebecomes both a guide for our decisions and a barometer of our sense ofsatisfactioninlife.13

Still,ifyouwanttoleadanorganization,havingapersonalidealvisionisnotenough.Aleaderneedsavisionfortheorganization.Itisdifficulttospreadthecontagionofexcitementwithouthavingasenseofpurposeanddirection.Thisiswheretheindividualidealself-imageevolvesintoasharedvisionforthefuture.

To be in tune with others’ vision, you have to be open to others’ hopes anddreams.

LeadingwithPassionJurgen, theheadof aSwissbank,washavinga crisisof commitment.The

bank was doing well enough, but not all of his top management team wereengagedintheirwork,andafewdidn’tevenbelongintheirjobs.Jurgendidn’tfeelhecouldbucktraditionandaskthemtoleavetheirpositions.Moreover,hedidn’thaveahandleonwhatwashappeningelsewhereatthebank.Nooneevergavehimtheright information,as if theywereafraid tovoicecontroversialorcriticalopinions.Feelingineffective,Jurgenwasn’tenjoyinghisworkanymore;hisonlyoption,hefelt,wastostepdown.

But inourworkwith Jurgenover about sixmonths,hewasable to craft avision of his life and his leadership at the bank that he found energizing andinspiring. Equally important, it was inspiring for the people he was leading.Jurgenbeganby looking inside, reflectingonhis own life andpersonal visioninsideandoutsideofwork.Healsoarticulatedaclearpictureoftherealityofthesituationatthebankandwhyitnolongersatisfiedhim.Comparingtherealandtheidealgavehimmuchmoreclarity—and,admittedly,anxiety—aboutexactlywhat needed to change. And he asked himself the all-important question: “Isthereenough that I loveabout thiscompanyand thesepeople tokeepmeherethroughthetoughworkcomingup?”

Onesummermorning,JurgenhikedwithafriendaroundanAlpinelakeandspokehonestlyabouthisfearthathecouldn’tbringaboutthechangesthatwereneeded.Helookedatthepast,present,andfuture,andheconsideredthepeople,someofwhomhe’dworkedwithforyears.Hethoughtabouttheproblemsandabouthisowncommitment—andhowgooditcouldbeifhejustgotitright.Hereflectedonhispersonalidealvision,andhefocusedonwhatcouldchangeifhegot back into the bank and really fought.By the end of thatwalk, he had hisanswer:“I’min.”

That decision to get back “in”was energizing for Jurgen; somewhere deepinside he’d tapped into his passion for leadership again. And passion breedscourage—enough,Jurgenfound,totakeonthetoughtasksahead.

Identifyingandarticulatingyouridealself,thepathyoutrulywanttofollowinlife—asJurgendid—requiresself-awareness.Butonceyouclarifyyouridealself, you stimulate hope—an antidote to the inertia of habit. As Napoleon

observed,“Aleaderisadealerinhope.”14Thechallengeforeveryleaderliesin reaching inside to the source of hope. There lies the power to evoke andarticulateone’spersonalidealself-imageandthesharedidealsthatflowfromit—andsoleadothersinthatsamedirection.

Thatkindofleadership,however,requiresnotonlyavision,butalsoaclearpictureoftherealitiesyouarefacing.

The Second Discovery: The Real Self, or Are You aBoilingFrog?Ifyoudropa frog intoboilingwater, itwill instinctively jumpout.But ifyouplacea frog inapotofcoolwaterandgradually increase the temperature, thefrogwon’tnoticethat thewater’sgettinghotter.Itwillsit thereuntil thewaterboils—andwillboilwithit.Thefateofthatpoachedfrogisn’tsounlikethatofsomeleaderswhosettleintoroutineorletsmallconveniencessolidifyintolargehabits—andallowinertiatosetin.

ConsidertheexampleofJohnLauer.WhenhetookoveraspresidentofBFGoodrich,noonewouldeverhaveimaginedthatsuchinertiawouldtakehold.Atall, good-looking man with a charming smile, he took on his leadershipchallenges with vigor, showing particular strengths as a democratic andvisionary leader. For instance, during a meeting early in his tenure with topexecutivesofakeydivision,Lauerlistenedcarefullytotheirdiscussionandthenarticulated a vision for the company that integrated its current strengths butbetter positioned it for global markets. The nodding heads around the roomreflected how his vision had moved them. Over the next few years, as thecompany restructured, Lauer continued as an effective leader—and as a teamplayeramonghistopexecutives.

Then,aboutsixyearsaftertakingthehelmatBFGoodrich,duringaspeechhe was making to a class of executive MBA students, it was clear that hischarismahaddimmed.Hetalkedaboutbusinessandmanagementissues,butitallsoundedroutineandevenabitdull.Gonewastheexcitement thatsomanyhadfoundcontagiousinhisearlierdaysonthejob.

Like a slowly boiling frog, Lauer had gradually adjusted to thedisappointment,frustration,andevenboredomofthepracticesandpoliciesofalarge corporation. He had lost his excitement for his work. Not surprisingly,within a fewmonthsof giving that lackluster speech,Lauer left the company.

Seekingachangefromcorporatelifetodosomethingthatfeltmeaningfulagain,hewent toworkwith hiswife, Edie,whowas heavily involved inHungarianrelieforganizations.

Confrontinghislossofenergyandinterestasaleader,Lauerwasbeginningaprocess that would lead him to the second discovery. Further development ofemotional intelligence in leaders requires that, once they have at least somevisionoftheirideallives,theyuncovertheirrealself.Itwouldbeaprocessthatwouldleadhimtolookdeepinsideandrediscovertheleaderwithin.

Twoyears after he leftBFGoodrich,Lauer took a leadershipdevelopmentseminaraspartoftheExecutiveDoctorateinManagementprogram.15Hestillmaintainedhewantednothingtodowithrunningcompanies;thateraofhislifewas past. Pursuit of the doctoratewas a door into a new life; he didn’t knowexactlywhathe’dbedoing,buthewashopefulaboutthefuture.

During the leadership seminar, Lauer wrestled with his values, philosophyandaspirations,andhisdistinctivestrengths.Inconsideringthenextdecadeorso of his life and reflecting on his capabilities, he realized how much he’drelishedbeingaleader.Hereconnectedwiththeexcitementhe’dfeltatthehelmof a company, working with a team of executives and building somethingimportant.Thenonedayhewokeupandrealizedthathe’dbeopentotakingaCEO jobagain.The rightkindof situationcouldbe fun—onewherehe couldapplyideashe’ddevelopedinhisdoctoralprogram.

Hereturnedafewheadhunters’calls,andwithinamonthLauerwasofferedtheleadershipofOglebayNorton,a$250millioncompanyintherawmaterialsbusiness.Therehebecameanexemplarofthedemocraticstyle,listeningtowhatemployeeshadtosay,andencouraginghisleadershipteamtodothesame.Andhe repeatedly articulated a compelling vision for the company. As one of hisexecutivestoldus,“Johnraisesourspirits,ourconfidence,andourpassionforexcellence.”16Althoughthecompanydealt inunglamorouscommoditiessuchas gravel and sand, within the first year Lauermade such improvements thatOglebay Norton was featured inFortune, BusinessWeek, and theWall StreetJournal.

Lauer had been able to leave BF Goodrich in the first place because heunderstoodthathehadadifferentvisionforhislife.Thatwasdiscoverynumberone—of the ideal self.Then,byconfronting the realityof the rutshe’dgotteninto and coming to an understanding of his distinctive strengths—discoverynumbertwo—hewasabletoreconnectwithhisenthusiasmasaleader.Andthat

ultimatelyledhimtogetontrackagainandfindfulfillmentinadifferentkindofleadershiprole.

TheElusiveRealSelfTaking stock of your real self starts with an inventory of your talents and

passions—thepersonyouactuallyareasaleader.Thiscanbemoredifficultthanitmightseem.Foronething,itrequiresagreatdealofself-awareness,ifonlytoovercome the inertia of inattention that an accumulation of habits inevitablyproduces.Becauseroutinecreatessuchgradualchangesthattakeholdovertime,therealityofourlivesoftencanbehardtograsp.It’slikelookinginacloudedmirror: Itbecomesdifficult to seewhowe reallyare.Andwhenwe finallydobegin to get a clear view—often in an epiphanicmoment—the reality can bepainful. As onemanager we worked with, an engineer, put it: “I sawmyselfbeingtheverypersonIneverwantedtobe.”

THE“LOGANTEST”

ONAWEEK-LONGVACATIONathisuncle’shouse,9-year-oldLogansethisalarmsothathewouldawakenearlyeachmorning.Then,theminuteheheardhisunclecreepingdownstairs,nomatterwhatthehour—5:00A.M.,5:30A.M.—Logansprangfrombed,notwanting tomiss a single secondofwhat thedaymight hold. This surprisedhis uncle,who’d thoughthemight be able to sneak in someworkwhile Logan slept (the child’smother had said that Loganusually awokearound7:30 to8:00A.M.). But Logan wasrightthereeachmorning,eagertobegintheday,whenhisuncleawoke.One quick index of whether you’ve become a boiling frogmight be the “Logan Test.”Considerafewquestionsabouthowyoutypicallyactthesedays,andcontrastitwiththeperson youwere in the past. Do you awake eachmorning excited about the day, notwanting to sleepanymore thanabsolutely necessary?Do you laughasmuchas youoncedid?Areyouhavingasmuchfuninyourpersonallifeasyouhaveinthepast?Areyouhavingasmuchfunatwork?Ifyou’refindingthatyourwork,relationships,andlifeingeneral don’t make you feel energized and hopeful about the future, that’s a goodindicationthatyou’veprobablylosttouchwithyourrealselfandcouldusesomeinsightintothepersonyou’vebecome.

Howdoes such a thinghappen to reasonably intelligent people?Howdoesthesenseofthepersononehasbecomeslipaway?Theboilingfrogsyndrome—the slow, invisible creep of compromise and complacency—poses perhaps thegreatest challenge to an accurate self-image. We no longer quite grasp who

we’vebecome—althoughthepeoplearoundususuallyhaveaclearview.Many things conspire to keep people from seeing their real selves. The

humanpsycheitselfshieldsusfrominformationthatmightundermineourself-perception. These ego-defense mechanisms, as they’re called, protect usemotionallysothatwecancopemoreeasilywithlife.Butintheprocess, theyhideordiscardessentialinformation—suchashowothersarerespondingtoourbehavior.Over time, these self-delusions that the unconscious creates becomeself-perpetuatingmyths,persistingdespitethedifficultiestheycause.17

Of course, ego-defense mechanisms have their advantages. Most high-functioningpeople, for instance, aremoreoptimistic about their prospects andpossibilities than the average person. 18 Their rose-colored lenses fuelenthusiasm and energy for their undertakings. The problem comes when thedefensesgotoofar,distortingaperson’sviewofhisrealself—thepersonhehasbecome—outofallproportion.

TheplaywrightHenrikIbsencalledsuchself-delusions“vitallies”:soothingmistruths people let themselves believe rather than face the more disturbingrealitiesbeneath.

VitalLiesSelf-delusion is a powerful trap indeed, skewing our attempts to assess

ourselves. Because of it,we givemoreweight towhat confirmsour distortedself-image—and ignore what doesn’t. Surprisingly, those distortions aren’talwaysself-serving.

We’veoftenseen,incoachingsessionswithleaders,thatevenverypowerfulexecutivesdon’talwayssee themselvesaseffective—although theircolleaguestell us how great these leaders are. Itmight appear to be humility thatmakessuchleadersunderratethemselves,butusuallyit’sbecausetheyholdextremelyhighstandards for theirperformance.They therefore focusonhowthey fail tomeettheirownstandards,ratherthanonthewaysthey’redoingwell.

The most obvious way to correct distortions in self-perception, of course,wouldbetoreceivecorrectivefeedbackfromthepeoplearoundus.Itsoundssosimple,doesn’tit?Giventhenumberofpeopleinourliveswhocouldcommentonourbehavior,you’dthinkthatwe’dallbeawashinfeedback,andcontinuallyable to correct the distortions in our self-perception. So why doesn’t thathappen?

One reason is the CEO disease that we examined in the previous chapter.

Thatphenomenonmakespeopledenytheir leaders important information—notonly about their behavior and leadership styles, but also about the state of theorganization.Thereasonspeoplearesilentincludefearoftheleader’swrath,notwanting tobe seenas thebearersofbadnews,orwanting toappearas“goodcitizens”andteamplayers.

Butitisn’tjustCEOswhosufferfromthisdisease:Mostleadersaredeprivedof important feedback. Often the reason is simply that it makes peopleuncomfortabletogivecandidfeedbackonsomeoneelse’sbehavior.Fewpeoplewanttointentionallyhurtanotherperson’sfeelings—butoftentheydon’tknowhowtodeliverfeedbackinaproductive,ratherthanhurtful,way.Theythereforeoftenswingtoofarintheotherdirection,makingenormouseffortsto“benice.”But when people confuse being nice with providing others with accurateobservationsabouttheirbehaviororstyle,theirfeedbackisrendereduseless.

TheProblemwith“BeingNice”TheownerandchefofaParisbistrostoodnearthedoorinawhitesuitand

chef’shat.Acouplewalkedin,smiled,andsaid,“Areyoutheowner?”“Yes,”thechefreplied.Theexpectantdinersscannedthemarvelousambience,décor,andassortment

ofdishesondisplay,thenturnedbacktothechefandsaid,“Wonderfulplace—greatatmosphereandgreatfood!”

To which the chef replied, “You should wait until after your meal to saythat!”

Asabusinessowner,thechefwantedpraise,ofcourse,buthewantedittobegenuine, not a solicitous gesture. Likewise, in organizations, people givingfeedback to othersmay confuse attempts to “be nice”with providing accurateobservationsthatarehelpful.Thisappliesespeciallytoleaders.

Foryears,somebehavioralscientistsadvisedmakingperformancefeedbacknonevaluative.Itwouldbedevoidofanyproorcon,making itmorepalatableand thus, theyargued,moreuseful:By taking the teethoutof feedback, thosereceivingitwouldbemorelikelytoacceptit.

Butthisneuteringoffeedbackactuallyrendereditlessuseful,accordingtoastudy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; a noncommittal, cautiousneutrality depleted feedback of important emotional messages. 19 The study,conductedaspartofanintroductorycourseinorganizationalbehavior,hadMBAstudents identify a change goal on which they would work during the fifteen

weeksofthecourse.Eachweekduringclass,studentsmetingroupstoreceivefeedbackontheirprogress.Attheendofeachclass,everyonewouldidentifyuptothreeinstancesoffeedbackthatthey’dfoundusefulthatday.

Contrarytotheadviceprominentatthetime,evaluativefeedback—inwhichpeoplewerecandidlygivenspecificsaboutwhatworkedordidn’tworkintheirbehavior—was seen as more helpful than nonevaluative feedback. Thesefindingsmakesense.Weallknow,onsome level, thatotherswatchand judgewhatwedo—somost of uswould rather have the full story, not thewatered-downversion.Whenotherstrytokeepuscomfortablebysanitizingfeedback,or“beingnice,”theydousadisservice:We’redeprivedofcrucialinformationweneedtoimprove.

That’swhywe’vefoundthatthemostemotionallyintelligentleadersactivelyseek out negative feedback aswell as positive. Those leaders understand thatthey need a full range of information to perform better—whether or not thatinformationfeelsgoodtohear.

GettingtotheTruthTo become more effective, leaders need to break through the information

quarantine around them—and the conspiracy to keep them pleased, even ifuninformed. Rare are those who dare to tell a commanding leader he is tooharsh,ortoletaleaderknowhecouldbemorevisionary,ormoredemocratic.That’swhyemotionallyintelligentleadersneedtoseekthetruththemselves.

How do effective leaders discover that truth? A study of almost 400executives showed that, for one thing, they use their self-awareness andempathy, both tomonitor their own actions and towatch how others react tothem.Theyareopentocritiques,whetheroftheirideasortheirleadership.Theyactivelyseekoutnegativefeedback,valuingthevoiceofadevil’sadvocate.Bycontrast, less effective leaders most often solicit confirming feedback. Notsurprisingly, those leaders held far less accurate views of how well theyperformed as leaders. The most effective leaders assessed themselves verycloselytohowothersratedthemasleaders.20

Likewise, information from several thousand questionnaires, using a 360-degree format from bosses, peers, and subordinates, found that seeking outnegative feedback—not just positive remarks—predicted the accuracy ofpeople’s self-awarenessand theiroverall effectiveness. If a leaderknowswhatheneedstoimprove,heknowswheretofocushisattention.Ontheotherhand,

people who mainly sought positive feedback understandably had poor self-assessment—andlowereffectiveness.21

Clearly, then, soliciting negative information may be vital to a person’scontinuedgrowthandeffectiveness.But towhomdoyouturnforadvice—andforfeedbackthatmightnotnecessarilyaffirmhowyouviewyourself?How,inshort,doesaleadertestreality?22

CompletingtheSecondDiscoveryAs we’ve seen, the first discovery that promotes self-directed learning is

identifyingyouridealself-image.Theseconddiscoverybeginswithuncoveringthe reality: how you see yourself, and how others see you. To complete thatdiscovery, however, you need to develop an understanding of your leadershipstrengthsandgaps—thedifferencesorsimilaritiesbetweentheidealandthereal.23

This is the real starting point of self-directed learning: taking stock of thepartsofyourselfthatyourelishandwanttopreserve,versusthoseyou’dliketochange or adapt to your new circumstances. A person’s self-awareness—therealizationofthisbalancebetweenwhatonewantstokeepandwhatoneneedstodevelop—sparksthereadinesstochange.Yousuddenlyunderstandwhatyouvalueaboutyourselfandthereforewanttokeep.Likewise,you’reabletoadmitwhatyouneedtoworkon.Eachneedstobeseeninlightoftheother—whattokeep,whattochange.24Inthissense,sometimesastrengthprovokesagap,likeusingsomuchinitiativethat,attimes,youdonotexertsufficientemotionalself-control. Or sometimes a gap actually depends on a strength: A gap inadaptability, for example, may be because you’re an inspirational leader whosometimesbecomesoverzealousandfixatesonaparticularvision.25

Yourleadershipstrengths—whatyouwanttopreserve—lieattheintersectionofwhereyourrealselfmatchesyourideal.Whererealityfailstomeetyouridealforyourselfasaleader,ofcourse,representsyour“gaps.”Piecingtogetherthisimageofwhoyouareandwhoyouwouldliketobeisabitlikeputtingtogetherajigsawpuzzle.Youstartbyfindingtheedges,themostobviouspieces,thenfillinmorepieces,asectionatatime.Whileatfirstyoumaynotbeabletomakesenseofthe image,eventually,whenjustenoughpieceshavefallen intoplace,youseethewholepictureclearly.

AnAntidotetoBlindSpotsAswesawwith theCEOdisease, it isnoteasyfor leaders to identify their

strengthsandgapsontheirown.Theleaderwhowantstostrengthenhisabilitiesneeds to start by seeking out other people’s perspectives in order to get anaccuratepictureofhimself.The360-degreemethodoffersthatfullerpicture.Bycollecting information from many people—your boss, your peers, yoursubordinates—you benefit from multiple perspectives about how you act andhowothersseeit.The360-degreeviewoffersaconsensualimageofyourprofileofcompetencies.Whetherthisconsensusisanimageoftherealyoudependsontwo givens: (1) that the people who participate in the 360-degree evaluationactuallyinteractwithyouonaregularbasis;and(2)thatyourevealyourselftothem.26

There’sagoodreasonforseekingoutmanydifferentpeopletoaskfor360-degreefeedback:Multipleviewsrenderamorecomplete image. Inaveryrealsense,youareadifferentpersonwithdifferentkindsofpeopleandindifferentsettings—be they your spouse or partner, your boss, or your subordinates.Indeed, the research on different sources of feedback confirms what seemscommonsense—bosses,subordinates,andpeerseachseedifferentaspectsofaperson’sbehavioralrepertoire.That’swhythesameleadercanlooksodifferentwhenevaluatedfromeachoftheseperspectives.

Forinstance,researchdoneatatruckingcompanybyProfessorsGeneHarrisand Joyce Hogan from the University of Tulsa found that on a 360-degreeevaluation, subordinates rated their managers as highest in conscientiousness,whilebossesratedthesamemanagersashighest inemotionalstability.27Themanagers saw themselves as highest in interpersonal maturity—which theirsubordinates, and even their bosses, rated close to the bottom of the list.Tellingly, there was one characteristic that both sources rated the same: Theysawthemanagersasweakestinprovidingfeedback.Thesemanagersneededthemultipleperspectivesasanantidotetoboththeirownblindspotsandthelimitedviewofanyonesourceoffeedback.

In other research, Fred Luthans and some of his colleagues from theUniversity of Nebraska looked at leaders in terms of whether “success” and“effectiveness”werethesame.28Theysawsuccessasindicatedbypromotions,salaryincreases,andtotalcompensation.Buttheydefinedeffectivenessintermsof a consensus view from stakeholders, especially subordinates, who theybelievedwouldtakealonger-termview.Theyalsocollectedothers’viewsofthe

leaders’behavior.Notsurprisingly,theyfoundthatbossestendedtoseebuildingbonds, communications, and influence as key abilities of themanagers:Thosearethecompetenciestheseleadersusedinmanagingupward.Ontheotherhand,their subordinates saw these managers as particularly strong in developingothers, in teamwork and collaboration, and in empathy—competenciesused inleadingthesefollowers.

Thatdifferencebetweenhowbossesandsubordinatesseealeader’sstrengthsmakes a strong argument for using a 360-degree assessment in leadershipdevelopment.Thebestleadersusethecompetenciesselectively,displayingsometoonegroup,otherstoanother.Anygivengroup—subordinates,peers,bosses,clients, or family and friends—will see only a given part of that leader’srepertoire.

Of all these perspectives, the views of subordinates and peers—rather thanthat of bosses themselves—appear to have the most predictive validity of aleader’s actual effectiveness. 29 For instance, in a longitudinal study of theeffectivenessofleadersinagovernmentagency,howsubordinatesassessedtheleaderprovedmostpredictiveof theleader’ssuccessandeffectiveness,bothattwo and four years following the assessment. Even after seven years, thesubordinates’ assessments were predicting the leader’s success—and with farmoreaccuracy than theboss’sownassessments.Thesubordinates’viewswereeverybitasaccurateapredictorasweremuchmoreelaborateratingsbasedonperformancesimulationsdoneinassessmentcenters.30

TheTyrannyofGapsOnce you are certain that you’re getting a full picture of yourself from

feedback,you’rereadytolookatyourstrengthsandgaps.Asmostpeopleknow,it’salltooeasytofixateimmediatelyandexclusivelyongaps.Afterall,they’retalkedaboutallthetimeinorganizations,especiallywhenitcomestoleadershipdevelopment.Aworkculturemayfosterthisconcentrationonperformancegaps,particularlywhen the leader’s style isone that focusesonwhat’swrong in theorganization rather thanonwhat’s right.Often these are leaderswhohave thepragmaticunderlyingphilosophythatwediscussedearlier,whichismarkedbyanextremelystrongdrivetoachieve.

Ontheotherhand,sometimespeoplelookmorecloselyatgapsbecausetheyhave low self-confidence; they assume they’re less capable than they actuallyare,and therefore tend todistrustordismisspositivefeedback.Typically these

leaders,whenlookingat360-degreedata,exaggerate theirgapswhile ignoringtheirstrengths.

Emphasisongapsoftenarousestherightprefrontalcortex—thatis,feelingsof anxiety and defensiveness. Once defensiveness sets in, it typicallydemotivates rather than motivates, thereby interrupting, even stopping, self-directedlearningandthelikelihoodofchange.

ThePersonalBalanceSheetDespite the potential downfalls of this approach, many leadership training

programs—or managers conducting annual performance reviews—regularlyrationalize this error in approach with the adage “leave well enough alone,”which means neglecting to recognize people’s abilities in favor of givingattentiononlytotheareasthatneedwork.

Butthatmeansthecapabilitiesthatpeoplevalue,enjoy,andaremostproudofgetlostintheprocess.Focusingononlythegapsisnotonlydepressinganddemotivating,butalso results ina lopsidedbalancesheet.Ourstrengths revealtheimportantthingsthatwehavelearnedasleadersoverthecourseofourlivesandcareers.Theyarethebottomlineofourexperience,ourretainedlearnings—quiteparalleltotheretainedearningsonacompany’sbalancesheet.

Strengths displayed over the years—sometimes called signature themes—typically represent aspects that leaderswant to keep, even if those themes aredormantforaperiodoftime.31Suchsignaturesofferinnateresourcestodrawon as leaders. For example, Herb Kelleher, the long-time former CEO ofSouthwestAirlines,alwayshadastrongsenseofhumor.Asaleader,helovedtolaugh and make others laugh, and he used that strength to great effect:PlayfulnessbecameanorganizationalstrengthatSouthwestthatsetitapartfromitscompetitors.

Bycollectingreadingsfrompeopleinmanypartsofone’slife,notjustwork,it’seasiertorecognizethesesignaturecapabilities.

We’ve seen that the first twodiscoveries—ofyour ideal and real self,yourstrengthsandgaps—getyoumotivatedtochange.Buthowdoyoumakechangehappen? For that, you need a road map: a plan for how to build on yourstrengths, close your gaps, and make your aspirations and dreams becomereality.

CHAPTEREIGHT

METAMORPHOSIS

SustainingLeadershipChange

AS AMARKETING EXECUTIVE for theLatinAmerican division of amajorintegrated energy company, Juan Trebino was charged with growing thecompany—not only in his home country of Venezuela, but also in the entireregion. When, during a leadership seminar, he received 360-degree feedbackabouthisleadershipabilities,however,helearnedthathewasn’tquiteequippedto do the job. As a goal-focused former engineer, Trebino needed to developmoreofacoachingleadershipstyle;hissuccessatgrowingnewbusinessinhisregionwouldturnonhisabilitytoinspirecooperationamongthosewithwhomheworked.

Trebinowas about to embark upon the third discovery in the self-directedlearning process: developing a practical plan that would lead to the newleadershipstrengthshesought.Suchanagendashould focuson improvementsaboutwhich a person feels passionate,while giving him realistic,manageablestepsthatwillhelphimrealizethesepossibilities.Itshouldbuildonhisstrengthswhileworkingonhisgaps.

Todevelopmore of a coaching style,Trebinoknewheneeded to honehispowersof empathy.Hedecided to commit to actions inmanypartsofhis lifethat would allow him to practice that skill. As one step in his learning plan,

Trebinodecidedtogettoknoweachofhissubordinates;ifheunderstoodmoreaboutwhotheywere,hecouldbetterhelpthemreachtowardtheirowndreamsandgoals.Hemadeplanswith each employee tomeet outsideofwork, in aninformal setting, where the employees might be more comfortable revealingwheretheyhopedtogoinlife.

Trebino also looked for areas outside his job where he could sharpen hisempathy and coaching skills—for example, by coaching his daughter’s soccerteam and volunteering at a local crisis center for families in trouble. Bothactivitiesofferedanarenatoexperimentwithhowwellheunderstoodothersandtotryoutnewcoachingskills.

Thesenewarenas allowedhim to staymore attentive,moremindfulofhislearninggoals.It’s likegettinganewpairofglasses:Itgivesoneanewsetoflenses through which to see the world and allows one the chance to becomemoresensitivetosituationswhereoneneedstoimprove.

In fact, the more parts of our lives that we can identify as relevant to aleadershiplearninggoal,themorechancestopracticewegiveourselves.AstudyconductedattheWeatherheadSchoolofManagementofCaseWesternReserveUniversitybyProfessorJaneWheelerfoundthatofpeoplewhohaddevelopedlearningagendas,thosewhotriedouttheirnewskillswithmanydifferentpeopleand spheresof their lives—not just atwork, but alsowith family, church, andcommunity groups, and so on—improved the most. And those improvementswerestillapparentuptotwoormoreyearslater.1

Beingmindfuloflearningopportunitieswhentheyarise—andspontaneouslyseizing themas away topracticenewabilities—offersways to improvemorequickly.Life is the laboratory for learning. It’s important to bear inmind thatplansthattendtosimplyfocusonspecificperformancegoalsarelesseffectivethatthosedrawnfromcomparingyouridealselfwithyourrealself.

TheThirdDiscovery:ALearningAgendaToo often leadership coaching revolves around a “performance-improvementplan,” a phrase that conjures images of a remedial rehabilitation project. Butratherthanbeingsomeroteexercisethatwill“fix”apersonintobeingabetterleader, learning goals should resonate with a person’s dreams. Because a“performance agenda” focuses on achieving some measure of success, itbecomes somethingapersonhas toprove. It canprovokedefensiveness.Such

agendasdon’tcapturethemotivatingaspectofhowone’spersonaldreamsmightcoincidewiththetarget(anaspectthatcanbehighlymotivating).2A learningagenda,however,focusesonthepossibilityofchangethatwilleventuallyleadtobetterperformanceatwork(andprobablymorecontentmentinlifeingeneral).

Smallwonder that improvement plans crafted around learning—rather thanperformance outcomes—have been found most effective. For instance, in aprogram to improve communication skills, a learning agenda resulted indramaticallybetterpresentations;aperformanceagendatendedtomakepeoplereact defensively—notwanting to “look bad”—while neglecting to give themconcretestepstoimprovetheiractualperformance.

The best kind of learning agenda helps you focus on what you want tobecome—your own ideal—rather than on someone else’s idea of what youshouldbe.Itshouldleadtosettingmeaningfulstandardsofperformance,ratherthantakingonanarbitrary,normativestandardforsuccessthatmayormaynotfitwithpersonalgoals.3Whencraftingspecific,manageable learninggoals, itworksbesttotiethemintogoalsthatmotivateyouandigniteyourfullrangeoftalents.

Ontheotherhand,beinghandedaperformancegoaltendstodotheopposite:Itunderminesmotivationbyevokinganxietyanddoubts aboutwhether or notone can improve, and so it does not necessarily increase performance. 4 Forexample,eveninthegoal-drivenarenaofsales,learninggoalshavebeenshownto lead to greater improvement than have performance goals. 5 Settingdevelopmentalgoals thatmatter takesusfrommerelycontemplatingchangetomakingconcretestepsthatprepareustochange.6Ourlearninggoalsareakindofmentalrehearsalthatpavethewayforachangeinhowweact.

TheMindfulPrefrontalCortexAswesawwithJuanTrebino,craftinganagendaofspecificgoalsconverts

lifeintoalearninglab.Spendingtimewithhisdaughter’ssoccerteam,atacrisiscenter, andwithcolleagues fromworkallbecameopportunities forTrebino toworkonhisemotionalintelligence.Thegoalshelpedhimtomonitorhimselftoseehowwellhewasdoing;theyremindedhimtopayattention.7

Sincethehabitshewastryingtoovercomehadbecomeautomatic—routinesthat had taken hold over time, without his realizing it—bringing them intoawarenesswasacrucialsteptowardchangingthem.8Ashepaidmoreattention,

the situations that arose—whether while listening to a colleague, coachingsoccer,ortalkingonthephonetosomeonewhowasdistraught—allbecamecuesthatstimulatedhimtobreakoldhabitsandtrynewresponsesinstead.

Thiscueingforhabitchange isneuralaswellasperceptual.ResearchersattheUniversityofPittsburghandCarnegieMellonUniversityhaveshownthataspeoplementallyprepareforatask,theyactivatetheprefrontalcortex—thatpartof the brain that performs executive functions and moves them into action.Withoutpreparation,theprefrontalcortexdoesnotactivateinadvance.Thus,thegreatertheprioractivation,thebetterapersondoesatthetask.9

Suchmental rehearsalbecomesparticularly importantwhenwe’re trying toovercome old leadership habits and replace them with a better way of doingthings.As one of the neuroscientists in this study found, the prefrontal cortexbecomesparticularlyactivewhenapersonhastopreparetoovercomeahabitualresponse.Thearousedprefrontalcortexmarksthebrain’sfocusonwhat’sabouttohappen.Withoutthatarousal,apersonwillactoutold,undesirable routines.Theexecutivewhojustdoesn’tlistenwillonceagaincutoffhissubordinate;thepacesetterwilllaunchintoyetanotheroverlycriticalattack.

Because leadership skills are part of an unconscious repertoire of habitslearned long ago, the old response won’t magically disappear. It takescommitment and constant reminders to stay focused on undoing those habits.Overtime,theneedforreminderswilldiminishasthenewbehaviorbecomesastrongerpathwayinthebrain.

GoalSetting:ANewPerspective

Settinggoalsandcreatingplanstoachievethemisnothingnew.10BenjaminFranklinoutlinedastep-by-stepprocessforbecomingavirtuouspersonthroughsettingdailyandweeklygoalstoincreaseadmirablebehavior.Butresearchhasclearlyshownthatthereisasciencetothisprocess.

In the1960s,DavidMcClellandofHarvardUniversity showed that settingspecificgoalsanddevelopingaplantoachievethemmadeentrepreneursmoresuccessful.11DavidKolb,aformerstudentofMcClelland’s,laterdidaseriesofstudies atMIT thatpinpointedwhichpartsof theprocessofgoal settingwereessentialforimprovementstooccur.12

Managersarealltoofamiliarwithgoalsettingthesedays.Notonlydotheyhave to plan their own days and set agendas formeeting annual performance

targets, but they also have to do the same with each of their direct reports.Additionally,theyparticipateinplanningatthestrategicbusinessunit,division,andcorporatelevel.Andthey’vebeeninundatedwithtoolswithwhichtomakethose plans—from daily activity-planning books to electronic Palm Pilots.Nowondermanagers complain of having to spend toomuch time planning, withfewmomentsleftovertodotheactualwork.

Withallofthisplanningfrenzy,whatnewinformationortoolscouldpossiblybe of use? Recent studies of people who have improved their emotionalintelligence reveal several key points about what works andwhat doesn’t. 13Althoughsomemayseemobvious—evencommonsense—theyarenotcommonpractice.Thefindingsincludethefollowing:

•Goalsshouldbuildonone’sstrengths,notonone’sweaknesses.• Goals must be a person’s own—not goals that someone else hasimposed.

•Plansshouldflexiblyallowpeopletoprepareforthefutureindifferentways—a single “planning” method imposed by an organization willoftenprovecounterproductive.

• Plans must be feasible, with manageable steps: Plans that don’t fitsmoothly intoaperson’s lifeandworkwill likelybedroppedwithinafewweeksormonths.

• Plans that don’t suit a person’s learning stylewill prove demotivatingandquicklylosehisattention.

Let’s now look at how each of those pointswouldmodify goal setting aswetypicallyknowit.

GOALSSHOULDBUILDONSTRENGTHSDemetrios, the president of a fast-growing, research-based consulting firm,

wasaneffective,democraticleader.Heratedhighonhislevelsofself-awarenessandsocialawareness, andhadcompetencies inbuildingbonds, teamwork,anddevelopingothers.Usinghistalentfordrawingoutideasfromothers,heledthecompanythroughaverytoughperiodintooneofexpandingmarketshare.

Butonce thecompanyhadclearlysucceeded,Demetrios faceda leadershipdilemma. The firm’s partners and staff startedwonderingwhere the companywasgoingnext.Theywantedvisionaryleadership—andsomeonereadytomakethe tough decisions about priorities that would maintain their growth

momentum.Demetrios’sdemocratic style felt too laissez faire: It threatened toallowthepartnerstotakepartsof thecompanyinanydirectiontheywished—whichcouldtearthecompanytopieces.

Demetrios’ssubsequentworkwithanexecutivecoachoffersagoodlessoninhowlearninggoalscanaddressagapwhilebuildingonstrengths.Together,theyuncoveredtellinggapsinDemetrios’sstyle,wherehelackedthemoreassertive,“push” uses of power, such as competencies in influence and conflictmanagement.ThecoachhelpedDemetrios see that the inspirational leadershipandchange-catalystcompetenciesheoftenusedwithclientswereleftatthedoorwhenhecameintotheoffice.

To build his visionary leadership strengths inside the company, Demetriosdecided on a novel learning goal: to treat his company as if it were hismostimportantclient.Hewouldusehis strengths in socialawareness tounderstandeach challenge that emerged within the company as though it were a client’sproblem.Hisactionplanincludedthinkingthroughhowthisnew“client”—hisown organization—should approach problems. He even took on the task ofwritingaconsultingmemo tohimselfeachday, inwhichheproposedspecificsolutions.

His second learning goal dealt with the leadership crisis: He aimed to beinspiringateverycompanymeeting.Forexample,hemadesurehebeganeachsmall-group meeting with a reminder of why they were in business—theirvision,values, andmission.Although at first he felt a bit self-conscious, evenawkward,ashepersistedincultivatingnewhabitsofthevisionarystyle,itsoonfelt less gushy andmore natural.Here he built on two strengths: his talent atbeinginspirationalwithclients,andhisteamworkskills.Forexample,whenhewouldmention the company’smission at the beginning of ameeting, hewasthenabletogoonestepfurtherandelicitfromthegrouptheircollaborativeideasforthecompany’svisionaswell.

Bycallingonhisstrengths,Demetrioswasable topursuehis learningplanwithconfidence.Heknewthathe’dalreadydoneforclientswhatheneededtodoforhisowncompany.Thecompanymorethantripleditsrevenueinthenextsix years. In addition to building on strengths to change his leadership style,Demetrioschosetodevelopcompetenciesalreadyclosetothetippingpoint—thelevelatwhicharelativelysmallimprovementorincreaseinthefrequencyofacompetencewilltipsomeoneintooutstandingperformance.

DavidMcClellandwas the first researcher toapply tippingpointanalysis tocompetencies.14Priorresearchhadansweredthequestion:Whatcompetencies

arenecessarytobeoutstanding?Thisnewapproachansweredthequestion:Howmuchofthecompetenciesaresufficienttobecomeoutstanding?InDemetrios’scase,hehadtwocompetencygapsclosetothetippingpoint—theabilitytoofferinspirationalleadershipandtobeachangecatalyst—andtwocompetencygapsdistant from the tipping point—skills in influencing people and in conflictmanagement.

Ifhislearninggoalhadbeentodevelopavisiononhisownorwithasmallgroupofpartnersandthentosellittothestaff,he’dhavehadtoreallyfortifyhisweaknesses in the influence and conflict-management competencies. But byworkingoncreatingnewhabitsclosertohiscurrentstyle,hewasmorelikelytosucceedatbuildinganeffectivevisionaryleadershipstyle.

ARETHEYREALLYYOURGOALS?When Mark Scott, vice president of public relations at a mortgage bank,

reflected on how he’d changed after a leadership development program, hedescribed three improvements. He felt more understanding of people fromdiversebackgrounds,moreable tobuildeffectiveworking relationshipswithawidevarietyofpeople,andmoreflexibleinnewanduncertainsituations.Thesegains reflected the first three learninggoals in the agendahe’ddeveloped twoyearsbefore.

Butwhenaskedwhathappened to thefourthandfifthgoals inhisplan,heneededtoberemindedofwhattheywere.“Oh,thoseweremyboss’sgoals,”hesaid.“Sheinsistedthatagoodlearningplanshouldaddressallofthegapsthatappearedinmyassessments.”

Clearly,someoneelse’sideaofwhatheshoulddodidn’tresonatewithScott.But that kind of misfire happens frequently in goal setting: People agree todevelopment goals because a boss, mentor, coach—or spouse—encourages orpushes themtochange.But it’s important to remember that themorepersonalthecommitment to learninggoals, themorelikelyyouare toachievethem.15This is where passion and hope—the motivating brain activity inherent intapping into your dreams—are again so vital to sustainable learning.And themoredifficultagoal,themoreessentialisone’scommitment.16

HOWDOYOUTHINKABOUTTHEFUTURE?“I’veneversetagoalformyself—notformycareerormypersonallife.But

I have always known thatwhatever I do, itwill be in linewithwhat I feel is

important.”Sosaysanentrepreneurinresponsetoourquestionsabouthowheplansforthefuture.Thesoleownerofaconsultingfirm,he’squitesuccessfulbyanyone’smeasure—likewiseinhispersonallife.

He“plans”hisfuturebasedonaveryclearsenseofwhat’simportanttohim—hisvalues,hisbeliefs,thewayhewantstolivehislife.Hehaschartedapathforhimselfthatdoesn’thavespecificmileposts,suchasaparticularjob.Itdoes,however,haveguidepoststhatheuseswhenmakinglifedecisions,andhereliesonahighlevelofself-awarenessandaknackforspottinggoodopportunities.

Contrast that entrepreneur’s approach with that of Denise Cesare, CEO ofBlue Cross of northeastern Pennsylvania. Since she was young, Cesare hasalways had clear, specific goals—and a vision of where she would end up.“Publicaccountingisanuporoutprofession.SowhenIenteredit,theobviousgoalwastobecomeapartner.Then,whenIenteredhealthcare,Isawmyselfatthe top of a company, someday. I focused onwhere I wanted to be, keptmysenseofhumor,stayedclearaboutmyvalues,andmoved towardmygoalonestepatatime.”

And that’s exactlywhat she did.At each juncture, sheworked through thepathtosuccessforthatparticularportionofhercareer,alwayswithaneyeonthegoal.She’sadeptatreadingherenvironment,orientedtowardachievement,andknowshowtomanagetheupsanddownsofchange.

Attheoppositeendofthespectrumarepeoplewhodon’tconsiderthefutureatall,at leastnotinthewaywenormallyviewsuchplanning.Theycreatethefutureas theygoalong,almost rebelliouslyholdingon to the right todowhattheyplease.“Idon’twanttowastemytimeworryingaboutwhat’snext,”saysaleaderofaconsumergoodscompany.Thatdoesn’tmeanthathedoesn’tachievesuccess in both his personal and professional life.But he tends to thinkmoreabout success in terms of the present moment, allowing his understanding ofcurrentdynamicstoguidehisbehavior.

There’sno“right”way,then,toplanforthefuture;researchhasshownthatit’s a very personal process. 17 When people do try to follow a proscribedmodel,theirlearningplansusuallygetrelegatedtothebottomdrawer.Onesizedoesnotfitallwhenitcomestoformulatingausefulagendaforyourfuture.

Thatsaid,we’vefoundthatwithineachoftheplanningstylesthatpeopleusearecompetenciesworthlearning.Directionalorvisionaryplanners,forexample,are good at crafting a picture of ameaningful, distant future state—one that’sgrounded in values, beliefs, and a deep sense of what’s important in life. 18

Goal-oriented planners getwhat they go after; social science research tells usthatspecific,measurablegoalsaremorelikelytobeachieved.19Knowinghowtosetsuchgoalscanhelppeoplefocustheirenergywhereandwhenit’sneeded.

Action orientation, on the other hand, results in a high level ofaccomplishment in the short term. Moreover, the freedom inherent in suchplanningaddsanelementofserendipitythatenhancescreativity.Finally,thoughitistemptingtoignoreit,the“shoulds”ofreflectiveplanningareafactoflifeformostpeopleanyway,so it’sbest tofactor that in tohowto thinkabout thefuture.

PLANSMUSTBEFEASIBLEPerhaps the greatest mistake that people make when setting goals is

committingthemselvestoactivitiesthataredifficult todointheircurrentlivesandwork style.Your action plan needs to fit into the structure and rhythmofyour life. We saw in previous chapters how improvements last longer whenpeople identify specific emotional intelligence competencies as part of theirlearninggoals,ratherthansettingavaguetarget.20Evenaimingatjustonegoalforimprovementcanyielddramaticjumpsineffectiveness.

Learningplansthatlayoutconcrete,practicalstepsyieldthemostpowerfulimprovement. For instance, people who have tried to improve their ability asspeakers—akeytoaleader’scommunicationsandvitaltomanycompetencies—havesetsomeofthefollowingconcretegoalsforthemselves:

• Give at least two formal presentations every month, and have themcritiquedbyapeerIrespect.

•Practicewithafriendbeforegivingapresentation.•Videotapemyselfgivingaspeechandcritiqueitwithmyboss’shelp.•JoinToastmasterssoIcanpracticegivingmoreeffectivetalks.•Talktopeoplewhogiveoralpresentationsinamannerthatcomesacrossas relaxed and interesting, and find out what they do to prepare—specifically, how they overcome stage fright and relax into thepresentation.

Whichofthesegoalswillworkforagivenpersondependsontherealitiesofhis life. Towork on a development goal, itmust be squeezed into an alreadycrowded schedule.And since action stepsdooften take additional time inour

lives, thequestion becomes,Whatwill you say “no” to in order to create thetimeyouneedforworkingonthegoal?Thealternativeistodesignyourstepssothatthey’reintegraltowhatyoudoalready.

For instance, instead of joining a group in which to practice givingpresentations, onemidlevelmanagerwe knowmade a daily staffmeetinghermicroplatform.Shegaveherselfmorewaystopracticebytakingonassignmentsthat arose which offered the opportunity to present reports to the rest of thegroup.Shetherebyintegratedherlearningintoeachday,usingherworksettingasalaboratoryforstrengtheningherleadershipskills.

KNOWYOURLEARNINGSTYLEMost leadershaveapreferredway to learn,amode that feelsmostnatural.

Ratherthanfightingthatlearningstyle,ortryingtoconformtoanimposedstyle,itmakessensetoleverageyourpreferredstyle.

Take, forexample, twofriends—bothofwhombecameCEOswithina fewyears—who decided to learn to sail one summer.Onewent out and bought atwelve-foot dinghy,withwhich he planned to practice during amonth on thecoast of Maine. At the same time, his friend enrolled in a sailing course inBostonharbor.

Onthefirstday,asthenewownerofthedinghywaspushingoffthebeachinMaine,his friendwas sitting inaclassroom, learning theprinciplesof sailing.But oncehe developed a theoretical comfortwith sailing, hewas able to startsailinglargeboatsrightfromthebeginning.Meanwhile,offthecoastofMaine,his friend was out in the water from day one, albeit in a small boat, anddiscoveringonhisownthings likewhyacenterboard isuseful. In theensuingyears,hepracticedhisnewfoundskillsinlargerandlargerboats.

Intheend,eachfriendlearnedtheskillhedesired—butinradicallydifferentways fromoneanother.Thedinghyownerpreferred learning through concreteexperience, while his friend learned better by first building his own mentalmodelofsailing.Fortunatelyforbothofthesenovicesailors,eachofthemhadtheabilitytoalsolearn,whentheyhadto,fromactiveexperimentation.

Researchhasshownthatpeopleactuallylearnbestwhentheyusemodesthatsuitthem.21TheLearningStyleInventory,developedbyDavidKolbwhenhewasatMIT,hasbeenusedformorethanthirtyyearstounderstandlearning inmanagementaswellasinfieldsrangingfrommedicinetolaw.Kolbfoundthatpeoplelearnmostoftenthroughoneofthefollowingmodes:

•Concreteexperience:Havinganexperiencethatallowsthemtoseeandfeelwhatitislike

•Reflection:Thinkingabouttheirownandothers’experiences•Modelbuilding:Comingupwithatheorythatmakessenseofwhattheyobserve

• Trial-and-error learning: Trying something out by activelyexperimentingwithanewapproach

Learningoftenhappensbestthroughsomecombinationoftwoorthreeofthesemodes.22Ontheotherhand,somepeoplerelyonstylesthatcanactuallyhindertheir learning—especially if used too early or toomuch. Such learning stylesturnpeopleoff tofurther learningordrain theirexcitementbecause theymakelearningfeelboringorirrelevant.

Many leaders, for instance, have had instruction at some point in leadingteamsmore effectively. If they took the course from a college professor, theymight have startedwith a few classes devoted to understanding the theory ofgroup formation and group development. They might have had a classaddressing the different philosophical perspectives about groups and teams.Meanwhile,ratherthantheory,whattheymighthavereallyneededwasatooltouseonMondaymorningwhentheyhadtoquietdownadisruptiveteammember.Soafterafewclasses,theymighthavefeltthecoursewasirrelevantandstoppedpayingattention.

Professors organize courses to fit their ownpreferred learning style,whichfor academics is typically abstract and reflective.But a leaderwhose learningstylemaybemoreactiveandconcreteneedstobeginbylearningsomepracticaltechniqueshecantryimmediately.

Too often leadership courses and workshops present a fixed, cookie-cutteragenda.To avoid this pitfall in learning, it pays to identify your best learningstylestoensurethatyouractionstepswon’tbewasted.Ifyoucan’tidentifyyourstylesafterabitofreflection,therearesimpleteststhatcanhelp.23

Torecap,byenteringintothefirstthreediscoveriesofself-directedlearning,it is possible to develop an engaging, but realistic, agenda that can help youreach your leadership goals. You have compared your ideal vision with therealityofyourstyleandbehavior,andyou’veusedthattoidentifyyourstrengthsand gaps. Then, with that profile inmind, you’ve targeted specific leadershipabilitiesinalearningplan,settingapracticalcoursetostrengthenthem.

Youbegintheprocessofthefinaltwodiscoverieswhenyouragenda,andthesteps leadingup to it, has prepared and focusedyour attentiononwhat todo.Nowyoutryitanddiscoverhowtomakethiskindoflearningacontinuouspartofyourlifeasaleader.

TheFourthDiscovery:ReconfiguringtheBrainJack was head of marketing for a division of a global food company. High-energy and driven to improve results, Jack was a classic pacesetter. He wasalwaysstrivingtofindbetterwaystodothings—andtooeagertostepintotakeoverwhensomeoneseemedabouttomissadeadline.Worse,Jackwaspronetopounceon anyonewhodidn’t appear tomeet his standards, flying into a ragewhenever someone deviated from Jack’s way of doing things. As his directreportscomplained—behindhisback—Jackwas“acontrolfreak.”

Inoursurveyofhisdirectreports,wefoundtheusualdisastrousimpactonclimate.Peoplewereclearaboutthevision—wheretheyneededtogo—butnotonhow toget there. Jackknewwhathewantedpeople todo,but failed to letthem know when they were doing it right, giving no positive performancefeedback.One resultwas a paralysis: People felt they had no flexibility todotheirjobsinthewaythatmadesensetothem,butratherhadtoguesshowJackwantedthemtodoit.NosurprisethatinthetwoyearssinceJackhadtakenoverthedivision,itsbusinessresultshadstalled.Onthesuggestionofhisboss,Jacksoughtoutacoach.

The first step was to get an accurate diagnosis of Jack’s strengths andlimitations through a 360-degree evaluation on the emotional intelligencecompetencies.Heknewhisstrengths:self-confidence,highenergy,achievementorientation, initiative,andconscientiousness.For Jack, themost revealingdatawerethelargegapsbetweenhisself-evaluationandhowhisdirectreports ratedhimontwoleadershipcompetencies:self-controlandempathy.

ToassistJackincraftingalearningplanthatcoulddevelophisskillsinthosetwoareas,Jack’scoachspentagooddealoftime,atfirst,simplyhelpinghimtodigest the feedback data. The coach tied the reports of weak self-control andempathy to two of Jack’s particular strengths: his ability to quickly seealternativesolutionsandhispassionatedesiretofixthingsimmediately.BecauseJack overused those strengths, he consequently underused more positiveleadership styles, such as visionary and coaching styles, which rely on self-controlandempathy.

Once Jack sawhowhisweaknesseswere keeping himback fromhis idealvisionofhimselfasaneffectiveleader,hewasabletozeroinonwhatheneededto improve. He then committed himself to shifting the balance between hisstrengthsandgaps,andhiscoachhelpedhimworkupalearningplan.Theplanemphasizedspecificwaystouseon-the-job,day-to-dayeventsasthelaboratoryforlearning.

Forexample,Jacksawthathehadnoproblemempathizingwithpeoplewhenthingswere calm,butoncehebegan to feel stress, he’d tuneoutotherpeoplecompletely. That lack of self-control sabotaged his ability to listen to whatpeoplewere tellinghim in the verymoments hemost needed to do so. Jack’slearning plan, therefore, focused on handling emotions effectively. His coachshowed Jack a method to tune in to the sensations in his body so he couldmonitorhimselfforearlywarningsignsthathewasabouttoflyoff thehandleagain.Wheneverhestartedtofeelupset,hehadfourspecificstepstotake:

1.Stepback—listen,don’tjumpin.2.Lettheotherpersonspeak.3. Get some objectivity—ask yourself, Is there a sound reason for myreaction,oramIjumpingtoconclusions?

4. Ask clarifying questions, rather than ones that sound judgmental orhostile.

ThisintentionalchangeinJack’stypicaloverreactionresponseallowedhimtoempathize and listen, to gather informationmore fully and understand itmoreclearly,andtohavearationaldialogueinsteadoflaunchingintoaharangue.Hedidn’thavetoagreewiththeotherperson,butnowhegavethatpersonachancetomakehiscase.

Still, to make those changes, Jack had to learn to notice potentiallyproblematicsituations in the firstplace.Bybeingalert to situations that in thepasthavetriggeredourold,dysfunctionalleadershiphabits,we’rebetterabletochoose a new, more positive reaction. 24 Like an early-warning radar, thisanticipationsignalsusthatweshouldpaymoreattentiontowhatweareabouttodo,andsoputsournextactionintherealmofconsciouschoice.Itgivesusthechancetopractice—ratherthanmissingyetanotheropportunitytochange.

Jack did practice his new behaviors, again and again. He gave his directreportsmorepositivefeedbackonworkwelldoneratherthanmerelycriticizingthem,heremindedthemthatwhat theydidcontributed to thegroup’smission,

andhe restrainedhimself frommicromanaging how they got theirwork done.Littlebylittle,hebecamemoreofavisionaryandcoachingleader.Overasix-monthperiod, Jackmade realprogress.Hisown records showedhe’d reducedhisnumberofflare-upsfromoneormoreadaytojustoneortwoamonth.Theclimateinthedivisionhadimprovedsharply—anditsnumberswerestartingtocreepupwardatlast.

ANewModelofLearningWhenaleaderlikeJacktakesstockofhisrepertoireofleadershipskills,ina

senseheisassessingthesumtotalofalifetimeoflearning.Thelessonspeoplegetinleadershipstartveryearlyinlife,fromobservingteachers,coaches,clergy—anyonewhohasbeen in theroleof leader in their lives.Thesemodelsofferthefirst scaffold for people’s own leadership habits, their original ideas aboutwhataleaderdoes.Then,astheybegintostepintotheirfirstleadershiprolesinclubs, teams, student government, or as leaders in their peer groups, they putthosemodelsintopractice.Intheirjobs,theyencounternewleadersandtryoutnewleadershipbehaviors,addingontothatearlyinitialscaffoldingthattheyhadbuilt.

Virtually none of these lessons involves explicit instruction in elements ofleadership—theyarisenaturallyinthecourseoflife.Buttheylaydownthebraincircuitryforleadershiphabits,determiningwhatapersonwillautomaticallytendtodoinsimilarsituationsthroughoutlife.Eachtimeanindividualheadsateam,forinstance,he’llmostreadilyrepeatwhathedidbeforeasateamleader—andeach timehe repeats it, the neural connections for that habit become stronger.Cognitive scientists call such automatic strengthening of a habit implicitlearning,asopposedtotheexplicitvarietyprovidedinschoolcourses.

For the most part, the brain masters the competencies of leadership—everythingfromself-confidenceandemotionalself-managementtoempathyandpersuasion—throughimplicitlearning.You’llrecallthatimplicitlearningoccursnot in the topmost layers of the neocortex—the thinking brain—but rathertowardthebottomofthebraininthebasalganglia.Inthecaseofleadership,thatlearningoccurspresumablythroughconnectionstotheprefrontal-limbiccircuitsof emotional intelligence. 25 This primitive section of the brain picks up andmastersthehabitsweconstantlyrelyon,continuallylearninghowtoperformthebasic tasks of our lives—everything from stringing a sentence together torunninganeffectivemeeting.

Allthislearninggoesontacitly,mostofthetimewithoutpeopleevenbeingawarethattheyaremasteringsuchlessons,inwhatamountstostealthlearning.It’sanelegantsystem,forthemostpart.Theproblem,though,isthatpeoplepickup their leadership habits rather haphazardly over the course of life throughrepeatingwhattheyseetheirmodelsdo,orthroughrepeatingtheirownattemptsat leading.If thatfirstmanagerwhosoimpressedonewasa franticpacesetter,thenthatmaybecomethemodelemulatedasaleader;ifhewasasuperbcoach,whatonewilllearnfollowsquiteadifferentroute.Thenetresult:Peopleendupwithamixedbagofleadershipskills,akintohavingmasteredafewgolfstrokesbutbeingaterribleputter.

Still,aswe’veseen,it’spossibletoimproveifyoudothreethings:Bringbadhabits intoawareness,consciouslypracticeabetterway,andrehearse thatnewbehaviorateveryopportunityuntilitbecomesautomatic—thatis,untilmasteryhasoccurredatthelevelofimplicitlearning.

Improving an emotional intelligence competence take months, rather thandays, because the emotional centers of the brain are involved—not just theneocortex,thethinkingbrainwheretechnicalskillsandpurelycognitiveabilitiesarelearned.Aswe’vementionedbefore,theneocortexlearnsveryquickly,evenon a first hearing.But the basal ganglia and its links to the emotional centerslearndifferently:Tomasteranewskill,theyneedrepetitionandpractice.26

That’swhyit’shardtolearnleadershipabilitieseffectivelyinaclassroom.Ateacher can’t instruct your brain circuits that carry old habits of leadership torelearn new habits. What’s needed is practice: The more often a behavioralsequence repeats, the stronger the underlying brain circuits become. Peoplethereby literally rewire theirbrains:Learningnewhabits strengthens pathwaysbetween neurons, andmay even foster neurogenesis—growth of newneurons.27

For example, to overcomehis pacesetting habit and broaden his leadershiprepertoire,Jackwillhavetopracticerepeatedly.Themoresettingsinwhichhepracticesthesenewwaysofthinking,feeling,andacting,themoreflexibleandstrongthenewcircuitswillbecome.AtthatpointsomeonelikeJackwouldfindhimself going through the paces of leadership, effortlessly controlling hisemotional reactionswhile listeningwith empathy.Thismarks themoment thenewneuralpathwayshavebecomethebrain’sdefaultoption.

Andthatlevelofmasterylastsforyears,ifnotanentirelifetime.

AllPerformance,NoPractice

Jack wouldn’t have gotten far in developing his coaching style, however,without trying new ways of acting, particularly pausing to listen and askquestions. It was not easy.When a problem arose, every muscle in his bodypreparedforhimtojumpin,takeover,andtrytosolvetheproblemhimself.ForJack, that tendency was as automatic as knowing how to ride a bicycle—areactioneverybitasunconsciousandpowerful.

That’swhy experimentationwithmore positive alternatives is crucial. Thenewwayof thinking, feeling, or acting feels unnatural at first, something likeputting on someone else’s clothes.At the neural level, a person is forcing thebrain to go along a path less traveled.Smallwonder that Jackwas filledwithself-doubtduringthefirstweekorsohewastryingtolistentoothersratherthanjumpinginandtakingover.Itjustdidn’tfeelnatural—atfirst.

Great athletes spend a lot of time practicing and a little time performing,while executives spendno timepracticing and all of their timeperforming, asJimLoehrandTonySchwartzobservedintheHarvardBusinessReview.2Nowonderleaderssooftenrecycletheirproblems:Intherushtoachievetheirgoalsandcompletetheirtasks,theyshortthemselvesonlearningtoleadbetter.Often,a leader will try a new approach once or twice, and then apply it—withoutgivinghimselfthechancetopracticeit.

The key to learning new habits for leaders lies in practice to the point ofmastery.Otherwise they invite a relapse, a return tooldhabits. If you’ve everplayed a musical instrument, you know that when you rehearsed your sheetmusicjustenoughsoyoumadenomistakes,youwerepracticingtothepointofcomfort;youcouldwingitwhenplayingforyourteacher.Butunderthestressofa recital,youmight forgetpartsof thepiece.Professionalmusicians,however,go a crucial step further: They rehearse and rehearse, and then rehearse somemore. They practice until the fingering of their instrument or breathing isautomatic.Theypracticeuntiltheycanplayitwithoutthinkingaboutitandcanjustfeelit.

Similarly,tomasteraleadershipskill,youneedtochangethebrain’sdefaultoptionbybreakingoldhabitsandlearningnewones,whichrequiresanextendedperiodof practice to create thenewneural pathwayand then strengthen it. 29Youknowthatthenewhabithasbeenmasteredwhenyou’reabletosustainthatnewresponselongintothefuture—notjustforaweekoramonth.

The self-regulation competencies, particularly emotional self-control—mayrequire special effort at first to get to the point of mastery. Some research

suggeststhatmanagingemotionalimpulsesisrealmentalwork:Thestressoftheintentional effort to alter one’smood can deplete the energy it takes for self-control. 30 Still, sometimes self-control is the very thing that’s needed whenpracticinganew leadership style—say,whena leader like Jack tries tomasterhis pacesettingor commandingurges and replace themwith amore affiliativestyle.Inthatcase,learningrequiresaspecialeffort:holdingbackthetendenciestoreactintheoldway.Apersonhastooverridehisemotionalimpulses,whichaddstotheburdenoflearningandcanmakehimlosehisfocus.

This suggests a learning strategy that at first focuses a bit more onovercoming the impulsive leadership habits you are trying to undo—beforegivingfullattention to thenewhabitswithwhichyouwant to replace theold.Eventually,bypracticingself-controltothepointofmastery,whatwasonceaneffort becomes automatic, taking the pressure off.Once you’ve taken this keystep, then your mental energy and attention are freed up for practicing newmodesofleadership.

StealthLearningWhile much, if not most, typical leadership development takes place in

seminars,duringaweekendormaybeevenoveraweekofoffsitetraining,thattimeframehardlybeginstheprocess.

So rather than, say, just going off to some kind of weekend sensitivity-trainingprogramtohonehisempathy,Jackusednaturallyoccurringsituationsatworkwithhissubordinatesandpeersashistrainingarena.Healsotalkedabouthislearningplanwithhiswifeandenlistedherasaninformalcoachtohelphimbecome a better listener at home andwith friends. By expanding his learningarenainthisway,Jackleveragedmorefromhislifeactivities—andmaximizedhislearningefficiency.

Thetrickistolearnwhiledoingotherthings,astrategythatmightbethoughtof as “stealth learning” and that can be useful for improving emotionalintelligence abilities, particularly leadership skills. In studying outstandingmanagers among scientists and engineers—those who, for example, regularlyused competencies such as empathy—researcher ChristineDreyfus found thatthey had refined those talents in many settings. 31 Their abilities wereparticularly impressive given that they were engineers working in atechnologicalculturethatdidn’toftenmodelthosecompetencies.

Asdescribedinchapter6foroutstandingleadersatJohnson&Johnson,most

oftheleadersDreyfusstudiedhadstartedexperimentingwiththeskillsasmuchas forty years earlier, in childhood activities such as theBoyScouts.Then, inhighschoolandcollege,theyusedsports,clubs,musicgroups,anddormlifetoexperiment further. Later, when they became bench scientists and engineersworking on problems in relative isolation, they continued to learn and refinetheseabilities inactivitiesoutsideofwork,practicingteambuildinginsettingssuch as church and community organizations, or by planning conferences forprofessional associations. The normal pacesetting brusqueness of theengineering culture softened as they experienced other, more relationship-orientedmilieus.

Oneengineer,forexample,who’dbecomeastrongleader,reportedthathe’dbeen able to transcend the command-and-control, pacesetting engineeringculture through a somewhat surprising venue for leadership development: hischurch. “My church group easily lent itself to people expressing feelings andopinions,”theengineerrecalled.“Where,asanengineer,Iusuallyfelttheneedto always have a logical flow, in the group I becamemore accepting of lessstructure.Overtime,thatacceptanceworkeditswayintohowIactedasaleader—lessconcernedwithflowandcontentandmoreattunedtogroupprocess.”

FormostoftheengineersthatDreyfusstudied,earlyexperiencesofbeingaproject leader provided their key leadership-learning laboratory in the worksetting.Overtheyears,theytookongreatermanagementresponsibility,workedwithcoaches, andattended trainingprograms sponsoredby their company.Astheycontinuedtorefine their leadershipabilities, theybecamemodelsforhowstealthlearningcangoonanywhere,anytime.32

ThePowerofMentalRehearsalThemore timeyouput intopracticing, then, thegreater thepayoff.There’s

another way to expand opportunities to practice leadership abilities: by usingmentalrehearsal.

Let’s return toourexampleofJack.Followingpartofhis learningplan,hebegantospendidlemomentsduringhisdrivetoworkthinkingthroughhowtohandle encounters he would have that day. One day, driving to a breakfastmeeting with an employee who seemed to be bungling a project, Jack ranthroughapositivescenario inhismind:Heaskedquestionsand listened tobesurehe fullyunderstood the situationbefore starting to solve theproblem.Heanticipatedfeelingimpatient,andrehearsedhowhewouldhandlethesefeelings

ratherthanresortingtohisusualresponseofjumpingintoosoon.Suchmentalrehearsalcangreatlyimprovehowwellyoulearnnewskills.It’s

a well-known fact, for example, corroborated by scientific study, that mentalrehearsal enhances the performance of athletes. Olympic athletes, such as theAmericandiverLauraWilkinson,useitroutinely.Whilepreparingforthe2000Olympics,Wilkinsonbrokethreetoesandwasunabletogointhewater.Ratherthan stop her preparations, Wilkinson sat for hours each day on the divingplatform,repeatedlyrecreatinginhermindadetailedvisionofeachofherdives.Shewentontowinanupsetvictoryinthe2000Olympics—thegoldmedal intheten-meterplatformcompetition.33

There are dozens of such dramatic stories of athletes using the power ofmental rehearsal, envisioning their success. That kind of visioning enlistspowerful biological forces. For thirty years, a growing body of research hasshown thatyoucan raise the temperatureof part of yourbody, and slowyourbreathingorheartbeat,throughmentaltraining,therightfeedback,andtherightvisionofwhatyouwanttodo.Accordingly,leadershipsuccessdependsonyourability to clearly picture yourself achieving your ideal state, and thenmaintaining that focus. This visualization has another advantage: The brain,remember,motivates us by carrying an image ofwherewe’re going and howwe’llfeelwhenwegetthere.

But the benefits go beyond even that. Brain studies have shown thatimaginingsomethinginvividdetailcanfirethesamebraincellsthatareactuallyinvolvedinthatactivity.34Inotherwords,thenewbraincircuitryappearstogothroughitspaces,strengtheningconnections,evenasapersonmerelyrepeatsthesequence inhismind.That suggestsa tactic foralleviating fears thatmightbeassociated with trying out new, riskier ways of leading. If you first visualizesome likely situationsatworkor athome,you’ll feel less awkwardwhenyouactuallyputthenewskillsintopractice.

Experimentingwithnewbehaviors,then,andseizingopportunitiesinsideandoutside of work to practice them—as well as using such methods as mentalrehearsal—eventually triggers in one’s brain the neural connections necessaryforgenuinechangetooccur.

TheFifthDiscovery:ThePowerofRelationshipsIn the early 1990s, a group of women who were partners in what was then

Coopers&Lybrandmettoformastudygroup.Atfirsttheygatheredmonthlytodiscuss their careers and how to provide leadership in the firm and in atraditionally male-dominated industry. But after a few meetings, the womenbegantorealizethat theyweremeetingtodiscusstheirworkand theirlivesingeneral.Theydevelopedastrongmutualtrust,andfoundtheycouldrelyoneachother for frank feedback as they worked on strengthening their leadershipabilities.

Manyprofessionalwomentoday,seekingtobeleadersorsustainleadershipintheirorganizations,havecreatedsimilargroups—andforgoodreason.Aswepointed out in chapter 6, women, like minorities, get shorted on helpfulperformance feedback. And, perhaps most important, people with whom wehave a sense of trust give us a safe place to experiment, to try out unfamiliarpartsofourleadershiprepertoireinano-risksetting.

For anyonewho has gone through leadership development that works, theimportance of the people who help along the way will be obvious. As onemidcareer leader put it during the last meeting of a peer group that hadundergoneatwo-yeardevelopmentprocess,itwasn’tjusttheprogramthatmadesuch a difference, but rather “the people and the relationships that we havebuilt.” In fact, perhaps paradoxically, in the self-directed learning process,wedrawonotherseverystepof theway—fromarticulatingandrefiningouridealself and comparing itwith the reality, to the final assessment that affirms ourprogress.Ourrelationshipsofferustheverycontextinwhichweunderstandourprogressandrealizetheusefulnessofwhatwe’relearning.35Likeconsultingalawyer, talkingwith a trusted coach,mentor, or friend becomes a safety zonewithinwhich tomore freely explore the painful realities of a politicizedworksetting or to question things that don’tmake sense but are imprudent to raisewith your boss. Experimenting and practicing new habits require finding safeplacesandrelationships.

We’veseenmanyinstancesinwhichsuchsupportcanoffernotjustthehopeofchange,butalsotheconfidencetoembracethathope.Forexample,attheendof a program for executives and professionals, these alreadyhighly successfulpeople reporteda largegain in theirself-confidence.36Howdid theyaccountfor that gain, especially when their peers already had seen them as confidentbefore the executives began the program? In interviews, the executivesexplainedthatwhathadincreasedwastheirconfidencethattheycouldchange—something they hadn’t felt for a long time in their professional lives. They

reported feeling that many of the people around them—people at work, eventheir families—had an investment in them staying the same, despite theirwanting to change. But in the leadership program, they developed a newreference group—others like themselves—who encouraged that change.Moreover, we’ve seen that result in study after study: Positive groups helppeople make positive changes, particularly if the relationships are filled withcandor,trust,andpsychologicalsafety.37

TheStressofLeadershipForleaders,suchsafetymaybecrucialforauthenticlearningtooccur.Often

leaders feel unsafe, as if they’re under a microscope, their every actionscrutinizedbythosearoundthem—andsotheynevertaketheriskofexploringnewhabits.Knowingthatothersarewatchingwithacriticaleyeprovokesthemto judge their progress too soon, curtail experimentation, and decrease risktaking.

Inthosewaysandothers,leadershipisintrinsicallystressful.Earlystudiesonpeoplewhohadahighdriveforpower—theneed tohavean impact—showedthattheirverydesireforthatpowerhadthesamearousingeffectonthemasiftheywereunderactualbiologicalstress.38Whenaperson’sstressincreases—orhis powermotives are aroused—the body reacts by secretingmore adrenalineand noradrenaline, the body’s stress hormones. That leads to higher bloodpressure, getting the individual ready for action. At the same time, the bodysecretesthestresshormonecortisol,whichisevenlongerlastingthanadrenaline—andwhichinterfereswithnewlearning.39

Whenpeoplefeelstressed,ofcourse,theynolongerfeelsafeandarefurtherinhibited in practicing new ways of acting. Instead, they become defensive,relyingontheirmostfamiliarhabits.There’sanotherproblemthatthestressofleadership introduces:When stress is high and sustained, thebrain reactswithsustainedcortisolsecretion,whichactuallyhamperslearningbykillingoffbraincellsinthehippocampusthatareessentialfornewlearning.

For all these reasons, learning for leadership works best under conditionswherepeoplefeelsafe—butnotsorelaxedthattheylosemotivation.40There’sanoptimal level ofbrain arousal that helpspeople to learn, the state inwhichbothmotivationandinterestarehigh.Asenseofpsychologicalsafetycreatesanatmosphere in which people can then experiment with little risk of

embarrassmentorfearoftheconsequencesoffailure.Beinginaresonantgroup—say,onewithotherleaderslikeyourselfwhoare

venturing together to cultivate new leadership styles—offers one of the bestarenasforchange.Whenyouseesomeonelikeyourselfovercomehisinhibitionsandtakearisk,itsetsyoufreetotrysomethingabitriskyyourself.41

Cultivating special relationships, those whose sole purpose is to help youalong your path, is crucial to continuing development.Mentors or coaches, aswe’veseen,helpyoutodiscoveryourdreams,tounderstandyourstrengthsandgaps and your impact on others, and to guide you through the steps in yourlearningplan.Butjustcallingsomeonea“mentor”or“coach”isn’tenough—therelationshipmustbeoneofcandor,trust,andsupport.

MentorsandCoachesWhenweassessedhigh-level leaders at a large integrated-energycompany,

thosewefoundtohaveahealthyrepertoireofleadershipstrengthsalltoldusthesamestory:Theyhad firstcultivated thestrengthsearly in theircareers,undertheguardianshipofamentor.ThatfindingconfirmsstudiesdonebytheCenterforCreativeLeadershipinGreensboro,NorthCarolina,thathavelongpointedtothepowerofmentoringtoshapealeader’sabilities.42

Reflectingbackontheircareersasleaders,theexecutivesweinterviewedfeltthatthemostpivotalexperiencesintheirdevelopmenthadbeenjobswheretheyfeltthechallengeswereovertheirheads—atleast,atfirst.Ittookasponsoringmentorwhoaskedthemtotakethejobandthenprotectedthemfrommeddlingby “helpful hands” at corporate headquarters. The umbrella created by thementor was so critical that the company began referring to this mentoringcompetenceasgivingothers“roomtoact.”Thementorsmadeitsafeforthesefledglingleaderstospreadtheirwings,tryingoutnewstylesandstrengths.Thementoring did more than build a core of leadership strength throughout thecompany—it also produced two successive CEOs, each with laudable trackrecords.

If the goal is to work with a mentor in cultivating particular leadershipstrengths,it’simportanttomakethatintentionexplicit.Workingwithamentorwhoknowswhatyouaretryingtodo,andwithwhomyoushareyouraspirationsandyourlearningagenda,convertsthementorintoacoach.

Coaches come inmany forms.43Somemay be formal executive coaches,othersinformalmentors,andstillotherscanbecolleaguesorevenfriends.The

CEOandfounderofInstillCorporation,MackTilling,hasamentorwhoisCEOof another corporation: David Garrison of Verestar Communications. Tillingfeelsthattalkingtoanotherexecutivewithrelatedexperiencehelpshimsortoutissuesbetterthanacoachmight.44

Ontheotherhand,hiringanexecutivecoach—andtherearelegionsofthemtoday—can provide the opportunity to talkmore freely than one couldwith abossorpeer.Havingacoach(ormentor,forthatmatter)offersbenefitsbeyondsimplyhoningleadershipskills:Itgivesyouanothersetofeyesandears,andsocan be an antidote to the peril of the information quarantine that too manyleaders suffer. Coaches help you see outside of the balloon surrounding yourdailyexperience.

Good coaches will understand the dilemmas of the organization and itsculture, as well as the leader’s personal strengths and challenges, and use EIthemselves. 45 To be really helpful, a coach will understand the leader’sdilemmasfrommultipleperspectives: the individual level (what’sgoingonfortheperson);theteamlevel(thegroupdynamicsoftheexecutiveorstaffteams);and the organizational level (how all of this fits with culture, systems, andstrategy).Acoachcantailoraleader’sdevelopmentprogram,offeringtheluxuryofgoingthroughtheentireprocessoutlinedhereinaone-on-onerelationship.

BringingtheWholeTeamAlongHelping a single leadermove towardgreater resonancemarks a beginning.

But for an entire organization, the impact will be all the greater if leadershipgrowthgoesbeyondtheindividual.

Take the case of Rozano Saad of Huntsman Tioxide, a chemicalsmanufacturerinMalaysia.Notlongafterhewaspromotedtogeneralmanagerofoperations, he received feedback from his subordinates that jolted him: Hetended to be a commanding, pacesetting leader. At one level, this was notsurprising—afterall,Rozanowasanengineerbytraining,andthosestyleswerethenormintheengineeringcultureinwhichhe’doperatedfor thepastsixteenyears.

Theproblemwasthatheneededtodrawonawiderrepertoire ifhewastosucceedinhisjob.HuntsmanTioxidehadbeenoperatingatalossforfouryears.AlthoughtheMalaysiaplantwasthecompany’smostmodernfacility,ithadtheworst productivity andquality record in theworldwidegroup.As a result, theHuntsmanGroup,aconglomeratebasedinSaltLakeCity,Utah,hadboughtthe

Malaysian company (previously ICI Tioxide) “for a song,” as one consultantsaid.

To help the plant out of its predicament, Rozano used his new awarenessabouthisleadershiptosetlearninggoalstowardbuildingvisionaryandcoachingleadershipstyles.Hislargeraimwastodramaticallyimprovetheorganizationalclimate,particularlywhenitcametopeople’sclarityabouttheirresponsibilitiesand thestandardsexpectedof them.Healsoknew thatself-awarenesswasnotoneofhisstrengths,andthatbecameoneofhispersonallearninggoals.

As a way to inoculate himself from the CEO disease, Rozano made hispersonal learninggoalsknownamonghis staff.By involving themanypeoplewith whom he interacted daily, Rozano made others part of his learninglaboratory. He also brought his whole management team through the sameleadershipdevelopmentprogramhewasundergoing.Hewantedeveryonetobespeakingthesamelanguageasawaytoreinforcetheirnewlearningagenda,andto work together in identifying a vision of where they hoped to bring thecompany.His own learning agenda, for instance, pushed him to communicatethe newly identified vision of excellence at everymeetingwith people in theplants.

Teams were formed among the managers, from which they identified a“Monthly Plan Personal Contact” (their phrase for internal coaches) for eachleader to get support andmonitor progress on his or her learning plan. In themonthly management staff meeting, discussions now addressed managementstyle, organizational climate, and learning plans aswell as the usual topics ofperformance and safety. They also formed special reference groups that metmonthlyandwithinwhichtheycoulddiscusstheirownpersonallearningplans,reviewprogress,andgetongoingfeedback.

Just two years later, Rozano and hismanagerswere so encouraged by thechangesthattheyopenedtheirplantstotoursandsitevisitsbyotherexecutives.The whole environment shifted as well. At the beginning of this process, ifyou’dasked someoneon the shop floor about their personal objectives, you’dhave heard something vague in response, such as “to produce 50,000 tons ofpigment.”Nowifyouaskthesamequestion,youcanhearthefocusonqualityover quantity: “I have to ensure that samples are taken every four hours, andanalyzedaccordingtotherightstandards.Andifthere’sanydeviationfromtheacceptableparameters, I’llhave to troubleshoot toreachtheconformancelevelASAPthrough….”

What’s more, the company began showing a strong upward trend in

profitability, as well as improved productivity benchmarks. Regular climatesurveystomonitorprogressshowedjumpsofnearly200percentwhenassessedbyallmanagersinthecompany(andbycloseto300percentseenbyRozano’sdirect reports)—particularly in the dimensions of clarity, flexibility, standards,and team commitment. In the third year after the change effort, theconglomerate’sCEO reported thatHuntsmanTioxide-Malaysiawasoneof thehighest performing companies in the group, breaking productivity targetswithrecordprofits.

Whathadhappened?Thesamepeoplewerethere;personnelhadn’tchangedmuchduringthat time.Whathadchangedwashowtheyworked together:Theclimatebecameonethatencouragedeveryonetoincreasetheiruseofemotionalintelligence and to build their leadership talent. Each manager had theopportunity toarticulatehisdreamsandaspirations(thefirstdiscovery), toseehimself as others saw him through 360-degree feedback and identification ofstrengthsandgaps(theseconddiscovery),todevelopapersonallearningagenda(thethirddiscovery),andtoexperimentandpracticenewhabitsofleadershipatwork(the fourth discovery). Themanagers did thisworkwith each other (thefifth discovery) and created a new climate of leadership. They developedemotionalresonanceabouttheirmissionanddevelopmentasleaders.

Whenitcomestoleadership,you’vejustbegunthetaskwhenyouchangeasingleleader.Therestofthejobistodevelopacriticalmassofresonantleadersand thereby transform how people work together, and then to encourage theongoing development of such leaders. The most effective leadershipdevelopment works hand in hand with parallel transformations in theorganization that those leaders guide—as we will see in the next part of thisbook.

PARTTHREE

BUILDINGEMOTIONALLY

INTELLIGENTORGANIZATIONS

CHAPTERNINE

THEEMOTIONALREALITYOFTEAMS

THE TOP MANAGEMENT TEAM of a manufacturing firm had accepted animportantcharge:tofindwaystoaddressthefactthatthefirmwasperenniallylocked in what they called “flat growth.” Translation: They were losing theiredge.Thetroublewas,theteamsimplycouldnotseemtomakebigdecisions,nomatterhowimportant. Infact, themoreurgent thedecision, themoretheteammemberswouldputoffmaking it,careful toavoid topicsonwhich theyknewthey disagreed.Worse yet, they sometimes acted as if they did agree on keyissues,onlytoleavethemeetingand,asonepersonputit,“quietlysabotagethedecision.”Meanwhile, the manufacturing firm fell more and more behind onimplementingcrucialstrategy.

Whatwasgoingonwith this team?Througha leadershipauditof the teammembers, the truth came out:Virtually every one of themwas uncomfortablewith interpersonal disagreements, scoring low on the conflict management EIcompetence.Suddenlythereasonfortheteam’sinabilitytomakedecisionswasobvious.Ithadnevercometothecollectiverealizationthatopendiscussionanddisagreementsaboutideas—asopposedtoattacksonpeoplewhoholddisparateviews—sharpen decision making. Instead, the team had adopted the habit ofavoidingalldisputes.

For this group, recognizing that their sharedgaphad resulted in inefficient

teamhabitswaslikealightgoingon.Infact,whattheyhaddiscoveredwasanimportant, but invisible, force acting on the team:The ground rules regardingconflict and their collective feelings about it added up to an emotional realitythatparalyzedthem.Withthatinsight,theycouldseewhattheyasateam—andas individuals—needed to change; further, they recognized that beyond abehavioral adjustment, a real solution would require a shift in mindset aboutconflict.

We’veseenrepeatedlythatwhenteams(andentireorganizations)facetheircollective emotional reality, they begin a healthy reexamination of the sharedhabits that create and hold that reality in place. In fact, for leaders to extendemotionalintelligencethroughouttheirteamsandorganizations,that’spreciselywhere theyneed to start: by taking ahard look at reality, rather thanfocusingfirst on an ideal vision. Thus the sequence of reflection and self-discovery isreversedfromwhatitwasattheindividuallevel,describedinchapter7.

Why the reversal? It’samatterofmotivation.As individuals,wefeelmostmotivatedtochangewhenwetapintoourdreamsandidealvisionsofourlives.Thatvisionofourpersonalfuturegivesustheenergyandcommitmenttochangeourbehavior.Theidealvisionforagroup,however,isoftenamuchmoredistantconcept,soitsimplydoesn’tprovideenoughmotivationto instigatechange.Agoodexampleistheloftylanguagefoundincompanymissionstatements,whichoftenfeelslight-yearsawayfromemployees’day-to-dayexperiencesatwork.

Groupsbegintochangeonlywhentheyfirsthavefullygraspedtherealityofhow they function, particularly when individuals in the group recognize thatthey’reworking in situations that are dissonant or uncomfortable. It is criticalthat they understand this reality on an emotional, even visceral, level. Yetrecognizingdiscomfortdoesnot,initself,enablechange.Groupmembersmustdiscoverthesourceofdiscontent—anemotionalrealitythatusuallygoesbeyondsuchobvioussourcesas“abadboss.”The rootof theproblemoften lieswithlong-established and deeply embedded ground rules, or habits that govern thegroup.Wecall thoserulesnormswhenwe talkabout teams,andculturewhenwerefertothelargerorganization.

Once there’s anunderstandingof the emotional reality andnormsof teamsand the culture of an organization, it can be used as a basis from which todeveloptheidealvisionforthegroup,which,tobetrulycaptivating,mustalsobe in tune with each individual’s personal vision. With the reality and idealvisionunderstood, it ispossible to identifyandexplore thegapsbetween themand consciously plan to align what’s happening today with the vision of

tomorrow.Themorealigned the reality iswith the ideal, themore the changecanbecountedon topersistover the longterm.That typeof“attuning” idealswithrealityiswhatcreatestheframeworkformovingawayfromdissonanceandtowardanemotionallyintelligent,resonant,andmoreeffectivegroup.

Before exploring how to make change happen, however, we’ll look morecloselyattheconceptofemotionalreality.We’llfirstexplorethisinthecontextof teams and move later to discuss organizations, since team situations areusually closer to people’s daily experience. Teams also provide a moreimmediatevenueforchange—whileatthesametimeofferingareflectionofthelargerorganizationalreality.

WhenTeamsFail:ThePowerofNormsIn the last few decades much research has proven the superiority of groupdecisionmakingoverthatofeventhebrightestindividualinthegroup.1Thereis one exception to this rule. If the group lacks harmony or the ability tocooperate, decision-making quality and speed suffer. Research at CambridgeUniversityfoundthatevengroupscomprisingbrilliantindividualswillmakebaddecisionsifthegroupdisintegratesintobickering,interpersonalrivalry,orpowerplays.2

In short, groups are smarter than individuals only when they exhibit thequalities of emotional intelligence. Everyone in the group contributes to theoveralllevelofemotionalintelligence,buttheleaderholdsspecialswayinthisregard.Emotionsarecontagious,andit’snaturalforpeopletopayextraattentiontotheleader’sfeelingsandbehavior.3So,veryoftenitisthegroupleaderwhosetsthetoneandhelpstocreatethegroup’semotionalreality—howitfeelstobepartoftheteam.4Aleaderskilledincollaborationcankeepresonancehighandthusensurethatthegroup’sdecisionswillbeworththeeffortofmeeting.Suchleadersknowhowtobalanceateam’sfocusonthetaskathandwithattentiontothe relationships among the team members. They naturally create a friendly,cooperativeclimateintheroom,aclimatethatfostersapositiveoutlookon thefuture.5

Accordingly,aleaderwhoisn’temotionallyintelligentcanwreakhavocinateamsituation.Considerthefollowingexamples.

•A division of a healthcare companywas losingmoney hand over fist,

providing inferior service while employing too many people at everylevel.Themanagement teamwasheadedbyashort-sighted leaderandheldendlessmeetingstoseekconsensusbeforeitwouldmakechangesregarding critical issues such as cutting staff. Unable to come to anydecisions, within a few years the ailing division pulled the entirecompanyintofinancialdisarray.

• Janet, a brilliant leader in a large insurance company, stepped into asleepydivisionwiththeforceofatornado—andabsoluteintolerancefortheoldwaysofdoingthings.Forpeopleontheteamwhodidn’tagreewithherplans, shehadoneclearandverypublicmessage:There’snoroomforyouhere;findsomethingelsetodo.LittledidJanetrealizeshehadmobilizedaforceforanewcauseinherteam—toseeherfailatanyprice.Withinamatterofmonths,whathadbeenareasonablysuccessfuldivision began performing miserably, and within a year it wasdismantled.

Unfortunately,thesescenariosarealltoofamiliartomanyofus.Attherootofboth situations was a problem related to how the leader managed the silentlanguageofbothemotionandnorms.We takenorms forgranted,but theyareimmenselypowerful.Normsrepresent implicit learningat thegrouplevel—thetacit rules that we learn by absorbing day-to-day interactions and that weautomaticallyadoptsotheycanfitinsmoothly.

Whenallissaidanddone,thenormsofagrouphelptodeterminewhetheritfunctions as a high-performing team or becomes simply a loose collection ofpeopleworkingtogether.6Insometeams,contentionandheatedconfrontationaretheorderoftheday;inothersacharadeofcivilityandinterestbarelyveilseveryone’s boredom. In still other, more effective teams, people listen to andquestioneachotherwithrespect,supporteachotherinwordanddeed,andworkthrough disagreements with openness and humor.Whatever the ground rules,people automatically sense them and tend to adjust how they behaveaccordingly.Inotherwords,normsdictatewhat“feelsright”inagivensituation,andsogovernhowpeopleact.

Sometimesnormsthatseemhelpful,andthatareevenrootedinnoblegoals,canbecomedestructive.Thatwasthecasewiththehealthcaredivisionexamplerecountedearlier.Oneofthedivision’smostvauntednormswasacommitmentto consensus in the decision-making process. But whereas consensus usuallyresults in highly committed andmotivated teammembers, in this division the

leaderhadcometouseitasawaytostallandevenhijackdecisions—especiallydecisionsthatwouldmovethingsinanewdirection.

Inthecaseofthenewleaderofthesleepyinsurancedivision,Janet’sfailuretoidentifytheteam’semotionalrealityandtocomplywithitsunderlyingnormswroughtcatastrophicresults.Sheunderestimatedthepowerofthetribe:thetightcohesion that people feelwhen there are long-standing collective habits and asharedsenseofwhattheyholdsacred.

Chargedwithtransformingthedivisionintoastate-of-the-artunit,Janetcameinwithbigdreamsandakeeneye forwhatneeded tochange.Usingaclassiccommandingleadershipstyle,shelookedaround,foundafewfolkswholookedliked“leaders”(actuallytheylookedjustlikeher),pulledthemclose,andbegancleaninghouse—readilysacrificingpeoplewiththeleastpower.Whenhernewsubordinatesobjectedtohertactics,Janetwasn’tfazed;shewasconvincedthattheseniorpeoplewouldsee theneedforchangeandadopthervision—orelsegetout.

WhatJanetfailedtotakeintoaccountweretheunspokenbutpowerfulnormsthathadgovernedthedivisionlongbeforeshecameaboard.Themostimportantof those norms was a strong bond of loyalty among the teammembers, whopridedthemselvesontakingcareofeachotherevenduringhardtimes.Theyhadalsofoundwaystodealwithconflictthatensuredthatfewpeoplewerehurt.Bytreatingpeople roughly,Janetviolatedcoreculturalnorms.The teammembersfoundtheirguidingprinciples—collaboration,kindness,andrespectfor“face”—underattack,andtheyfoughtback.Withinamatterofmonths,aspeoplecametogetheraroundtheirsharedsenseofoutrage,keyteammembersopenlytriedtowrest leadership from her, while many others chose to leave—leading to thedivision’seventualdemise.

Janet is a good example of one of the biggestmistakes leaders canmake:ignoring the realities of team ground rules and the collective emotions in thetribe and assuming that the force of their leadership alone is enough to drivepeople’sbehavior.Still, it happens in companyafter company:A leaderwalksintoanewjob—oftenaturnaroundsituation—ignoresthepowerofthegroup’snorms, and pretends that feelings don’t matter. Rather than using resonance-building leadership styles, the leader employs a steam-rolling combination ofcommanding and pacesetting styles. The result is a toxic and rebelliousenvironment.

Clearly, the leaders in the previous examples lacked the emotionalintelligence to address the group reality and raise team interactions to more

productivelevels.Leaderswhohaveakeensenseofthegroup’spivotalnorms,on the other hand—andwho are adept atmaximizing positive emotions—cancreatehighlyemotionallyintelligentteams.

Collective emotional intelligence is what sets top-performing teams apartfromaverage teams, as shownby theworkofVanessaDruskat, aprofessor atCase Western’s Weatherhead School of Management, and Steven Wolff, aprofessor at Marist College’s School of Management. Group emotionalintelligence,theyargue,determinesateam’sabilitytomanageitsemotionsinawaythatcultivates“trust,groupidentity,andgroupefficacy”andsomaximizescooperation,collaboration,andeffectiveness.7 In short, emotional intelligenceresultsinapositive—andpowerful—emotionalreality.

MaximizingtheGroup’sEmotionalIntelligenceNotsurprisingly,agroup’semotionalintelligencerequiresthesamecapabilitiesthat an emotionally intelligent individual expresses: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationshipmanagement.What’s differentthough,isthattheEIcompetenciesrelatebothtoindividualsandtothegroupasawhole.8Groupshavemoodsandneeds,andtheyactcollectively—justthinkabout the last timeyouwalked into ameeting late and could actually feel thetensionintheroom.Youcouldtelltherehadbeenaconflictofsomesort,evenbeforeanyonesaidaword.Thegroup,asawhole,was tenseandpoised forafight.Youalsoknewthatthegroup,asawhole,neededsomeactiontogetbackon track—and if it didn’thappen soon, thingswould spiraldownward.This iswhatwemeanbygroupmoodsandneeds.

As is truewith individuals, in teams each of theEI abilities builds on oneanotherinpractice,becomingakindofcontinuum.Inotherwords,when teammembersbegintopracticeself-awareness,noticingthegroup’smoodandneeds,theytendtorespondtooneanotherwithempathy.Theveryactofshowingoneanotherempathyleadstheteamtocreateandsustainpositivenormsandmanageitsrelationshipswiththeoutsideworldmoreeffectively.Attheteamlevel,socialawareness—especiallyempathy—isthefoundationthatenablesateamtobuildandmaintaineffectiverelationshipswiththerestoftheorganization.

TheSelf-AwareTeamAnengineeringfirm’smanagementteamhadscheduleditsweeklymeetingat

an offsite location. Just as themeetingwas about to begin, one teammemberstormed in,mumbling something about themeeting being held at a place andtimethatwasinconvenientforhim.Noticinghowupsethewas,theleadercalledeveryone’sattentiontothesacrificetheteammemberwasmakingandthankedhimforit.Theeffectofthatacknowledgment:nomoreanger.

A team expresses its self-awareness by beingmindful of sharedmoods aswellasoftheemotionsofindividualswithinthegroup.Inotherwords,membersof a self-aware teamare attuned to the emotional undercurrents of individualsand the group as a whole. They have empathy for each other, and there arenorms to support vigilance and mutual understanding. So although this teamleader’s gesture may have seemed simple, often just such an astute andseeminglysubtlemovecandomoretoreducedissonanceandrestoreresonancethananactionfullofbellsandwhistles.

Sinceemotionsarecontagious,teammemberstaketheiremotionalcuesfromeachother,forbetterorforworse.Ifateamisunabletoacknowledgeanangrymember’sfeelings,thatemotioncansetoffachainreactionofnegativity.Ontheother hand, if the team has learned to recognize and confront such momentseffectively,thenoneperson’sdistresswon’thijackthewholegroup.

That intervention in the engineer’s team points to the near seamlessnessbetween a team’s self-awareness and empathy, which leads to its self-management.Italsoillustrateshowaleadercanmodelbehavior.Theleaderinthiscasemodeledanempatheticconfrontationofamember’semotionalrealityandbrought it to thegroup’sattention.Suchacaringattitudebuildsasenseoftrust and belonging that underscores the shared mission: We’re all in thistogether.

Team self-awareness might also mean creating norms such as listening toeveryone’sperspective—includingthatofalonedissenter—beforeadecisionismade. Or it can mean recognizing when a teammate feels uncomfortable inlearningatask,andsteppingintooffersupport.

In their research on teams, SusanWheelan of TempleUniversity and FranJohnstonof theGestalt InstituteofClevelandpointout thatveryoften it is anemotionallyintelligentteammember—notjusttheleader—whoisabletopointoutunderlyingproblemsandthusraisetheself-awarenessofthegroup.9SuchwasthecaseatastrategicplanningsessionatLucentTechnologies.

Themeetingwasgoingalltoopredictably.Thereigningexecutivehadasked,as she always did, for a “stretch goal” to set next year’s numbers. The teamrespondedwith itsusualbravado:“Doubledigit!”“Wecandoanythingweset

ourmindsto!”ButMichelDeschapelles,currentlyaregionalvicepresidentforLatinAmerica,feltfrustrated.Heknewthattheteam’snormofpublicbravadohadlongmaskedunderlyingpatternsofineffectivegoalsetting—whichwentfartoexplainthedivision’sslowgrowth—andreflectedpeople’stendencytoavoidaccountabilitybyhidingbehindvaguegoals.

He decided to challenge his teammates: “Do you guys reallymean it?” heasked. “Then let’s go for 400 percent growth this year! Let’s make that ourgoal!”Youcouldseethereactiononpeople’sfaces:Theythoughthehadgonemad.Foramomentdismayparalyzedthegroup.Butafterafewminutes,peoplestartedtolaugh:Deschapelleshadcalledtheirbluffandshedlightonthegroup’shiddennormofemptybravado.

Hischallengeinitiatedafrankdiscussionabouthowtheteamhadhiddenthetruthofitsperformancebehindmeaninglessphrases.Soontheteamwasabletohavemorerealisticconversationsaboutmeasurablegoalsandconcretestepstoattain them,holdingoneanother accountable forwhat theycouldachieveas ateam. That proved to be a pivotalmoment for business performance, creatingnew clarity about who was responsible for what. For the first time, financialresults for the following fiscal year let the team demonstrate its value to thecorporation:Theyhelpedtocloseover$900millioninsales.

Deschapelles’s actions sparked collective mindfulness—awareness of whattheteamwasdoing,andwhy.10Thislevelofself-awarenessinateamleadstoan ability to make decisions about what to do and how to do it, rather thanblindlyfollowingineffectivenormsorswayingwiththewindsofteammembers’(ortheleader’s)emotions.

TheSelf-ManagedTeamCary Cherniss, chair of a well-known research group, puts team self-

awarenessfrontandcenterandholdsgroupmembersaccountableformanaginghowtheyworktogether.Atthebeginningofaday-longmeeting,hepassesoutthe day’s agenda—alongwith a list of “process norms” that outlines how thegroupwillcarryoutthatagenda.Forexample:

Everyone,notjustCary,shouldtakeresponsibilityfor:•Keepingusontrackifwegetoff•Facilitatinggroupinput•Raisingquestionsaboutourprocedures(e.g.,askingthegrouptoclarify

whereitisgoingandofferingsummariesoftheissuesbeingdiscussedtomakesurewehaveasharedunderstandingofthem)•Using good listening skills: either build on the ongoing discussion orclearlysignalthatwewanttochangethesubject,andaskifthatisok…

Membersof this group,whocome fromaround theworld, say thesemeetingsareamongthemostfocused,productive,andenjoyableofanythey’veattended.

Thisexampleoffersanexcellentlessoninhowateamledbyanemotionallyintelligent leader can learn tomanage itself.Of course,Cherniss shouldknowwhathe’sdoing—afterall,heheadstheConsortiumforResearchonEmotionalIntelligence in Organizations at Rutgers University. But none of the processnorms that Cherniss passed around were out of the ordinary, in and ofthemselves.What was unusual was that Cherniss made sure he reminded thegroupofitscollaborativenorms—makingthemexplicit so thateveryonecouldpracticethem.

This raisesan importantpointabout teamself-management:Positivenormswill stick only if the group puts them into practice over and over again.Cherniss’s group continually maximized its potential for interacting withemotionalintelligence,raiseditslevelofeffectiveness,andproducedapositiveexperienceforallofthegroupmemberseachtimeitmet.Beingsoexplicitaboutnormsalsohelpedtosocializenewcomersintothegroupquickly:Atonepoint,theconsortiumdoubleditssize,butdidsosmoothlybecausepeopleknewhowtomesh.

Whencorevaluesandnormsarecleartopeople,aleaderdoesnotevenneedto be physically present for the team to run effectively—this is of specialimportance to the thousands of managers who work with virtual teams andwhoseteammembersarelocatedallovertheglobe.Inself-aware,self-managingteams, members themselves will step up to the plate to instill and reinforceresonantnormsandtoholdoneanotheraccountableforstickingtothem.Atoneresearch laboratory, for example, no one can rememberwho started what hasbecomeatraditionduringmeetingsofR&Dgroups.Wheneversomeonevoicesa creative idea, the personwho speaks nextmust take the role of an “angel’sadvocate,”offeringsupport.Thatwaytheprospectsarebetterforthesurvivalofthefragilebudofanidea,insulatingtheinnovativethoughtfromtheinevitablecriticisms.The“angel’sadvocate”normdoes two important things: Ithelps toprotectnew ideas,and itmakespeople feelgoodwhen theyarecreative.Asaresult,peoplearemorecreative,and resonance iscontinually reinforced in the

team.So, team self-management is everyone’s responsibility. It takes a strong,

emotionally intelligent leader to hold the group to the practice of self-management, especially for teams not accustomed to proactively handlingemotionsandhabits.Whencorevaluesandtheteam’soverallmissionareclear,however,andwhenself-managementnormsareexplicitandpracticedovertime,team effectiveness improves dramatically, as does the experience of teammembersthemselves.Beingontheteambecomesrewardinginitself—andthosepositiveemotionsprovideenergyandmotivation for accomplishing the team’sgoals.

TheEmpathicTeamAteam inamanufacturingplantknew that its successdepended inparton

getting the maintenance team to give their equipment top priority. So themanufacturingteammembersnominatedthatteamfora“TeamoftheQuarter”award, and theywrote the letters that helped themaintenance teamwin. Thatrelationshippolishinghelpedthemanufacturingteammaintainitsrecordasoneoftheplant’stopproducers.

The effect was clear: By helping to trigger a feeling of team pride in themaintenancegroup,themanufacturingteamcreatedgoodwillbetweenthosetwopartsoftheorganization—andadesiretohelptheothersucceed.Theteamuseditsskills to try tounderstandanotherpartof theorganizationandhowthe twogroups affected one another, thereby cultivating a mutually beneficialrelationship.Asaresult,bothteamssucceededbetterthaneitheronewouldhaveonitsown.

An emotionally intelligent team, then, has the collective equivalent ofempathy,thebasisofallrelationshipskills.Itidentifiesotherkeygroupsintheorganization (and beyond) that contribute to the team’s success, and it takesconsistentactiontofosteragoodworkingrelationshipwiththosegroups.Beingempathic at the team level doesn’t just mean being nice, though. It meansfiguringoutwhatthewholesystemreallyneedsandgoingafteritinawaythatmakes all those involvedmore successful and satisfiedwith the outcomes. 11The manufacturing team’s proactive stance worked on two levels: It builtresonancebetweenthe twogroups,andithelpedshineaspotlighton thegoodwork of the maintenance team when it was recognized as the plant’s topperformer.

Empathyacrossorganizationalboundaries—teamtoteam,forexample—isapowerful driver of organizational effectiveness and efficiency. Moreover, thiskind of empathy goes far toward creating a healthy emotional climateorganization-wide,aswellascreatingapositiveemotionalenvironmentinteamsthemselves.

UncoveringaTeam’sEmotionalRealityThe leader who wants to create an emotionally intelligent team can start byhelping the team raise its collective self-awareness.As some of the examplesdiscussed earlier illustrated, this is the truework of the leader: tomonitor theemotional toneof the team and to help itsmembers recognize any underlyingdissonance. Onlywhen a team can confront that emotional realitywill it feelmoved to change.By acknowledging a shared sentiment as simple as “I don’tlikehow it feelsaroundhere,”a teammakesacritical first step in thechangeprocess.

Aleaderhelpsinitiatethatprocessbylisteningforwhat’sreallygoingoninthe group. Thatmeans not only observingwhat teammembers are doing andsaying but also understanding what they are feeling. Then, once a leader hashelpedtheteamuncoveritsless-productivenorms,thegroupcancometogetheraroundnewwaysofdoingthings.

Strategies for exposing a group’s emotional reality can takemyriad forms.Forexample,avicepresidentatafinancialservicescompanytoldus:“IalwaysstartbylookingnotathowIseethings,butathowmyteammembersseethings.Iaskmyself,‘What’shappeningwiththatperson?Whyishedoingthoseawfulthings?Whatisheafraidoforangryabout?Or,whatissheexcitedabout,andwhatmakesherfeelsecureandhappy?’”

By modeling and encouraging in her team the key competency self-awareness, that vice president made her division a center of excellence.Moreover,sinceitsgroupnormsincludedempathyandafocusonothers—ratherthanon its ownwants andneeds—thedivisionwas able to look beyond itselfand identify leadership and management issues that the company as a wholeneeded to address. As a result, the division has hit several home runs in theprograms and initiatives it has launched, including a management-assessmentcenterthat’sknownintheindustryasbestinclass.

SETTINGGROUNDRULES:THELEADER’SJOB

MORETHANANYONEELSE, it is the team leaderwhohas thepower toestablishnorms,maximizingharmonyandcollaborationtoensurethattheteambenefitsfromthebesttalentsofeachmember.Aleaderaccomplishesthatbymovingthegrouptowardahigheremotional tone,usingpositive images,optimistic interpretations,and resonance-building norms and leadership styles, particularly visionary, democratic, affiliative, andcoachingstyles(seechapter4formoreonstyles).For example, leaders can model behavior through their own actions or by positivelyreinforcingmemberswhodosomethingthatbuildsthegroup’semotionalcapacity.Onemightdothisbyconductingashortcheck-insessionbeforemeetingsstart,toensurethatpeoplewhosemoodmightbe“off”canexpresstheirfeelingsandhavethemsoothed.AsKenwynSmithoftheUniversityofPennsylvaniaandDavidBergofYaleUniversitynotedintheirresearch,suchemotionsinagrouparecrucialsignalstoaleader“thattheissueor event at hand should be engaged rather than avoided”—short-circuiting the troubleratherthanlettingitsmolder.12Forexample,aleadermightmakeapointofphoningamemberwhose behavior has been rude and discussing the issue, or shemight makesuresheasksmemberswhohavebeenquietwhattheythinkaboutaparticulardecision.Settingtherightgroundrulesrequiresanemotionallyintelligentleader—again,commonsense,butnotcommonpractice.Thebestleaderspayattentionandactontheirsenseofwhat isgoingon in thegroup,and theyneedn’tbeobviousabout it.Subtlemessages,suchasquietly remindingsomeonenot toattack ideasduringabrainstormingsession,are powerful too. Under such leadership, teams over time naturally accumulate acommon,positiveloreabouthowtooperatewitheachother.

Anotherseniormanagerpaysattention to thegroupasawhole.Aware thatteamsoftenbehavedifferentlyatdifferentpointsintheirlifecycle,thismanagercreateswaysformemberstotalkaboutissuesthatareproblematicinnewteams.13Whenconveningaprojectteam,she’llroutinelygetpeopletotalkabouttheirstrengthsandaboutwhattheycancontributetotheeffort.Subtly,thisleaderismaking team members aware of two aspects of the team’s emotional reality:inclusiondynamics(who’sinandwho’sout)andpeople’sroles(whodoeswhat,andwhy).Theopennesssheestablisheswiththeseteamstart-upshelpstocreategood norms—habits that will enable the team to deal with the inevitableconflictslateron.

Anotherwaythatleaderscanuncovertheemotionalrealityofthegroupisbyobservingimportantsignals.Forexample,duringa recentmergerbetween twoEuropeanpharmaceuticalgiants,onemanagercheckedaneasybarometerofherdivision’scollectiveemotions:Shemonitoredthenumberofcarsintheparkinglot.

Whenthemergerwasfirstannounced,thismanagernoticedthattheparkinglot was always full, and that many cars remained well into the evening. Sheknewthatpeoplewereworkingextrahardbecausetheywereexcitedaboutthepotentialopportunitiesthatthemergerrepresented.Then,asthechangeprocessbegantohitonedelayafteranother,themanagernoticedfewerandfewercarsintheparkinglot.Clearly,manypeople’s initialexcitementandcommitmentwasdwindling—andtheiranxietyincreasing.

Butwhataboutthecarsthatcontinuedtoappearintheparkinglot,dayafterday?Severalpocketsofpeoplewereapparentlymanagingtoremainproductiveand relativelyhappyevenduring that sluggishprocess.At thisdivision itwasdiscoveredthatwhilemanyofthosepeopleweremotivatedinternally—eitherbyadeep commitment to thework itself, such as theR&Dscientists, or becausetheywere otherwise skilled in emotional self-management—most peoplewhoweathered the change were protected from the turmoil by effective leaders.Thoseemotionallyintelligentleadersmadesurethattheyengagedtheirteamsinthechangeprocess,givingthemasmuchinformationandasmuchcontrolovertheir destiny as possible. They noticed how their teammemberswere feeling,acknowledgedthatthosefeelingswereimportant,andgavepeopleopportunitiestoexpressthoseemotions.

Forexample,oneR&Dmanagerrecognizedearlyonthatmoralewastankingafterafavoriteleaderleftthecompany.Ratherthanignoringtheproblem(afterall, he couldn’t change the situation), he talked to each of his teammembersindividually about their sorrow and concerns. That kind of personal attentionenabledhimtothenbringtheteamtogethersothatitcouldrefocusitsenergyonthemorepositivechangessurroundingthemerger.Anothermanagerheld“teamclosedowns.” Instead of simply shuffling people on to their next job as newpositionswereannounced,onseveraloccasionshebroughttheoldteamtogethertocelebratethepast,mourntheendofanera,anddiscusshopesforthefuture.

These managers are good examples of leaders who managed their ownfeelingsandthecollectivefeelingsintheirunitssothatpeoplespentaminimalamountofemotionalenergydeciphering—orfighting—thechanges.Bykeepingtheir eyes open andmonitoring the tone of their groups, the leaders capturedpositiveenergyandfoundconstructiveoutletsfornegativefeelings.

DiscoveringtheTeam’sEmotionalIntelligenceTheCEO of amidsize company asked us toworkwith threemembers of an

executive teamwhowerenotcooperatingwell together.TheCEO thought thecurewouldbesimplyamatterofdoingsometeambuildingtogetthingsbackontrack.Wedecidedtogetmoreinformation.Inourcoachingconversationswithteammembers,welookedfortheemotionalrealityoftheteamanditsnorms,aswellas themesconcerning the leader’s impact.Wealso tookasnapshotof theteam’semotionalintelligenceusingtheEmotionalCompetenceInventory(ECI),andweassessedmanagementstyleandtheexecutives’impactontheclimateoftheirorganization.14WhatwefoundsurprisedthisCEO.True,theteamwasn’tworkingwell together,butwhat itneededwasn’t teambuilding.Theresultsofour interviewsand thepicture the360-degree feedbackpaintedabout the teamshowed several underlying problems that required a very different kind ofsolution.

Not surprisingly, there were a few problems with specific team members.Oneteammember,forexample,measuredverylowonself-awareness.Hewascompletelymissingthecluespeoplegavehimabouthisstyleof interaction.Inmeetings, he would express strong viewpoints and not understand how hisaggressive manner was coming across to others. When people tried to getthroughtohimabouttheseissues,hisbodylanguagesaid,“Layoff.”

Another team member, recently arrived from a plant halfway around theworld, exhibited little understanding of organizational politics in the corporatecenter and was alienating teammates and subordinates alike with hiscountercultural behavior.Whatmade it evenmore difficult for his co-workers(andthemanhimself)tounderstandwasthat,ontheinterpersonallevelatleast,hedisplayedexcellentempathyandrelationship-buildingskills—hejustcouldn’treadtheteam’semotionalreality,andhewasalwaysoutofsynch.

Mostof the time, theseproblemsandother interpersonal issuesbecomethefocusofteambuilding.Whenwelookeddeeper,however,wefoundthattherealproblemwasacombinationofineffectivenormsandanegativeemotionaltoneoftheteam.Therewaslittleself-awarenessonthepartofindividualsortheteamasawholeabouttheirowngroupprocess:Theydidnotmanageindividualteammembers’emotionsorthegroup’smoodsverywell,andtheyspentalotoftimeandenergymanaging the team’s negative emotions. In essence, it did not feelgoodtobepartoftheteam,andpeoplewereavoidingworkingtogether.

Part of the underlying problem was that the team had established someineffective norms in response to the CEO’s pacesetting leadership style. TheCEO’s high drive for achievement and his inability to show empathy werecreatingadysfunctionallycompetitiveenvironmentwithintheteam.Moreover,

whilethisleaderthoughthisvisionandstrategywereapparenttoeveryone,ourdatashowedus thatwasn’t thecaseatall:Thereason the teammembersweremovingindifferentdirectionswasbecausetheywereunsureofwherethelargerorganizationwassupposedtobeheaded.

Obviously, off-the-shelf team building would have done little to help thisexecutive committee. By recognizing that its collective gap in emotionalintelligencehadcreatedunproductivehabitsofinteraction,theteamcouldthenseewhatitreallyneededtochange.Equallyimportant,theteamrecognizedthatinorderforittochangeasagroup,eachmemberalsowouldhavetocommittochange as an individual. Armed with accurate information, we were able totargetchangeprocessesforboththeteamanditsindividualmembers.

Thisteamsnapshotillustratestheimportanceofgettingaclearpictureoftheemotional reality of an environment before launching into a solution. Part ofunderstandingtheemotionalrealityisuncoveringtheparticularhabitsingrainedinateamororganizationthatcandrivebehavior.Oftenthesehabitsmakelittlesensetopeople—andyettheystillactonthem,seeingthemas“justthewaywedothingsaroundhere.”Emotionallyintelligentleaderslookforsignsthatrevealwhethersuchhabits,andthesystemsthatsupportthem,workwell.Byexploringandexposingunhealthygrouphabits,leaderscanbuildmoreeffectivenorms.

The previous example of the executive team unearthing its unproductivenormsandunhealthyemotionalrealitypointstoacriticalrequirementforlargerorganizationalchange—somethingwewillexamineindetailinthenextchapter.Gettingpeopleinthetopexecutiveteamtogethertohaveanhonestconversationaboutwhatisworkingandwhatisnotisafirstcriticalsteptocreatingamoreresonant team. Such conversations bring to life the reality of what anorganizationfeelslikeandwhatpeopleareactuallydoinginit.

Theproblemis, theseconversationsarehot,andmany leadersareafraid tostartthedialogue—fearfuloftakingittotheprimaldimension.Toooften,unsureoftheirabilitytohandletheemotionsthatarisewhenpeopletalkhonestlyaboutwhatisgoingon,leaderssticktothesafetopics:alignment,coordinationofteammembers’functionalareas,andstrategy-implementationplans.Whilethesesaferconversationscansetthestageforthenextdiscussion—abouttheteamitself,theorganization, and the people—most teams stop the discussion at the level ofstrategyandfunctionalalignment.Theyfindittoodifficulttobehonestwithoneanother,toexaminetheemotionalrealityandnormsoftheteam.Andthiscausesdissonance on the team—after all, everyone can feel when the norms aredysfunctional and the emotional climate is unproductive.Bynot takingon the

problem,theleaderactuallymagnifiesit.Ittakescouragetobreakthroughthatbarrier,andittakesanemotionallyintelligentleadertoguideateamthroughit.

The benefits of such a process at the top are threefold. First, a new andhealthy legitimacy develops around speaking the truth and honestly assessingboththebehavioralandtheemotionalaspectsofcultureandleadership.Second,theveryactofengaginginthisprocesscreatesnewhabits:Whenpeopleintheorganizationseetheirleaderssearchingfortruth,daringtoshareadreamaloud,andengagingwithoneanotherinahealthymanner, theybegintoemulatethatbehavior.And third,when truth seeking comes from the top, others aremorewillingtotaketherisk,too.

Aswehaveseenin thischapter, leaderscannot leadwithresonanceif theirteam’s norms hold them captive. And they cannot change the team’s normsunless they are willing to take on the leader’s primal task—working withpeople’semotionsandwiththeteam’semotionalreality.Thattruthisevenmoreapparent at the organizational level, when norms extend to entire corporatecultures.Afterall,eventhemostcourageousindividualfindsithardtobuckanentiresystem.Thenextstepforfosteringnewleadership,then,istoconsidertherealandtheidealstateofthelargerorganization.

CHAPTERTEN

REALITYANDTHEIDEALVISION

GivingLifetotheOrganization’sFuture

FORMANY YEARS, Shoney’s restaurant chain had a close-knit group ofexecutives at the top—people who knew each other well, shared history andbeliefs, and generally thought they had it figured outwhen it came to how tomanage thebusiness.Theproblemwas that therewasa lotofcronyismat thetop, too.Itwasreallyanold-boys’networkofwhite,maleseniorexecutives—and therewasanunderlyingculture thatpromotedfromthebuddysystemandleftpeopleofcolorbythewayside.

Allofthatchanged,however,in1992,whenthecompanywasforcedtopay$132milliontosettleaclass-actionlawsuitfrom20,000employeesandrejectedjob applicants, who claimed discrimination in hiring and promotion practices.Sincethattime,acadreofnewleadersatShoney’shasintentionallychangedthecompany’s culture, launching a decisive campaign to broaden opportunity forqualifiedpeople of color. 1 In just ten years, Shoney’s has gone from an old-boys’clubtooneofFortunemagazine’s“Top50CompaniesforMinorities.”

Noneofthatchangehappenedovernight,ofcourse.Theprocessbeganwith

anundeniablewake-upcall(thelawsuit)regardingtherealityofthecompany’sdissonant culture. Then the new leaders entering the scene had to identify anideal vision that would guide hiring decisions in the future. And finally, theorganization as a whole had to embrace that vision—become emotionallyattunedtoit—beforelastingchangecouldoccur.

AtShoney’s,leaderstookonreality,andtheyledtheorganizationintoaverydifferent future. They knew that, just as is true for teams, identifying theemotional reality andnormsof an organizationbegins the process for change.Leaderscaninitiateawidespreadshifttowardemotionalintelligencewhentheyidentifyacompany’semotionalrealityandhabits—whatpeopledotogetherandhow.

The realdifference is thatwhereas thecomponentsof individual emotionalintelligencecompetenciescantranslatedirectlytoteams,organizationsaremorecomplexandthusthegoalisbroader:tofosteremotionallyintelligentleadershipwidely and deeply at every level, and to systematically create norms and aculture that support truth and transparency, integrity, empathy, and healthyrelationships.Thatkindof transformationbeginswith leaderswhoareopen tothetruth,whocanferretouttheemotionalrealityoftheorganization,andwhocanengageothersinacompellingvisionoftheirownfuture.Whenacompanydevelops thatkindofemotionally intelligent leadershipatall levels, andwhenthose leaders face up to reality, a transformed company can, and often must,emerge.

WhenLeadersDon’tListenThatfirststep,uncoveringthetruthandanorganization’sreality,istheleader’sprimaltask.Buttoomanyleadersfailtoinvitethetruth,whichcanleavethempreytotheCEOdisease—beingaleaderwhoisoutoftouchandoutoftune.Intheir most benign form, such leaders seem to have no time for importantconversations,anddonotbuildthekindofaffiliativeorcoachingrelationshipsthat result indeepdialogueaboutwhat’sworkingandwhat isnot.Theydon’thave enough real contact with people in their organizations to get a sense ofwhatishappening,livinginakindofrarefiedairthatleavesthemoutoftouchwiththeunderlyingemotionalrealityofday-to-daylife.

Less benign are leaders who use rigid commanding and pacesetting stylesandwhoactuallypreventpeople fromtelling themthe truth.These leadersareclueless, or in denial about the reality of their organizations.While theymay

believe thateverything is fine, theyhave in fact created a culture inwhichnoonedares to tell themanything thatmightprovoke them,especiallybadnews.Thatkindofsilencecancomeataveryhighprice.

Considertheestimated100,000deathseachyearinU.S.hospitalscausedbyroutinemedicalerrors—suchasadoctorwritingthewrongordersforapatient’smedicine,orthewrongbottlebeingattachedtoanintravenoustube.Oftenthesemistakescouldhavebeenpreventedifonlythecommand-and-controlcultureinmost medical organizations had been acknowledged and changed. 2 Onephysician,whobelongstoanAcademyofMedicinetaskforceaddressingtheseissues, told us: “In the culture of hospitals, a nurse who corrects a doctor—tellinghimhewrotetoomanyzeroesinanorderforapatient’smeds—cangetherheadbittenoff.Ifmedicineweretoadoptthezerotoleranceformistakesthatsets the norm for the airline mechanic industry, we’d cut medical errorsdrastically.”

Of course, no one tells nurses they may risk the wrath of doctors if theychallengethem.Thosearethekindsoflessonsaboutorganizationalculturethatpeople learn implicitly by picking up on cues in the environment, and thoseculturesarenoteasytochange.Creatingahospitalculturethatsupported“zerotolerance”wouldmean,forexample,buildinginafargreaterlevelofsystematicchecksandcross-checks than themedical fieldhas thus faraccepted. Itwouldalsomean challenging thewidespreadpacesetting and commanding leadershipstylesthathierarchicalculturesencourage—and,asthephysicianputit,makingit“safeforthatnursetotelladoctorhe’smadeamistake.”

TheToxicOrganizationWhen leaders operate with dissonant styles, the resulting culture is inevitablytoxic. How does it feel to work in such an organization that lacks emotionalintelligence?Onemanagerweknowdescribedaleaderandatoxicorganizationthat ultimately left her physically ill and feeling as if she had lost hercompetence,confidence,andcreativity.Thecausewasclear:apacesettingleaderwhoreliedonthreatsandcoerciontogetthingsdone.

Despite the company having public service and education as its explicitmission, the president focused instead on short-term profit. The company hadverylittlecompetition,sointhisleader’smind,cornerscouldbecutonqualitywithno riskof losingcustomers.Also troublingwas thatheopenly expressed

howlittlehecaredaboutemployees’welfare.“Bring’eminandburn’emout,”he liked to say. Worse, he did not respect people; he was a bully. A typicalexamplewasthedayajuniorstaffmembermentionedtoafewpeople,includingthepresident, thatitwasherbirthday,andofferedthemapieceofcake.Whileeveryoneelsesmiledandsaid“HappyBirthday,”thepresidentsaidloudlytoanearbymanager,“What’sthisbullshit?Can’tyougetyourstafftowork?”Then,turningtothejuniorstafferandlookingherupanddown,hesaid,“Andyousuredon’tneedthecaloriesinthatcake.”

That leader’snegativestyleunderpinnedasetofhighlydestructiveculturalnorms. For example, as part of their jobs, staffmemberswere expected to beduplicitous,makingthecustomersfeelasiftheywereeliteandhighlyprivilegedandthatthe(veryexpensive)servicesofthecompanywerethebestintheworld.In reality, the customerswere just regular folks and the services hardly aboveaverage. The staff’s forced smiles barely masked the tension they felt—andcustomersbecamemoreandmoredemandingas theybegan to realize that theservices they receivedweremediocre.Moreover, the high-profile personalitieswho were often brought in for the conferences showed up only for cameoappearances, since they didn’t enjoy working with the company either—frustrating both staff (who needed them) and customers (who wanted them).Unable to reconcile reality with the fantasy that they were charged withmaintaining, many of the staff found their day-to-day work meaningless andemotionallydraining.

The destructive habits in this company created a culture in which peoplestoppedquestioninghowandwhythingsweredoneandmerelytriedtomuddlethrough, day after day, driven by harmful attitudes, rules, and policies. Andbecause the leaders in this toxic organization systematically discouragedattempts to improve the underlying culture, change was all but impossible.Today, this company’s reputationhas slipped considerably in the industry, andturnoverisatanall-timehigh.

WhereChangeBeginsThis sad story doesn’t mean toxic organizations cannot change. Quite thecontrary:Changebeginswhenemotionally intelligent leaders activelyquestionthe emotional reality and the cultural norms underlying the group’s dailyactivitiesandbehavior.Tocreateresonance—andresults—theleaderhastopayattentiontothehiddendimensions:people’semotions, theundercurrentsof the

emotionalrealityintheorganization,andtheculturethatholdsitalltogether.In one large researchhospitalweworkedwith, this lessonwas learned the

hardway,butleadershipdidlearn—andsuccessfullytransformedtheculture.ThehospitalreflectedmanyoftheillsexperiencedbyU.S.healthcareinthe

late1990s:increasingdemandsfrompatientsforqualitycareandfrominsurancecompaniesandgovernmentagenciesforlowercosts—demandsinconflictwitheachother.Asaresult,localcommunitiesclaimedthatthehospitaldidn’tservethemwell,andthehospitalwaslosingbusinesstootherhealthcaresystems.Theleadership’s answerwas to craft a five-year strategy to overhaul almost everyaspectofhowitledandmanagedtheinstitution.Theycommissionedthedesignof complicated software to manage financial data. They outsourced functionsthat could be managed better elsewhere. They moved people around and outwithaneyetowardefficiency.

But thishospital’s leadership teamforgotabout theprimaryfoundationsforchange:attentiontotheemotionalrealityandtotheculture.3Theyalsofailedtorecognize how the staff felt about the change process itself. They imposedchangefromabove—rationalgoals, clearmandates, and logicalprocesses.Buttheyignoredtheforceoftheemotionalrealm:Withintwoyears,thehospitalwason the brink of spiraling downward, its vaunted new systems showing littlereturnandturnoverhavingdoubled.

Ourworkwith thehospital’s leaders focusedonhelping them to recognizethe dissonance in the organization—and to recognize that the price of suchdiscordcouldbeafailedchangeeffort.Gradually,theleadersbegantofindwaystoletpeoplediscusstheirfeelingsaboutwhatwasandwasn’tworking,throughaprocesscalleddynamic inquiry.To their surprise, the leadersdiscovered thatstaff members didn’t believe that the culture—or the leaders themselves—supportedrealchange,risktaking,orlearning.

Forexample,whilepeoplewerebeingasked todo things innewways, thesmall amount of training they received was considered old-fashioned andirrelevant. In fact, because training had been disdained historically in theorganization, people felt discouraged from attending new programs, andthereforecouldnotlearnnewwaysofdoingthings.Furthermore,staffbelievedthat the change process was hindered by long-standing cultural habits. Theconfrontational way inwhich staff routinely treated one another, for instance,often amounted to rudeness and left people feeling beaten up and on thedefensive. The atmosphere was rife with back-biting, vendettas, and pettywarfare—discordthatunderminedanypositivechangeprogram.

By engaging people in a process of discovering the “real,” the hospitalleadership took a step in the right direction.They acknowledged that people’sfeelings mattered and that the culture itself might need to change, and theyprovided a venue for people to talk about how to do that. Accordingly,momentumpickedupandthetonebecamemorepositive.Astheconversationscontinuedandthemanagementteamcommitteditselftomakingcriticalchanges,the staff began taking responsibility for its part in creating the new culture aswell. Soon, people were feeling more positive about the change process:Resonance began to grow around the vision, and people responded withenthusiasm. There was a marked increase in attendance and participation atmeetings to do with the new strategy, and the atmosphere at the hospitallighteneddramatically. Inotherwords, thecultureand theemotional realityofthishospitalbeganto improve,fosteringpositiveenergyrather thanresistance,andresonanceratherthandissonance.Today,it’saninstitutionthathasremadeitself: Organizational systems are streamlined, turnover is down and patientsatisfactionisup,andtheresonance-buildingnormsthatwereestablishedduringthechangeprocessstillfostercommitment,highenergy,andflexibility.Beforethe leadership’s emotionally intelligent turnaround, the hospital was a goodexampleofhowanorganization’sunderlyingculturecankilleventhebest-laidplans. If the cultural norms don’t support passionate action, innovation, orresonance,leaderswillfindthemselvesfightinganuphillbattle.

Butperhapsthemostunfortunateaspectoforganizationaldissonanceiswhatitdoestotheindividualswhoworkthere:Astheirpassiondiminishes,theycanlose touch with their own best qualities. In place of excellence and self-confidence,we’veseeninsuchcompaniesdisplaysoffalsebravado,thoughtlesscompliance,oropenresentment.Peopleshowupforwork,inbodyatleast,dayafterday—buttheyleavetheirheartsandsoulselsewhere.

How can an organization transform itself from a place that discouragespeople’sbestselvesfrommakinganappearanceintoavibrantworkplacewherepeoplefeelenergizedandpurposeful?Thatkindofchangerequiresagreatleap:from a thorough understanding of the reality to a profound engagement withpeople’s ideal visions—of both themselves as individuals and as part of anorganization.Sometimes,however,tocreateresonance,aleaderfirsthastofighttheorganization’sownunderlyinginertia.Howdoyoudoit,though?Howdoesaleaderuncovertheemotionalreality—andsowseedsofthedream—inawaythatismotivating,notparalyzing?

DiscoveringtheOrganization’sRealitythroughDynamicInquiryMany large companies have processes in place for systematically evaluatingemployee attitudes, values, and beliefs—a kind of proxy for the emotionalreality. These processes can be very helpful, but the problem is that surveysmeasureonlywhattheysetouttomeasure—andtheyrarelytapthemoresubtlelayer of subterranean feelings and complex norms that flow through anorganization.Thisblindspotcanresultinsimplymeasuringwhatpeoplewanttoknow,butnotwhattheydon’twantknown.Andevenwhensurveysdomeasureaspectsofcultureandleadershipthatareproblematic,ittakesfocusedeffortandcourage to address the issues.Toooften,we see the results of such revelatorysurveysjustsetaside.

AprocesscalleddynamicinquirywasdevelopedbyCeciliaMcMillenoftheUniversity ofMassachusetts and AnnieMcKee as a potent way to offset the“findwhatyoulookfor”effectofmostsurveysandtoenableleaderstobegintoaddresstheunderlyingculturalissuesthataregettingintheirway.4Thismethodof discovery uncovers an organization’s emotional reality—what people careabout;whatishelpingthem,theirgroups,andtheorganizationtosucceed;andwhat’s getting in theway. Through the process of discovering the truth abouttheirorganization,peoplebegintocreateasharedlanguageaboutwhat’sreallygoingonaswellaswhatthey’dliketosee—theiridealvisionofthecompany.

Dynamic inquiry involves focused conversations and open-ended questionsintendedtogetatpeople’sfeelings.Whilethismaystrikesomeleadersasabitremovedfromthebusinessissues,itisonlywhenpeopletalkabouttheirfeelingsthat theybegin to uncover root causes of problems in the culture and the truesources of inspiration around them. Also, when people have authenticconversationsabouthowthey feel about theirorganization, there tends tobeaveryhighlevelofagreementaboutwhat’sworkingandwhat’snot.AsMcMillensays, “People begin to paint a picture of the soul of the organization.” Theycreatealanguagethatcapturestherealtruthabouttheforcesthataffectpeople’sday-to-daylivesintheorganizationaswellastheirhopesforthefuture.

Fromtheseinitialconversations(usuallyheldwithbothformalandinformalleadersatalllevels,andwithpeoplewhohaveapointofview),themesbecomeapparent that are typicallymuchmoremeaningful and less generic than thosethat usually emerge from attitude surveys or more traditional interview

processes. These themes, when taken to small groups, tend to spark spiritedconversations about the reality of the organization. Perhaps more important,discussions about cultural issues, the emotional reality of an organization, andhowitfeelstoworkthereusuallyresultinpeoplefeelingsomeownershipoftheproblems,thedream,andtheprocessofgettingfromtherealtotheideal.And,by focusingnot justonwhat’swrongwith theorganizationbutalsoonwhat’sright, people become aligned with a vision for change—and see how theirdreams,andtheirpersonalcontributions to thechangeprocess, fitwith thebigpicture.

Oncepeopleareengagedinthiskindofopendialogueabouttheircultureandtheirdreams,itisverydifficulttoputthelidbackonthebox.Unlikesurveysorone-time visioning sessions, dynamic inquiry starts a conversation that hasmomentum of its own. The creation of a shared language that is based onfeelings aswell as facts is a powerful driver of change.This shared languageprovides a sense of unity and resonance, and the resulting momentum helpspeopletomovefromtalktoaction.Theyfeelinspiredandempowered,willingto work together to address their collective concerns. This is exactly whathappenedatanAsiannongovernmentalorganization(NGO)whenaleaderwe’llcallLangChentookonatoprole.

FindingtheSpiritatWork:LangChenandtheAsianNGOImagine this: Your organization has 220 employees, and you serve a

customerbaseof150millionpeople.Needless tosay,anorganizationof thosedimensionswillhaveaheftybureaucracy to support it.Thatwasprecisely theproblemwhenLangChentookthereinsattheAsiandivisionofaninternationalnongovernmentalorganization.

Although thisNGO’smission of improvingwomen’s and children’s healtharound theworldwas inspiringandverymotivating for new employees,LangChennoticedthattypicallythatinitialenthusiasmbecamelostamidtheday-to-dayrealityofthework.Passionandcreativityseemedtofallbythewayside,andthis leader sensed that the way people worked together and the systems thatguidedthemweretheculprits.Themissionoftheorganization,infact,seemedburiedunderitsmanyregulations.

Partlybecauseoftheweightybureaucracy,thepaceofworkattheNGOwasslowandqualitymediocre,despite increaseddemandson theorganizationandincreasedcriticismfromfundingagenciesandgovernments.Nothingseemedtohappenwhen it needed to. People displayed the dull complacency that comes

with “a job for life” (a common problem in many large NGOs), and thereseemedtobelittleconnectionbetweencompetenceandsuccess.Therewasonlyvagueclarityaboutwhatittooktodowellinone’sjob,andtheorganizationhadseeminglylostthecapacitytoevaluateitself;aslongastheruleswerefollowed,people’s strengths andweaknesseswent unaddressed.And, in an organizationdedicated in part to the needs of women, there were very few women in theoffice,andfewerstillinresponsiblepositions.

Furthermore, there was a real division between the support staff and thepeople who actually provided the NGO’s services—with the direct serviceproviders getting all the accolades for any successes. In both groups, peoplewere comfortable with the status quo and reluctant to change, even whensometimesurgentcircumstancesdemandedit.

As a result of this environment, some of theNGO’s core values—such ascompassionandintegrity—werecloudedbymisunderstandingandoldpolicies.It was clear to Lang Chen that, overall, the staff felt disconnected, and theresonance that once had been a natural by-product of the compellingmissionwas dwindling. Chen’s challenge was every leader’s: to find out what wasworkingandwhatwasnot,andleadpeopletosolutions.Buthowdoesaleaderfighttheinertiaofasystem?Howdoesshedevelopanorganization’scapacitytoassessandmonitoritselfandtofunctionwellinacomplexenvironment?How,inshort,doesaleaderperformthealchemythattransformsanorganization?

Lang Chen followed simple principles. She used an inclusive approach,employingdynamicinquiryandinvolvingpeopleindiscoveringthetruthaboutthemselvesandtheorganization.Shedrewpeopletogetheraroundtheirpassionfor theworkand thedreamofwhat could be:They sawher as visionary, andtheyfollowed.Shebecameamodelforthechangesshewantedtosee.Finally,sheputsystems inplace tosupportnewhabitsandwaysofdoing things.Thislast set of actions—changing the systems—was critical in sustaining thechanges. As Ruth Jacobs of the Hay Group notes, creating human resourcepractices that foster emotional intelligence—recruiting and performancemanagement, for instance—is key to supporting resonance and a healthyemotionalclimate.5

Emotionallyintelligentleadersknowthattheirprimaltaskistolookfirsttotheorganizationalreality,identifyingtheissueswiththefullinvolvementofkeyindividuals. They take the conversation to the organization as a whole, usingengagingprocesses to get people viscerally involved in unearthing the currentreality,while tapping into individual and collective hopes for the future. Like

LangChen, theseleadersenablepeople to identifyboththebestaspectsof theorganizationaswellasitsfaults,andtheyhelptocreateasharedlanguageaboutthecurrentreality,releasingenergyforthemovetoasharedvisionofthefuture.

TheCriticalShift:MovingfromDissonancetotheIdealVisionOnce the cultural reality has been uncovered and explored, the next stage inworking toward an emotionally intelligent organization requires defining anideal vision for the organization that is in synch with individuals’ hopes anddreams for themselves. By acting from a place of emotional intelligence andmodelingthatbehavior,leaderscanhelptheiremployeesembraceanidealvisionforthegroup.Whatdoesanorganizationlooklikewhosemembersareattunedto a common vision? Consider Lucasfilm, headquartered in Marin County,California, and the parent company of a number of producer George Lucas’screativemediacompanies.

Perhaps the first things that strike anyone who meets Gordon Radley, thepresidentofLucasfilmLtd.,are thesmall tattoohashmarksonhischeekbone.ThosetattoosmarkRadleyasamemberofatribeinMalawiwithwhomhelivedfortwoyearsasaPeaceCorpsvolunteerinthelate1960s.Thirtyyearslater,hestillstaysintouchwithhisfriendsamongtheMalawitribe,evenmakingsmallgrants tohelp themput tin roofson theirwattlehutsor start a smallbusiness.“It’s unlike any place we on the outside know, yet it’s a coherent world thatstayed very much the same,” says Radley, telling of a recent visit back toMalawi.“BeingthereputmeintouchwithhowmuchIlovethesepeople.Beingpartofatribehasalwayshadsomespecialmeaning.”

Likewise, that almost tribal sense of belonging to a special group, ofinhabitingauniqueworldtogether,characterizesplacespeoplelovetowork.ForRadley, one of his responsibilities as a leader is to nurture and maintain thecompanycultureatLucasfilm.Of theempireGeorgeLucascreatedandowns,Lucasfilm is the parent company for the legendary special-effects houseIndustrialLightandMagic,aswellasastringofothercreativemediacompaniesinsectorsrangingfromvideogamestosoundsystemsfortheaters.

For Radley, the best corporate culture is not unlike the tribal feeling heexperienced in the Peace Corps. Radley’s mission: “How do you create thattribalfeeling?It’sahardthingtodo,becauseit’ssoevanescentitdisappearsas

soonasyoudrawattentiontoit.Butwewanttomakesurehowwefeelaboutwhatwedoisjustasimportantaswhatwedo.”

One way such feelings emerge can be through creating extraordinarymoments,experiencespeoplegothroughtogetherthatbecomepartofthesharedmythology.“Afewyearsago,thecompanywasfeelingsomeveryroughedges,”Radleyrecalls.“SoIorganizedanall-companymeeting.Ithadneverhappenedbefore, getting everyone together in one room—we had to meet in theauditoriumof a local community center. I started themeeting off in a routineway,with twentyminutes of financial results, corporate updates, and the like.And then I suddenly pulled back a curtain, and there was the cast of theBroadwaymusicalStomp!Noonehadbeenexpectinganythinglikeit.”

For two hours the entire companywas galvanized by the performance, anentirely nonverbal, all-percussive enactment of spontaneous attunement.Stomp!’singeniouschoreographyshowshow,usingprosaicobjectslikebrooms,buckets,mops,andplungers,asinglepersoncaninitiatearhythmthatotherscanjoinandelaborate inagorgeous,creativesynchrony.It’sawordlessodeto thepowerofagroupinresonance.

“It was an electricmoment,” says Radley. “It bonded everyone, without aword being spoken. I did it because I wanted to bring everyone together, tocreateaspecialsensethatwe’reallinvolvedinworkingtogetherforsomethingbigger than just ourselves. We want to create a culture where people havecompassionforeachother.It’slikethePeaceCorps:We’reservingeachother.Agreat company culture has empathy—hopefully that becomes a shared value.Youdotheselittlesymbolicthingsandhopetheysetthetone.”

That moment exemplifies what Radley calls “guerrilla development,” thesubtle shaping of the company’s culture. But the fragile nature of a group’sculturemeanstheshapingcannotbeforced.AsRadleysays,“Yousetthetableandhopepeoplewillcomeandsitdown.”

Forinstance,Radleyhadtostrugglewithhisownseniorleadersatanearlycompany meeting to get the chairs put in a huge circle. “The seating itselfsignaledthattribalfeeling,”herecalls.“Wehadeveryoneintroducethemselvesandtellwheretheygrewup.Bytheendofthatintroductorycircle,everyonehadthesensethatwehadcometogetherfromallovertobepartofthisgroupatthismoment.”

Suchtransitorymomentsofgoodfeeling,ofcourse,meanlittleiftheyarenotmatched by the ongoing workaday reality. As a company, Lucasfilm has areputationasaverydesirableplace towork—thekindof reputation thatgives

thecompanyanedgeinattractingandretainingtalentintheSanFranciscoBayArea’s competitive employment environment. The companies that formLucasfilmareamongthefewthathaveshownupon“BestCompaniestoWorkFor”listsinsuchmagazinesasFortuneandWorkingMother.

Thedegreeofanorganization’s“tribalfeel”canbeagoodindicationofhowwell it has identified its ideal vision and aligned people around that commonpurpose.Buthowdoleadershelptheirorganizationstounearthanidealvisioninthefirstplace?Theybeginwithaclosescrutinyofthemselves—oftheirpersonaldreamsandoftheiridealvisionsfortheorganizationsthattheylead.

InspirationandtheHouroftheRatConnectingwith a vision that canbuild resonance startswithin, asAntony

Burgmans,co-chairmanofUnilever, tellsus.“Aswe launched intoourgrowthstrategy,IrealizedthatIdidn’tfeelright:somethingwasmissing,andIknewwewouldneedtolookagainatourplans.Itrustedmyfeeling—youlearntolistentothatinnervoice.So,Ilookedforthesourceofmyuneasiness.Weweredoingall the right things: a new, focused strategy; shareholder support; a neworganizationstructure;andgoodpeopleinplace.Butsomethingwaswrong—thecriticalpiecewasmissing.WhatIsawwasthateventhoughwehadaexcellentchangestrategy,andaninspiringvision,whatwasreallyrequiredtobringaboutchange at Unilever was a new culture, a new leadership mindset, and newbehaviors.”

NiallFitzGerald, co-chairmanandco-creatorof the transformationprocess,weighsin:“Weknewwhereweneededtogo,thatwascompletelyclear.Wehadalltheorganizationalpiecesinplace—butitwaslikestandingontheedgeoftheGrandCanyon.Youknowyouhave to get to the other side, but to do so youknowyouwillhavetotakeabigleap,thenbuildabridge.Youfeelanticipation,evendeepuneasiness,buttheexcitementofthevisioncallsonyoutobuildthatbridge,takethatleap.Ipaidattentiontothefeelings—especiallytheonesthatletme know that something wasn’t quite right, not yet. These feelings wereimportant—forme as a leader, they ledme to seewhat we needed to do. AtUnilever,thebridgeweneededtobuildwasallaboutpeople:weneededtotapinto theirpassion;weneeded them to see theirbusiness inentirelynewways;andweneededthemtodevelopverydifferentleadershipbehaviors.”

FitzGerald’sandBurgmans’ssoulsearchingledtoaradicallyfreshapproachto transforming thecompany, startingwithchanging themindsetofUnilever’stop leaders. Today, Unilever is in the midst of profound change—but unlike

many change efforts, there is tremendous clarity throughout the organizationaboutwhatisbeingdoneandwhy.Peopleknowtheyarepartofthechange,andthey know they need to change too. In terms of financial and organizationalmeasures,theyareaheadofschedule.Allthisbecausetwoleaderslistenedtothevoicewithin.

Toconnectwiththekindofvisionthatcanmoveaculturetowardresonance,emotionallyintelligentleadersstartbylookinginside—atwhattheyfeel,think,andsenseabouttheirorganizations.Theyactashighlysensitiveinstrumentstoconnectwith thecompany’s idealvisionandmission,and theynotice thegapsbetweenwhat could be andwhat is. This isn’t intuition—it’s using emotionalintelligence toobserveand interpret the subtle clues aboutwhat’s reallygoingon,anditoffersleadersaperspectivethatgoesbeyondotherkindsofdataaboutthecompany.

Tapping into thatkindof insightcancomemoreeasily if a leadermakesahabitofretreatingtoaquietplacetoreflectonaregularbasis.Reachingintothewisdomoftheunconsciousmindisliketryingtopumpwaterfromadeepwell:It helps to keep the pump primed—in this case by regularly spending time inreflection.Oftenthatdeepwisdomcomesinthemiddleofthenight,duringwhatwe call thehour of the rat—that dark, quiet timeof thenightwhennoone isaroundandthingsstarttognawatyou.Itisthosetimesofquietreflectionthatcanbegintoofferaleaderanswerstonaggingquestions:“What’sbotheringmesomuch that I just can’t seem to let it go, even at home?What’s confusing,muddled, ambiguousor justplain irritating?Where is thepassion, excitement,andmeaninginmywork?WhatdoIreallybelievein?”

Byexaminingthesourcesoftheiranxietyandtheirpassion—andbyfocusingontheirowndreams—leaderscanbegintoidentifyaspectsoftheorganization’sculture, of its overarchingmission and vision, and of its leadership (includingtheir own) that need to change.Only through articulating for themselveswhatkeeps people in the organization—beyond just “a job”—can leaders connectwiththekindofresonantvisionthatpeoplewillbeabletoseeandfeel.

To create the vision of a company, emotionally intelligent leaders need tomove beyond a solo scrutiny of an organization’s vision to drawing on thecollectivewisdomof followers.Sideby sidewith the rest of theorganization,leadersco-create thevision thatwillserve to rallyandenergize thegroupasawhole.Involvingpeopleinadeliberatestudyofthemselvesandtheorganization—firstby lookingat the reality and thenat the idealvision—builds resonanceandsustainablechange.

Consider the examples that follow of leaders who have helped theirorganizationstorallyaroundacommonvisionofwhatcouldbe.

Attunement,NotAlignment•KekiDadisethtookoveraschairmanofHindustanLeverLimited(HLL)atatimeofrapidchangeintheIndianbusinessenvironment.Successfulandleadingedgeinitsmanagementpracticesandresultsoveraperiodoftime,thecompanyneverthelessneededtoshedaculturewhich,inthenewenvironment,wasseenasbureaucratic,closeddoor,andlackingintransparency. Activities were highlighted almost as often asachievements, and cultural norms supported the hierarchy, rather thanfull empowerment. Thus it was often difficult to get things donespeedily. Although the company had a well-defined managementdevelopment process, queries were raised regarding how people werepromoted or rewarded because there was a perceived lack oftransparency.KekiDadisethtookthischallengeheadon:Hemovedtowardtheideal

bybecominganexemplarhimself.Hemodeledthechangeshewantedtosee,involvingpeopleintheprocessofcreatinganewvisionandanewreality. His concept was centrifuged leadership—that the center ofgravity was not just the chairman; everyone was central to success.Withinayear, theculturechanged, such thatpeopleacknowledged theopenness,trust,andempowermentwithinthecompany.HLLcontinues,as in the past, to be one of Unilever’s most profitable and highlyregardedbusinesses.

• The UNICEF immunization project in India was doing criticallyimportant work, but its Chief ofHealth,Monica Sharma, felt that theprogramitselfneededashotinthearm.Whiletheprojectwasinherentlyinspiring to the staff working closely with the health teams whoimmunizedchildreninpoorvillages,mostoftheorganization’s400staffpeople—clerks,accountants,andadministrators—weretoofarremovedfromthatenergizingfieldworktofeelinspired.Monicadecidedtobringtheexcitementof the front lines into thebackoffice, so shedevised aplanandencouragedallofficestafftospendseveraldays,regularly,inadistrictwheretherealwork—immunizingchildren—wasgoingon.Thetopleadershipoftheoffice—RepresentativeEimiWatanabeandhertwo

deputies,ThomasMcDermottandLukasHendratta—wereinstrumentalin this success because they each personally backed her fully andencouraged this initiative.Asa result, staffmembersgot toexperienceforthemselvesthemissionandidealvisionthatunderpinnedtheirwork,and they were able to bond with each other around a more unifiedpurpose.

• The major restructuring process that the University of Pennsylvaniaundertook in the1990s—althoughnecessary—waspainful formanyofits staff. Until the changes, most people had felt a very specialconnection with Penn, an Ivy League school, and considered theiremployment there tobea job for life.Butas rolesand responsibilitiesshifteddramatically,peoplewereshakenoutofyearsofcomplacency—andsecurity.Mostly,theyfeltdemoralizedaboutlosingtheimagetheyhadhadof themselves.TokeepPennon trackwith itschangeagenda,PresidentJudithRodinandExecutiveVicePresidentJohnFrylookedtoa broader agenda for inspiration that could be shared with the entirecommunity. Itwas thatword—community—that got themstartedon aprocess that created resonance and engaged people both inside andoutsidetheuniversityaroundacommonvision.

Leaders often talk about wanting to get their people “aligned” with theirstrategy.But thatword suggests amechanical image of getting all the pencilspointing in the same direction, like amagnetic field lining up the polarity ofmolecules. It isn’t that simple. Strategies, couched as they are in the drylanguageof corporategoals, speakmainly to the rational brain, theneocortex.Strategicvisions(and theplans that followfromthem)are typically linearandlimited, bypassing the elements of heart and passion essential for buildingcommitment.

Aseachofthepreviousexamplesillustrates,gettingpeopletoreallyembracechangerequiresattunement—alignmentwith thekindof resonance thatmovespeople emotionally aswell as intellectually.The challenge is in how to attunepeople toyourvisionand then toyourbusiness strategy inaway thatarousespassion. Emotionally intelligent leaders know that this attunement requiressomething more than simply making people aware of the strategy itself. Itrequiresadirectconnectionwithpeople’semotionalcenters.

Attunement,ratherthanmerealignment,offersthemotivatingenthusiasmforanorganizationalvision.Whenthisattunement takeshold,peoplefeel theheat

ofacollectiveexcitement,ofmanypeoplebeingenthusiasticabouttheirwork.Avision that “tunes people in”—that creates resonance—builds organizationalharmonyandpeople’scapacitytoactcollectively.

The invisible threads of a compelling vision weave a tapestry that bindspeople togethermore powerfully than any strategic plan. And people, not thebusiness plan alone, determine the outcome. Success depends on what anorganization’speoplecareabout,whattheydo,andhowtheyworktogether.

Warren Bennis, University of Southern California professor and renownedleadership expert, has called attunement “managing attention through thevision”—something he says is the leader’s fundamental responsibility, as isusing the group ideal to focus people’s efforts. 6 Attunement is especiallyimportantwhentheorganizationisundergoingsignificantchangeinhowthingsaredone—andisequallycriticalwheneveravision thatbuiltanorganization’sinitialsuccessgrowsstaleandneedsfreshening.

Attunementstartswithinvolvingpeopledeeplyintheprocessof lookingatgapsbetween theorganization’semotional realityandpeople’s idealvisionsoftheorganization,includingvisionsoftheirowninteractionswithinit.

However, the leader must go one step further and put the people in theorganization in charge of the change process itself. That’s what each of theleadersinthepreviousexamplesdid.Let’stakeamorein-depthlookateachofthose scenarios and see how these leaders attuned their organizations to acommonvision—andbroughtaboutlastingchange.

BetheChangeYouWanttoSee:KekiDadisethandHindustanLeverKekiDadiseth,thenewchairmanofHindustanLeverLimited,tookoverata

time of profound change in the Indian business environment.HLL had a richheritageofmanagementexcellenceandbusinessgrowthandwasregardedbyitspeersasacompanythattheymostwantedtoemulate.

AlthoughHLLwaswell regardedandsuccessful,DadisethquicklyrealizedthatinthepresentliberalizationscenarioinIndia,thecompanyneededtochangequickly and shed an ingrained culture that the new environment saw asbureaucraticandlackingintransparency.

Tomakeinroadsintosuchadeeplyingrainedcultureandattunethecompanytohisvision,Dadisethknewitwouldtakemorethanjusttalk,newpolicies,oreventraining.Heneededtodemonstrateconsistentlythebehaviorshewishedto

see.AframedJapaneseprintinhisofficecametobehismotto:“Noneofusisassmart as all of us.” From the outset, he used the engaging style of affiliativeleadership,backedupbyahealthydoseofthedemocraticstyle—acombinationthatwasnotverycommoninthecompany.Hegaveuphisschedulingdiaryandkeptanopen-doorpolicy,neverdenyinganemployeerequesttotalkwithhim.And he really listened when people talked: He took counsel from them,incorporating their views into the decisions that were being made. He brokedownthehierarchybyeatingwithstaffin thecafeteria,andheconnectedwithpeople on a personal level. He came to know whose son was ill, and whosedaughter had won a prize at school. He learned who really cared about theirwork, and he praised them publicly. And where he saw difficulties, heencouraged and empowered people to come up with their own solutions. He“centrifuged” decision making—pushing it as far down the organization aspossible. In general, he called on people to look deeply into themselves todiscoverwhatwasrightforthebusiness—andtoactonit.

Although Dadiseth’s new style of leadership was at first suspect, soon itbecameclearitwasnotanact:Thiswastherealthing.Hewassoavailable,soaccessible, and so transparent that noonehad to speculate or try tomaneuveraroundhim.Hisconnectionswithpeopleweresincere,andtheoutcomeofthesepositive,veryhuman,relationshipswasmutualtrustandrespect.What’smore,itspread: Other leaders began to see the value in redirecting people’s energytowardgroup commitment.Peoplebegan emulatingDadiseth’s stance, and thenorms of the culture gradually shifted toward openness and mutuality. The“managingup”mindsetwasbroken:Therewaslittletimewastedinunnecessaryspeculation,andthingsstartedgettingdonefasterandbetter.

Over time, as people began supporting each other through successes anddifficultiesalike,thecooperativespiritinthecompanyincreased.Itsuddenlyfeltsafer to take on responsibility,making it easier for people to innovate and tobecomecreativeabouttheirpartofthebusiness.Fromfactoryworkertoseniormanager, ideas began to flow in all parts and levels of the company, andefficiencyandeffectivenessincreased.

While building strong, open relationships in the company, Dadiseth wascarefultokeephiseyeonhisgoal: toimprovetheorganization’sperformance.Asheputit,“Comfortinrelationshipbringsdiscomfortinaccountability,”andhemadesurethatrelationshipsdidn’tgettoocozy.Soevenashecalledonthecompany’sleadershiptoseetheirconnectionstoemployeesasimportanttothebusiness,healso insistedonanewsenseofaccountability: to thecompany, to

oneanother,andtotheirownvalues.Asaresult,thingsbegantomovemorequicklyandsmoothly.Decisionsthat

hadtakenweeksinthepastnowtookhoursorevenminutes,eventhoughmorepeoplewereinvolved.Commitmenttothedecisionswentup,partlybecauseofthe high degree of involvement, but also because people began to trustleadership more. People now found it harder to hide or to blame others.Relationshipshadbecomebasedmoreontrustandrealconnection,andleadersstartedtakingmoreresponsibilityforthemselves.

Within a year, performance across a range of behavioral criteria improveddramatically. The speed and effectiveness of strategy implementation weremarkedlyincreased,andthegrowthagendawasownedbyvirtuallyeveryoneinthecompany;peopleactedonitatalllevels.KekiDadisethhadledbydoing.Hedemonstratedprinciplesof theneworganization thatheandhis teamhoped tocreate: transparency, inclusiveness, honesty, rigor, and results; accurate andhonestassessmentofwhatwasworkingandwhatwasnot;andlinkingrewardsto accomplishments. By essentially using the powerful symbol that his officerepresentedinordertomodelchange,Dadisethhadhelpedpeopletounderstandand act on new standards of accountability. In short, he changed the groundrules,attunedpeopletoanewvisionfortheorganization,andcreatedresonance.

Throughoutthisorganizationalalchemy,KekiDadisethtookthetimeneededtofollowsomebasicrulesthatcantriggerchange:

•Focuspeople’sattentionontheunderlyingissuesandsolutionstocreatecommon ground and understanding about what needs to change andwhy.Byhelpingtoarticulateproblemsandsurfacingthecovert,hiddenhabits that people take for granted, the real state of the organizationbecomes apparent and is a motivating force for change. Making thecovert overt gives people a language to discuss what is working andwhat isn’t in the organization, and common ground to stand onwhilelookingtothefuture.

• Focus on the ideal, combining resonance-building leadership styles toget people talking about their hopes for the future and to tap into thededicationpeoplefeelfortheorganization.Connectingpeople’spersonalgoalswithameaningfulvisionmakesitsafetoexplorewaystoreachthevision.

•Move from talk to action.This startswith the leader.Bringing peopletogetheraroundadream,movingfromtalktoaction,andmodelingnew

behaviors—this is the leader’s charge. And it is something thatUNICEF’sMonicaSharmaunderstoodaswell.

LivingtheMission:MonicaSharmaandUNICEFIn 1989, when she became Chief of Health of UNICEF’s Health Section

immunizationprojectinIndia,MonicaSharmaunderstoodtheimportanceofthework the organizationwas doing. Far toomany children in that countryweredying needlessly from common and preventable childhood diseases such asmeasles—and her project’s goal was to change that sad fact. 7 But early on,Monicasensedsomethingthattroubledher:Mostofthe400employeesfeltfaraway from the organization’s mission and the inspiring work that theythemselves supported in their day-to-day jobs. Because most staff worked atdesksinthemainoffice,theydidn’thaveaccesstothesenseofpurposethatthehealthteamsfeltastheymovedfromvillagetovillageimmunizingchildren.

Monica came up with a solution that would truly attune people to thecommonmission—byconnectingthememotionally to theirworkandthereforewith their own ideal visions of their purpose in the organization. “I hatched ascheme to get absolutely everyone involved in the fieldwork of the project,”Monicatoldus.ShelobbiedUNICEF’sseniormanagementtolethersendeveryoneof theover400office-boundstaffpeople towork invillage immunizationclinics.Seniorleadershipsupportedherplan.RepresentativeEimiWatanabeandherdeputiesThomasMcDermottandLukasHendrattarecognizedthatespeciallyin a large bureaucracy, if there was going to be innovation and change, theyneededtobackthechangeagent.Andtheydid.

Staffmemberswere able to see—many for the first time—what theirworkwas really about. They helped gather children together and bring them to theclinics;theysaw,upclose,thehealthteamsatwork.Forthefirsttimetheywereable to feel the raw emotions that underlay their daily work: excitement andhope,alongsidethedoubtsandfearsofthemothers,whothemselveswerescaredbythesyringesandwerefrightenedfortheirchildren.Gradually,theworkersinthehomeofficecametoseethateachoftheirrolescontributedtosavingthelifeofachild, and that even seeminglyunimportantor routine taskswereactuallycritical.

ThestoryofoneUNICEFdriverisapoignantcaseinpoint.Whereasinthepasthehadseenhisjobassimplytoshuttlethehealthteamfromonedistricttothe next—never really connecting with the people in those villages—once he

hadspenttimeworkinginavillageclinic,everythingchanged.Hebegantotakea new interest inwhatwas happeningwhile hewaited to take his passengersbacktotheoffice.Hebegantotalkmoretotheworkersandthevillagemothers.Hesawthechildren’sandtheirmothers’fear,andhesawhowdifficultitwasforsomemotherstocomforttheirchildren.

Onhisown,thedriverstartedgatheringsmallgroupsofmothersaroundhiscar,talkingtothemaboutwhytheimmunizationsweresoimportant,reassuringthem about side effects, and advising on how to calm the children down. Hecreated his own miniseminars, contributing palpably to the success of eachclinic.Thedriver’s impromptuworkresultedincalmer,moreinformedparents—and clinics that ran withmore ease and efficiency.Moreover, he improvedhow the doctors and nurses on the medical team viewed the contributions ofofficestaff.Andclearly, thedriverhimselffeltafardeepercommitmenttohiswork.

That deeper commitment made an enormous difference one day when hedrove a team to a villagewhere, after several hours, the vaccine still had notarrived.Inthepast,thedrivermighthaveshruggedandtakentheteambacktothe office. After all, it wasn’t his job to get the vaccine there, nor would henecessarily be compensated for working overtime to help with the situation.Now, however, he understood how disappointed his “class” of mothers andchildrenwouldbeiftheydidn’treceivethevaccinethey’dbeenwaitingfor.Hesetoffonhisowntoalargerbutdistantvillage,andinafewhourshereturnedwiththevaccine.

The driver was acting on the new cultural norms: Get involved, look forplaces to contribute, and live the mission. By getting people at all levels toembrace and attune to their mission, Monica Sharma fostered resonance thatwouldfaroutlastanysimplechangeprogram.Infact,thestaffhadjoinedherincreatingthatvisionoftheirmission.Monica’svisionaryleadershipstylehelpedpeopletoseehowtheirownsmallcontributions—whetherbackintheofficeorout on the road—actually affected the children. She realized that, in order forpeopletomaketheireffortsmeaningful,theyneedtoseeandfeeltheresultsoftheirwork,toseethewaysinwhichwhattheydosupportswhattheybelieve.

At the same time, it was possible that a one-time visit to the field mightsimply fade in people’s memory if the changes stopped there. But Monicaunderstoodthatinorderfortheseinspiringmomentstotranslateintonewwaysofoperating together—intonewculturalnorms thatwouldbe sustainableovertime—peoplewouldneedmore.Theywouldhavetotalkovertheirexperiences,

to share the feelings and their learning, and to tell each other the stories thatwouldcometodefinetheirnewculture.

Tothatend,Monicaheldopenmeetingsonweekendsatwhichpeoplecouldcometogethertosharetheirexperiences.Then,aspeoplebegantotalkaboutthechallenges they encountered and ask for advice, Monica used a coachingleadershipstyletomodelinteractions:Peoplebegantolearntocoacheachother.These meetings were marked by laughter, encouragement, and camaraderie.People were engaged and inspired—and felt wonderful about their worktogether.

Evennow,yearslater,someofthestaffinIndiarememberMonica’sinitiativeas a turning point—perhaps the most inspiring of their work lives. Whatmattered,too,wastheirleader’sconfidenceinthem,herbeliefthattheycouldgoto the districts and help, even though they were not trained. That confidenceenabled many—like the driver—to go beyond their own expectations ofthemselves.Andtheyremember thatMonicamadeherselfpersonallyavailabletothem,supportingtheirlearningallthroughtheprocess.

Of course, Monica knew exactly what she was doing: She was attuningpeoplewith themission that exemplifiedUNICEFvalues, andproviding themtangibleways tomakethevisionareality.Byworkingwithpeople’semotionsandbuildingontheirveryhumanneedformeaningfulwork,Monicahelpedtoattunepeople’svaluesandcontributionstothegreatermission.Thatisresonantleadership in action: engaging people’s passion and connecting them with avisionofwhatcouldbe.MonicaSharmafulfilledherprimaltaskasaleader.

But what about when an organization requires adjustments that reach farbeyondattitude,adjustmentsthatinvolveprofoundchangesinthewaypeopledotheir jobs? In the midst of that kind of change, resonance with a vision issometimes theone thing thatholdspeople together, stavesoff exhaustion, andkeeps people focused and positive. We saw this at the University ofPennsylvaniaasitfacedacrisisinthe1990s.

AttuningwiththeCommunity:JudithRodinandJohnFryandtheUniversityofPennsylvaniaInthemid-tolate1990s, theUniversityofPennsylvaniaunderwentamajor

restructuring process inwhich staffmembers’ roleswere completely changed,shakingmanypeopleoutofyearsofcomplacencywhiletheirseeminglysecurefuture disappeared. People felt worried about losing their jobs, but equallyimportant, they felt demoralized about losing the image they had had of

themselves as “privileged” to be working at Penn, an Ivy League school.Althoughtherestructuringwasimportantforthefutureoftheschool,theprocessitselfmadepeoplefearfulandreticent.8

President Judith Rodin and Executive Vice President John Fry recognizedthat they needed to do something tomobilize people’s energy around keepingPennontrackwith itschangeagenda.Sotheylookedtoabroaderagenda—tothe community outside the university—for the inspiration that would engagestaffmembers’heartsandmindsandattunethemtoacommonvision.

Theirfirstmovewastoannouncethatitwastheuniversity’sresponsibilitytocontribute to itsoutsidecommunity,rather thansimplytakingfromit. ItwasapositionthatPenn—andtheWestPhiladelphiacommunitythatsurroundedit—hadn’t heard for many years. In fact, the university and the town had longexperiencedastrainedrelationship,arguingaboutwhenandwheredevelopmentandconstructionshouldtakeplace,whosejobitwastomaintainacleanandsafeenvironment,andwhowasresponsiblefordealingwithincreasedcrime.

RodinandFry’svisionwasmorethanrhetoric;itledtoconcreteaction.Theyworkedwith city officials, school teachers and principals, and police and realestateprofessionals tocreatenew,brightly lit streetsandparks, toenhance thequalityofeducationinthelocalschools,andtomakeitpossibleforresidentstoaccess funds to restore their homes. They created a mortgage program thatencouraged Penn professors and staff to move into the area surrounding theuniversity,andtheyfocusedondevelopingnewhotels,retailstores,andservicesthat were attractive to residents and visitors alike. They also undertook anambitiousefforttoemploylocalresidents,andtocontractwithminority-ownedandwomen-ownedWestPhiladelphia-basedbusinesses inconstructionprojectsandotherbusinessdealings.

Asthebenefitsofgettingonboardwiththisnewstrategybecameobvioustopeople inside Penn, staff came together with energy and passion around thechangeprocess.Whocouldarguewithbuilding friendly relationshipswith theneighborhood?Who could argue with the new parks and lights, the dramaticdecreaseincrime,theattractiverenovationofhomes,andthechancetomovetoa vibrant, exciting urban areawith the help of creative financing? The valuesdriving the strategy—urban renewal and a commitment to a vibrant, diversecommunity—wereintrinsicallyappealingandrewardingtopeople,makingthemfeelgoodagainaboutbeingpartofPenn.

What that broad-basedmovedid forWestPhiladelphia is obvious today intheway thecity looksandfunctions.Butwhat itdid inside theuniversitywas

equally impressive. By engaging people at the university in the WestPhiladelphia initiative,Rodin andFrywere able to also engage them in other,more difficult issues. Staff came to understand that their leaders really didbelieveinthevaluesattheheartofthechangeprocess,andpeoplebegantotrustthemtocarrythroughthemoredifficultinternalchangeagendawithintegrity.Inthe end,Rodin andFry helped to create an organizational resonance inwhichpeople felt invested in the strategy because it was attuned to their personalvalues.Thatmadethevisionforchangenotonlymeaningful,butsustainableaswell.

Lessons: Building an Emotionally IntelligentOrganizationThenotion thatemotional intelligence is importantatwork isnotnew, thoughit’s only been recently that studies have begun to show how key it is to thesuccessof anyorganization. Indeed, emotional intelligence and resonance in aworkplacemaydrawon the ancient human organizing principle of the primalband—thosegroupsoffiftytoonehundredpeoplewhoroamedthelandwithacommon bond and whose survival depended on close understanding andcooperation.

In some ways, a band of hunter-gatherers on the ancient plains is not sodifferentfromtheteamsatHindustanLever,UNICEF,orPenn.Inanyresonanthumangroup,people findmeaning in theirconnectionand in theirattunementwithoneanother.Inthebestorganizations,peopleshareavisionofwhotheyarecollectively,andtheyshareaspecialchemistry.Theyhavethefeelingofagoodfit, of understanding and being understood, and a sense of well-being in thepresenceoftheothers.

It is the responsibility of emotionally intelligent leaders to create suchresonant organizations. These leaders involve people in discovering the truthabout themselvesand theorganization:They recognize the truthaboutwhat isreallygoingon,andtheyhelppeopletonamewhat isharmfulandtobuildontheorganization’sstrengths.Atthesametime,theybringpeopletogetheraroundadreamofwhatcouldbe,andintheprocesscreateanddemonstratenewwaysfor people to work together. They build resonance, and then they ensure thatresonancecanbesustainedthroughthesystemsthatregulatetheebbandflowofrelationsandworkintheorganization.

Thereareanumberof rulesofengagement thatour researchandourworkwithorganizationssuggestwillhelptocreatearesonant,emotionallyintelligent,andeffectiveculture.Theresearchproducedthreekeyfindings:discoveringtheemotional reality, visualizing the ideal, and sustaining emotional intelligence.Eachisexploredinsomedetailinthefollowingsections.

DISCOVERINGTHEEMOTIONALREALITY• Respect the group’s values and the organization’s integrity. Visionschange, but as the vision evolves, the leader needs to be sure that the“sacred center”—what everyone holds as paramount—remains intact.That’sthefirstchallenge:knowingwhatthesacredcenteractuallyis—fromtheperspectiveofothers,notjustoneself.Thesecondchallengeisseeingclearlywhatmustchange,evenwhenitishelddear,andgettingotherpeopletoseeittoo.Ifcorebeliefs,mindsets,orculturereallyneedto change, people need to drive that change themselves. It cannot beforced,sowhenpeopleenterintosuchachangeprocess,theyneedtobepersonallyandpowerfullymotivated—preferablybyhopeandadream,not fear. A visionary leader can impact this process positively byhonoring the feelings and beliefs of the people around him, whilesteadfastlydemonstratingthebenefitofmovingtowardthedream.

•Slowdowninordertospeedup.Atarget-shootingcoachweknowtellshisstudents,“Ifyou’reinacombatsituation,youcan’tmissfastenoughto saveyour life.” So toowith building resonance and an emotionallyintelligentorganization—theshotgunapproachtochangedoesn’twork.Theprocessofslowingdownandbringingpeopleintotheconversationabout their systems and their culture is one we don’t see enough inorganizationsbutthatneverthelessiscritical.Processessuchasdynamicinquiry require a supportive, coaching approach and democratic style:Theleadermustreallylistentowhatpeoplehavetosayaboutthecultureandtheemotionalrealityoftheorganization.Boththecoachingstyle—wherealeaderdeeplylistenstoindividuals—andthedemocraticstyle—whereagroupindialoguebuildsconsensus—canensurethatpeoplearebroughtintothechangeprocessinawaythatbuildstheircommitment.Emotionally intelligent leaders rely on these styles as a way to slowthingsdownenough to get a strong sense of exactlywhat’s needed togivepeoplethesupporttheyneedtoflourish.

• Start at the top with a bottom-up strategy. Top leadership must be

committed to facing the truth about the emotional reality of theorganization,andtheymustbecommittedtocreatingresonancearoundavisionoftheideal.Butthat’snotenough:Abottom-upstrategyisneededaswell,because resonanceonlydevelopswhen everyone is attuned tothechange.Thismeansengaging formaland informal leaders fromallover the organization in conversations aboutwhat isworking,what isnot,andhowexcitingitwouldbeiftheorganizationcouldmovemoreinthedirectionofwhatisworking.Takingtimeouttodiscussthesekindsofissuesisapowerfulintervention.Itgetspeoplethinkingandtalking,and shows them the way. Once the excitement and buy-in builds, it’smore possible to move from talk to action. The enthusiasm providesmomentum.Butthemovementneedstobedirected:towardthedream,toward collective values, and toward new ways of working together.Transparent goals, an open change process, involvement of as manypeople as possible, and modeling new behaviors provide a top-down,bottom-upjump-startforresonance.

VISUALIZINGTHEIDEAL•Lookinside.Toformulateavisionthatwillresonatewithothers,leadersneedtopayattention,startingbytuningintotheirownfeelingsandthefeelingsofothers.The facts alone—for instance,what is happening inthe marketplace—do not provide enough information to create ameaningful vision thatwill touch people’s hearts. To do that, a leaderneeds to “see” at the level of emotion, then craft ameaningful visionwithwhichpeoplecanidentifyonadeepandpersonallevel.

•Don’t align—attune. For a vision to be compelling, it needs to touchpeople’s hearts. People need to see, feel, and touch thevalues and thevisionoftheorganizationtomaketheseabstractionsmeaningful.Tuningpeopleintoameaningfulvisionhasintegrityatitsheart:Peopleneedtofeel as if they can reach for the organization’s dream withoutcompromisingtheirowndreams,theirownbeliefs,andtheirvalues.

•People first, then strategy. Leaderswho use resonance-building stylesmodel norms that support commitment, involvement, active pursuit ofthe vision, and healthy, productive work relationships. They createconnection by focusing on what people really want and need, and bydeliberately building a culture that supports good health in the tribe.Whena leader focusesonpeople,emotionalbondsarecreated thatare

the ground in which resonance is sown—and people will follow thatleader in good times and bad. Resonance creates an invisible butpowerfulbondbetweenpeoplebasedonabeliefinwhattheyaredoingandabeliefinoneanother.For that tohappen,peopleneedtoconnectwithoneanotherinrealtime—notjustonline—aroundtheirwork.Theyneed to talk, laugh, share stories, and—just perhaps—build a dreamtogether.

SUSTAININGEMOTIONALINTELLIGENCE• Turn vision into action. At every opportunity, leaders need todemonstrate what the vision looks like, what it feels like, and howpeoplecanliveittodayaswellasinthefuture.Theyusethemselvesasinstrumentsofdiscoveryandchange,getclosetotheprocess,anddon’tlet go until they reach the goal. Ideally, in each interaction, eachdecision, leaders act consistently with their own values and with thevalues of the organization they intend to create. They lead throughcoaching, vision, democracy, and respect for the people around them.Andtheycallonotherstoliveuptotheirownvaluesandthemissionoftheorganization.Inadditiontotheprimalleader’sstance,thereareothernecessarysteps

forturningvisionintoaction:changingorganizationalstructuresandjobdesigns, changing relationship norms, reshaping systems andperformanceexpectations to bettermatch the vision, andmakingwhatpeopledofitbetterwiththeorganization’smission.

• Create systems that sustain emotionally intelligent practices. Peoplematter,butsodosystems, rules,andprocedures.Remindersofwhat isacceptable and what is not are powerful drivers of behavior, be thesepolicies and procedures (that are actually enforced) or attention to theright leadership behaviors. Specifically, for an organization to sustainemotionally intelligent practices, the rules, regulations, and humanresourcepracticeshavetobetotallyinsynchwiththedesiredoutcomes.There’sno sensehoping foremotionally intelligent leadershipwhen infact it is not recognized in the performance management systems orrewardsystems—sochangetherules,ifneedbe,toreinforcethevision.

• Manage the myths of leadership. Myths and legends withstand thevagariesoftheday-to-daygrind—andtheupheavalofchange.Whenthe

right myths are in place—that is, those that support emotionalintelligenceandresonance—peoplehaveaneasiertimeholdingontoapositiveemotionalclimate, even in the faceofadversity.Leadershaveanenormousimpactontheoverallemotionsofanorganization,andtheyareoftenatthecenteroftheorganization’sstories.Managingthemyths,the legends, and the symbolsof theofficecanbe apowerfuldriverofchange.Byusing the symbolicpowerof their role tomodelemotionalintelligence,leaderscancreatenew,positivemyths throughevensmallgesturesandactions.

Creating organizations that are emotionally intelligent is ultimately theleader’s responsibility. It is up to leaders to help the organization identify itsreality—including the cultural norms that hinder it—and then to explore theidealvisionofwhatcouldbeandtohelpmembersoftheorganizationuncovertheirownrolesinthatvision.Anditisleaderswhoattunepeopletothevisionandbegintakingactiontowardchange.

Emotionallyintelligentleaderswhouseresonance-buildingleadershipstylesandcreatenormsthatfosterhealthy,effectiveworkingrelationships(ratherthanusing styles that breed fear and cynicism) will release a powerful force: thecollective energy of the organization to pursue any business strategy. Thesekindsofleadersbuildwithpositives:Theycraftavisionwithheartfeltpassion,they foster an inspiring organizational mission that is deeply woven into theorganizationalfabric,andtheyknowhowtogivepeopleasensethattheirworkismeaningful.

CHAPTERELEVEN

CREATINGSUSTAINABLECHANGE

HOWDOESALEADERcreateresonanceinanorganizationthatissustainedovertime?It’sachallenge,butitcanbedonebyensuringthattheentirefabricoftheenterpriseisinterwovenwithemotionallyintelligentleadership.Afterall,if it takes emotionally intelligent leadership to create resonance in anorganization, then the more such leaders there are, the more powerful thattransformationwillbecome.

Inany largeorganization therewillnaturallybesomepocketsof resonanceandsomepocketsofdissonance.Theoverall ratioof resonance todissonance,wepropose,determinesthatorganization’semotionalclimateandrelatesdirectlyto how it performs.The key to shifting that ratio in the right direction lies incultivatingadispersedcadreof leaderswhowill createemotionally intelligentgroups.

By their very nature, however, organizations don’t readily encourage newlearning.1 In fact, leaderswhowish to instillwidespreadchangeneed to firstrecognize that they’re working against a paradox: Organizations thrive onroutineandthestatusquo.Professionalsinorganizationsrelyontheestablishedsystemsinordertocarryouttheirjobswithminimalresistanceandstress.Asaresult,mostpeopleincompaniestodayhavenotchallengedthemselvestolearnsomethingreallydifferentforalongtime.

Developinganewleadershipstyleoftenmeansfundamentallychanginghowone operates with other people. But the paradox of trying to introduce newlearning in organizations makes that a difficult task at best, and not oneaccomplished only in the classroom. Sadly, most executive education andleadership development efforts fall far short of themark, not only because ofhow they are done, but also because of what they do not do. Even the bestdevelopmentprocesses—thosebasedonexploringthefivediscoveries—willnothelptochangetheorganizationiftheyfocusonlyonthepersonanddonottakeintoaccountthepoweroftheemotionalrealityandtheculture.

Consider the situation described in the following section, in which theleadership’sintentionsweregood,buttheoutcomeoforganization-widelearningwaslittlemorethanafewpeoplechangedandlotsoftimeandenergywasted.

WhenLeadershipBuildingFailsTheCEOofaPacificRimbankwanted toputhis top600executives throughleadershipdevelopmentafterhehimselfhadworkedwithanexecutivecoachonemotional intelligence competencies, had gone through a 360-degree feedbackprocess, and had dramatically changed his leadership style. He instructed hisheadofhumanresourcestodesignaprogramforhistopexecutivessothattheycould receivesimilardevelopmentopportunities.Butwhen theHRdepartmentpostedtheprogramoffering,fewpeoplesignedup.Onlytheinquisitiveandthecourageouswentthroughit,ratherthanthosewhomighthavebenefitedmost.

Theproblemwasthattheprogramjustdidn’tseemrelevanttopeopleinthisorganization.Culturally,trainingwasconsideredawasteoftime,andgoingtoaworkshopwascertainlynotapriority—foranyone.Oneimportantwaytoensurethat learningdoes feel important is tomake it amandate that the top leader isdrivingpersonally.Tosucceed,leadershipdevelopmentneedstobethestrategicpriorityoftheenterprise,anissuethatisgalvanizedandmanagedatthehighestlevels—bytheexecutivecommitteeorgoverningboard.

ThatiswhattheCEOofthePacificRimbankfailedtorecognize.Infact,hewasshockedwhensofewpeopleseemedinterestedinreceivingthesamekindof coaching and feedback that had changed his own leadership style in suchobvious ways. Where before this CEO had been a compulsively focused,pacesetting leader, he had now expanded his leadership repertoire, becomingmore affiliative,more visionary, andmore of a coach.He had begun to havecoachingsessionswithhisdirectreports,andaskedhisstafftobriefhimonkey

eventsinhisemployees’lives.Oneexampleofhistransformationcamewhenhestoppedaprojectmeetingtosendhomeastaffmemberwhosehusband,hehadheard,hadsuddenlybecomeveryill—asimplegestureofhumankindness thatwouldnothaveoccurredtohimbefore.

Evenso,theleadershipdevelopmentprogramhemadeavailableatthebankwas sparsely attended because it was perceived as unimportant to topmanagement’s overall agenda. The CEO had indeed had a transformationalexperience—but he’d kept the process itself quiet. Sure, people could seechanges inhim,butnoonereallyunderstoodthe learningexperience thathe’dundergone—the coaching, the feedback, his development plan. So the newleadership program appeared as just another in an expanding menu of thecompany’s HR offerings. By funneling the program through his HR trainingdirector,theCEOsenttheunintendedmessagethatitwasalowpriority.

For leadership development to succeed, top management needs todemonstrate that commitment comes from the top.Unfortunately,whatwe’veobserved in most companies—as we saw at the Pacific Rim bank—is theopposite: Leadership development typically becomes the mandate of humanresourcedepartments.Butdespite their technicalexpertiseand, inmanycases,their contribution to the strategy, HR people cannot, on their own, drivesignificant change in behavior or culture.Even the bestHRprofessionalswilladmitthattheyoperateunderacloudinwhichpeopleperceivetheirworkasoutof touch with day-to-day managerial issues. Although this appraisal may beunfair,itpointstotheimportanceofanorganization’stopleadersbeingactivelyinvolvedinanyleadershipdevelopmentprocess.

EXECUTIVECOACHING

LEADERSNEEDtobalancelearning—whichbydefinitionmeansbecomingvulnerable—withmanaging their image as leaders. One goodway to do this is to work with anexecutivecoach,arelationshipinwhichitissafetoexploreandwhereleaderscanhaveanopportunitytotalkmorefreelythantheymayhavedonewithanyone,ever,abouttheirowndreamsandtheirbusinesschallenges.Inthecontextofexecutivecoaching,leaderscan talkabout things that they feelpainandpassionabout—and reallygetat thecoreissues for themselves, their teams,and theorganization.Of course, thesheer level ofemotion in theseconversations is farbeyondwhat typicallyoccurs inbusiness, so thecoachingrelationshipmustbetrusting,totallyconfidential,andalmostsacrosanct.2Mostexecutivecoachingprocessesinvolveleadershipassessmentandanongoingfocuson development. They also include work on the broader organizational issues—

especially those in the people realm, such as the leader’s challenges with his or herteam, the organizational climate, culture, and politics, and how all this fits with thebusinessstrategy.Leadershipassessmentandfeedbackcanbedoneinanumberofdifferentways,butthebest practice starts with a series of interviews and observations by a professionalexecutive coach. The interviews should look and feelmuch like conversations a goodpartofthetime,withtheintentionofbuildingastrong,confidentialrelationshipbetweenthe leader and the coach. Typical processes include conversations about the leader’scareerandlifehistory,discussionsofcurrentmanagerialandleadershipchallenges,anddiscussionsof theorganizational-level issuesaswell, including thingssuchasclimate,politics,andsystems. Inaddition, thisphaseoften includesobservationof the leader inaction at meetings, when giving speeches, and when engaging in one-on-oneperformancereviews,amongotherthings.

One such process called “A Day in the Life” was developed by our colleague FranJohnstonoftheGestaltInstituteofCleveland.3Thecoachspendsatypicaldaywiththeleader, literally followingheraround,attendingmeetingsandone-on-onesessionswithstaff,evensittinginonphonecalls.Ofcourse,allofthisisdonewithaclearexplanationtoemployees—with theaddedbenefit that the leader isseen tobeactively involved inlearningandleadershipdevelopment.Morestructuredassessmentisalsousuallyapartofthecoachingprocess,andwilloftenincludebehavioraleventinterviewsand360-degreefeedbackonemotional intelligence,managerial style, climate, and other factors pertinent to the particular leader and herorganization.Whenitcomestocoachingonteamandorganizationalissues,ithelpsforthecoachtohavemorethanjusttheleader’sperspective.Whetherornottheleaderisreallysuffering fromCEOdisease, it isa factofexecutive life thatmuch information isfiltered,andmany issuesaresoftenedordisguisedbefore theyreachthe top.Throughinterviews,observation, and assessment, and even amini-dynamic inquiry process, acoachcangatherinformationaboutwhat’sreallygoingoninanorganizationthatcanbetruly helpful to the leader. Of course, for this process to work over the long term, thecoach needs to honor the confidentiality of all relationships—even with those peopleinterviewedtogatherinformationabouttheleader—whichmeansthatthecoachpresentstheleaderwithonlygeneralthemes,notspecifics.Coachingenablesaleadertofurtherherownlearningquickly,whilegettingadifferent—and sometimes more accurate—picture of what’s happening in the organization,especiallywithrespecttohowpeopleexperiencetheleaderandtheleadershipteam.

There’syetanotherreasonthatcommitmentmustcomefromthetop:Changeofthesortwearetalkingaboutrequireseffort,support,andresources—andnotjustmoney.New leadershipmeans a newmindset and new behaviors, and inorder for these to stick, the organization’s cultures, systems, and processes allneed to change too. In the development of resonance-building leaders,we aretalking about tapping into—and changing—the emotional reality of theorganization itself, theculture,aswellasdeep-seatedbehaviors.Becausemostgroups and organizations revolve around the status quo, fighting off anything

that threatens it, this level of change requires courageous leadership, stamina,andunswervingcommitment.

YouCan’tIgnoreCultureEvenamandatefromthehighestlevelsoftheorganizationdoesn’tguarantee

that a leadership development initiative will bring about needed changes.Consider the case of a professional services firm we worked with. The topmanagers of this large company recognized that given the changing nature oftheirbusiness,unlesstheyencouragedpeopletobehaveinverydifferentways,thecompanywouldloseitscompetitiveedge.Ratherthanattemptingtochangethe collective habits of the whole organization, which felt too daunting, theleadership decided that if enough individual managers learned newcompetencies,theculturewouldchangeitself.Severalyearslater,however,it’sbecome clear that all efforts at change in the company have failedmiserably.Leadershippracticesareamess,morale isdownand turnover isatanall-timehigh,andthecompanyisbeingsoldagainstthemanagement’swill.

At first, top management did everything right. They made it clear thatleadership developmentwas a critical strategic priority. They did the researchand crafted a pristine competency model in which most of the competenciesrelated toemotional intelligence.Theydesigneda state-of-the-artdevelopmentprocess, focusing explicitly on the five discoveries, and they selected highlymotivatedpeopletoparticipate.

In short, the company’s management crafted a comprehensive changeprocess.TheyevenbegantorevamptheHRprocesses tohireandpromoteforthe new leadership competencies. Intuitively the leadership knew that theorganizationreinforcednegativeculturalnorms.Theycouldsee thatoldhabitswereoutofsynchwithwhatnewclients,vendors,andpartnerswereexpecting.Buttheyweren’texactlysurehowtheculturecouldchange,andsincechangingthe deeply ingrained habits and underlying culture of the entire organizationseemed like an impossible task, management decided instead to focus ondevelopingindividualleaders.Hopesforarippleeffectthroughouttheenterprisediminished quickly when one major glitch became apparent: Some newleadership competencies went so against the cultural grain that when peoplebegantousethem,theygotintotrouble.

Forexample,oneofthenewcompetenciescalledonpeopletohavecouragewhen attempting to do the right thing for the business, evenwhen thatmeantstanding up to senior management. One manager, encouraged by the top’s

apparentwillingness to foster this kind of risk taking, put himself on the lineoverwhathesawasabusiness—andanethical—issue.Ashebegantodiscussthis issue in the leadership program, he came to see this as an opportunity topracticeanewbehaviorand,hethought,tohelpthecompanydotherightthing.Given the hype about the new competencies, his boss’s response wasn’t toosurprising,onlyverydisappointing:Whenthemanagerconfrontedhisboss,theboss didwhat he knewwas expected of him and praised themanager for hiscourageinstandingupforwhathebelieved.Butthen,behindcloseddoors,thatsamebosslaidoutaplantogetridoftheguy—hewasjusttoodangerous.

Wesawsimilarscenariosplayoutagainandagaininthisorganization.Evenwhen itwas clear that leadership behaviors needed to change, and evenwhenpeopleknewwhattheyshoulddo,theycouldnotactinnewways.Thepocketsof resistance were too widespread, the inertia in the culture too powerful.Individualleadersalonecannotchangeaculture.Foranewvisiontotakehold,itmust spread throughout every level. In an organization as enormous as thisone, it would have taken hundreds of converts to bring about a wholesaleculturalchange.

Thelessonisthatyoucan’tignoreculture—andyoucan’thopetochangeitone leader at a time. By ignoring the big picture and focusing instead ondevelopingleadersonebyone, thiscompany’s leadershipfailed tobringaboutcritically needed changes that would have helped the organization succeed.Although people tried to do things differently, basic patterns didn’t change,makingitnexttoimpossibleforindividualleaderstoachievekeylearninggoalsthey’dsetforthemselves.Powerfuldriversofbehaviorwereneveraddressed—andtheyultimatelystalledtheentirechangeprogram.

As research shows, there are a number of reasons why leadershipdevelopment initiatives fail.Aprimary reason, aswe saw inchapter6, is thatmany development programs do not focus on the whole person or on thediscoveriesthatleadtosustainablechange,suchasfindingone’sowndreamandtyingdevelopment to it.Otherprograms fail to take intoaccount thepoweroftheculturewhentheydothefollowing:

• Ignore the real state of the organization, assuming that if people learnwhat they should do and be, systems and culture will automaticallysupporttheminthechangeprocess.

• Attempt to change only the person, ignoring the norms of the groupstheyworkineverydayandthelargersurroundingcultureinplay.

• Drive the change process from the wrong place in the organization.Leadershipdevelopmentthat transformspeopleandorganizationsmuststartatthetopandbeastrategicpriority.

•Failtodevelopalanguageofleadership—meaningfulwordsthatcapturethe spirit of leadership by symbolizing ideas, ideals, and emotionallyintelligent leadership practices (a notion that wewill examine later inthischapter).

Naturally, programs that fail to take these issues into account create frustratedindividuals,cynicism,andwastedtime,energy,andmoney.

SucceedwithaProcess—NotaProgramLet’ssaythat,asaleader,yougetit:You’vealreadysetthestagebyassessingthe culture—examining the reality and the ideal at the organizational level.You’vecreatedresonancearound the ideaofchange,andyou’ve identified thepeoplewhowilltaketopleadershiprolesinthefuture.Thenextstepistodesigna process that continually builds leadership that gets results. This processwillinclude helping your organization’s leaders uncover their own dreams andpersonalideals,examinetheirstrengthsandtheirgaps,andusetheirdailyworkasalaboratoryforlearning.Whatelsecanyoudo?

Foronething,avoidthetrapsofmanyleadershipdevelopmentprogramsthatwe’veseen.Toooften theyaresimplyexecutiveeducationclasses, focusedonengaging people in learning topical content from experts: strategy,marketing,finance, general management, and similar abstractions. While all of theseacademic areas are of great importance tomany leaders, no discrete programfocusedonthemwilladduptotransformationofthepersonorthecompany.

And, although we’ve sometimes referred to leadership development“programs”inthesepages,infactwhatmanyorganizationsneedaren’tjustone-timeprogramsbutaprocessbuiltasaholisticsystemthatpermeateseverylayerof the organization. The best of these leadership development initiatives arebased on an understanding that true change occurs through a multifacetedprocess that penetrates the three pivotal levels of the organization: theindividuals in the organization, the teams in which they work, and theorganization’sculture.Basedon theprinciplesof adult learningand individualchange, such processes take people on intellectual and emotional journeys—fromfacingtherealitytoimplementingtheideal.We’vefoundthatthedesignof

thiskindofleadershipdevelopmentdiffersinfundamentalwaysfromwhatonetypicallyfindsinmostbusinessschoolsorexecutivetrainingcenters.

Thebestdevelopmentprocesses create a safe space for learning,making itchallenging but not too risky. Moreover, in order for leaders to truly learnsomethingnew,theyneedexperiencesthatarebothrelevantandframebreaking.Theexperienceshavetobedifferentenoughtocapturepeople’simaginationbutfamiliarenoughtoseemrelevant.AsourcolleagueJonnoHanafinoftheGestaltInstituteofClevelandoftencautions,“Whenattemptingtobringaboutchangeinaperson—oracompany—you’vegot tobecareful tomanageyour ‘perceivedweirdnessindex.’”4Inotherwords,breaktherulesbutdon’tscarepeopleaway.

Strong leadership development processes are focused on emotional andintellectuallearning,andtheybuildonactive,participatorywork:actionlearningandcoaching,wherepeopleusewhatthey’relearningtodiagnoseandsolverealproblemsintheirorganizations.Theyrelyonexperientiallearningandonteam-basedsimulations,wherepeopleengageinstructuredactivitythat theycanuseto examine their own and others’ behavior. Exemplary processes aremultifaceted, using a boldmixture of learning techniques; they are conductedoveraperiodoftime;andtheytakethecultureheadon.

BuildingCultureChangeintoLeadershipDevelopmentWhen team members at Unilever began to design a new leadership

developmentinitiativefortopmanagement,theywerenervous.Theyknewthattheglobalcompanyneededsomethingtohelpitbecomeamoreenterprisingandcompetitive industry leader. Their proposal, therefore, was intended tofundamentally change leadership behaviors and create an entirely new,enterprising company culture. Overall, the process would span years, levels,geographies,andbusinesses.Itwouldcallonleaderstorethinkeverythingfromtheir personal dreams to their visions for their businesses and how to executeleadership.Itwasabig,boldproposition.

As leadersbegantopaintapictureof theseminarsandretreatsplannedforthe company, they used unusual words such as passion, emotionally charged,vulnerability,risk,andpersonalvision. Inmanyconversationsoveraperiodofmonths, theywatched people’s faces for reactions and pushed on, certain thattheir framework for individual and organizational change was good and thatexecutives needed to be emotionally engaged in the process if it was to besuccessful.

Thiswastheplan:First,thetop100leadersinthecompanywouldparticipatein a kick-off retreat, led by chairmenNiall FitzGerald andAntonyBurgmans.There, they would explore in a personal way habits of the past, as well aspersonalbeliefsandtheirdreamsforthefuture.Itwouldbeheldinaplacesuretoinspireandcertaintogetthetopteamoutofitscomfortzone.Itwouldpresentphysicalchallengeswhilesimultaneouslytakingpeopleonanemotionaljourneywiththeircolleagues—achancetogettoknoweachotheranddevelopaleveloftrustandopennessheretoforeunthinkable;achancetobehonest.Itwouldbeanexperience that touched people’s hearts and became relevant to them in theirlivesoncetheyreturned.Theultimategoalwastotakethesenewbehaviors,thenewmindset,andnewwaysofworkingtogetherbacktothebusiness.

After that first retreat, the second phase would begin, when the top 500leaders company-widewould attend a series of seminars designed to put intopracticethenewnormsoftheculture,turnvisionintoaction,anddrivechangeinthebusinesses.Then,overseveralyears,aroundtheworld,businessunitsonestepbelowtopmanagementwouldmirrortheprocess:engagingpeople’sdreamsandpassion,andthenturningthesetowardthebusiness.

ACTIONLEARNING

A SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT of a U.S. telecom listened intently as people in hiscompany, who’d just completed a year-long, multifaceted executive developmentprocess, eachmade their action learning presentations.When theywere finished, theseniorvicepresidentsaid,almostindisbelief:“Thesepeopleare leaders. Ihadnoideawecouldfindthisinourcompany.Herewearestrugglingtofindafewkeyleaders,andthere are twenty of them here today. Twenty! I wish people would speak at all ourmeetingsthewaytheyhavetoday.Theyshowedleadership,andtheyshowedcourage.”Whywasthisvicepresidentsurprised?Afterall,heshouldhaveexpectedgreatness:Hehadjustspentseveralhundredthousanddollarsonthisleadershipdevelopmentinitiative,which had been conducted for high-potential women and people of color. At thisconcluding event, he’d expected to encountermaybea fewoutstanding people and tohearsomemildly interestingpresentationsabout theiraction learningprojects. Instead,he’dheardallfourgroups,andalltwentypeople,discusskeystrategicissuesandhowtodeal with them. He had heard people present creative, powerful, and viable plans foraddressingsomeoftheissuesthatwerekeepinghimupatnightandcausingnoendofconcern for leaders all over the company.Andhe’d heard the participants talkdirectlyaboutthe“unspeakables”—thoseissuesthattheorganizationneveraddressedbecausetheyweresoloadedpolitically.The action learning projects that were part of this company’s executive developmentprocess could be thought of as active experimentationwith a purpose. 5The methodenablesparticipants topracticewhat they’re learning,drawingonreal-lifechallenges in

theorganization’sbusiness as the starting point for team projects among participants.With learningasaprimaryobjectiveandachievingoutcomesasasecondarypurpose,eachteamworksonitsspecificorganizationalchallengeduringthelengthofthecourse.6

Someprinciplestoconsiderwhenengaginginactionlearningincludethefollowing:

The projects must be strategic in nature, multidimensional, ambiguous (i.e., therereallyisnooneanswer),andnew,meaningnooneiscurrentlyworkingontheissueintheorganization.

There must be active executive-level sponsorship in determining the projects andworkingwiththeteams.

Teams must work on the projects, not individuals, and the teams need supportthroughoutthedurationoftheprojectincreatingahealthyclimate,maintainingfunctionalnormsandemotional intelligence,dealingwithconflict, focusingon learningrather thanachievement,andsoon.

The process of learning needs to be examined, and this examination needs to beexpectedaspartoftheoutcome.

Theprojectsshouldbehighlyvisible.

Resources must be dedicated to the teams, and in particular people need to bereleased,tosomeextent,fromnormaldutiestoworkontheprojects.

Astheideascaughtonandleadersstartedtogetexcitedabouttheprospects,conversationsbecamemorespecificandfocusedonwhatpeoplewouldactuallydo in theseseminars.Forexample,executiveswouldengageindeepreflectionand conversationwith one another about important andmeaningful aspects ofpersonalandbusiness life—values, relationships,vision,hopesanddreams forthe future, the regrets and high points of the past. They would chart theirsuccesses—and their failures—focusingonwhat theypersonally bring to eachnew challenge. They would speculate about how to overcome personal andorganizationalshortcomingsandcreateacollectivevisionofthefuture.Throughthis important work of emotional engagement, they would create a learningcommunity—teamsofpeoplewhotooktheprocessofdevelopmentandbusinessgrowthseriouslyandwhowouldchallengeeachothertochange.

Theideaofclose,connectedconversationsaboutwhattheexecutiveshopedtobeanddointhefuturewasappealingandenergizing.Indiscussions,peopleoftenchimedinwithevenmorewaystoencourageexecutivestoreflectdeeply,move beyond platitudes, and talk straight with one another about life, aboutchange,andaboutthebusiness.Theytalkedabouthowtobuildonthepassionthis processwould spark and they talked about how to direct this new energy

towardahopefulfutureforUnilever.But, occasionally, the design process got bogged down. This usually

happenedwhenmoretraditional,familiarleadershipandstrategysessionsweresuggested. Energy would simply drain from conversations whenmore typicalprocesseswere considered:Heady discussions of stakeholders, objectives, and“blasting obstacles to success” usually brought to mind the many strategicplanning programs theUnilevermanagers had attended over the years, and asgoodas theymayhavebeen, thiswasnotwhatwasneedednow. Inone suchdiscussion,atopUnilevermanagercouldn’tstanditanymore.Quietly,butwithpassion,hesaid,“People,wemustbeverycarefulhere.Ourleadershavedoneevery kind of strategic planning exercise in the book, facilitated by the bestbusiness school professors and management gurus. They don’t need anotherstrategy,andthelastthingtheyneedisanotherstakeholderanalysis!”Hispointwasthattheseexecutivesunderstoodthestrategy—nowitwastimetoengageitpassionately,whiledevelopingadifferentmindsetandnewleadershipbehaviorsinordertoturnvisionintoreality.

When leaders engage only on an intellectual level with the strategy, it’svirtually impossible tomaintain energy and commitment, and learning suffers.Sowhatdidthecompany’sleadersneedmost?“Tobecomeemotionallyengagedwiththeirownpassionandtheirdreams—witheachotherandwiththestrategy,”said this executive, “and to connect with the possibilities of the future, to begivenachancetodosomethingaboutit.”

Formost leaders, andevenmostmanagers, it is notmore clarity about thestrategythatwillmakethedifference.Itisnotyetanotherfive-yearplan,anditis not another mundane leadership program. What makes the difference isfindingpassionforthework,forthestrategy,andforthevision—andengaginghearts andminds in the search for ameaningful future.Onemore intellectualplanning exercise is not going to get people engaged, and it certainly won’tchangeaculture.Eventhebestleadershipdevelopmentprograms,ifconductedinavacuum,dolittletofosterthekindofchangethatorganizationsneedtoday.

What leadersmust do is find away to get executives emotionally engagedwith each other andwith their visions, and see to it that they begin to act onthosevisions.Peoplechangewhentheyareemotionallyengagedandcommitted.Fortunately,atUnilevertheplanningprocessforleadershipdevelopmenthitonthis key to successful change anddevelopment.Thedesign teammade sure itkeptthefocusonpassion—anddiscoveredwaystoturnthatpassiontowardrealactioninthebusiness.Andthefactthatseniorleaderswereguidingtheprocess

fromthestartensuredthatpeoplewouldbeheldaccountableforchange.Itwasaprocessthattrulywouldbuildculturalchangeintoleadershipdevelopment.

CreatingBuzzBy design, the process employed at Unilever had lots of people thinking

about leadership, speculating on their own organizational culture, andconsideringchange.But for leadershipdevelopment to takehold,oneneeds tocreatebuy-inthroughouttheorganization—which,aswe’veseen,beginswithamandate from the top. Leaders need to attend to the process themselves, aschairmen Niall FitzGerald and Antony Burgmans have done at Unilever.Moreover,toreallydrawpeoplein,theprocessitselfmustbemadeemotionallyrewarding.

For example, make sure people understand that their inclusion in theinitiativeisasignofadmirationfortheirabilities.AtUnilever,beinginvitedintothe process was considered an honor, a mark of prestige, and a sign that thecompany had spotted the participant as making a difference to the business.Seeing theprogramasgiving themselvesanadvantage incareeradvancement,executivessoughtoutthechancetobeincluded.

That didn’t happen by accident—it was a strategy. Roles for point peoplewere scripted, letters were written, and seeds were deliberately planted ininformalconversation—alldesignedtocreateanaudiblebuzzaboutdevelopingleadership capabilities and changing the culture of the company. Key leadersspokewith people personally aboutwhy theywere being selected andwhat itcouldmeantobealeaderintheneworganizationtheyweretryingtobuild.

ButUnileveralsoknewitneededtokeepcandidateselectionclean.Iftherewerepoliticsinvolveditwouldbeobvioustoeveryone,andtheprocesswouldlose credibility.We saw this happen at a Europeanmanufacturer,where threekindsofpeopleendedupintheirhigh-potentialprogram:thosewhodeservedtobe there, thosewho needed the education in order to catch up to the youngerleaders, and thosewho top leadership feltwereentitled to theperkbecauseoflongyearsofservice.Imaginethedynamics:Everyoneknewwhowasinwhichcategory!

Organizational leadersneed tocreateaselectionprocess thatallowsfor theparadoxofinvolvement:Thebestofthebestgetin,andeveryonehasachance.All this means having real conversations, not merely releasing a memo or avoicemail telling people when and where to show up for a new leadershipprogram.It’smoreeffort,yes—butworthit:Attendingtotheentryprocesscan

determinethesuccessoftheentireinitiative.Oncetheleadershipdevelopmentprocessisunderway,developingandusing

a language of leadership is a powerful way to create the buzz important topeople’scontinuedinvolvement.Forexample,theUnileverexecutives’kick-offretreatwasheldinCostaRica(somethingthat,formaximumemotionalimpact,was kept secret from the participants until they arrived in that country). Thatretreat,whichincludedphysicaljourneysandintensiveinterpersonalandgroup-level conversations, fundamentally changed the way the leaders felt aboutthemselves, each other, and the company. Through this simple but profoundseriesofconversations,heldinthecontextofamagnificentandfragileecology,people learned new ways of communicating with one another that wouldtranslatetonewwaysofoperatingtogetherasabusiness.

When they returned home and began to apply their learning to themselvesandthecompany,“CostaRica”cametobeaphrasethatreferredtothegenuinekindsofconversationsandemotionalconnectionthatparticipantsexperienced—andwantedtocontinuebackat thehomeoffice. Indeed, in thefirstyearandahalf of the change process, words such as authentic relationships, integrity,accountability, andempowerment came to symbolize a host of new leadershipbehaviors.Andalthoughthosearecommonwords,atUnileverthey’vetakenonspecial meaning as a result of the processes in which its leaders haveparticipated.

Today, several years into the change agenda, leadership development atUnileverisfundamentallyaffectinghowbusinessisconductedandrelationshipsare managed. Business leaders are being held accountable for results and forsupporting the new mindset and the new emotional reality. Human resourcesystems such as succession planning, compensation, and performancemanagement are becoming aligned with the change strategy, focusingdeliberatelyonsupportingthenewculture.

Developingleadersinvolvesmorethanjustthepeoplethemselves.Aswe’veseen, it also involves the organizational culture and systems that drive andconstrainpeople’sbehavior, thegroupsand teams inwhichpeople spend theirtime,andmoreobviousissuessuchasthecurrentstateoftheorganizationandtheexternalchallengesitfaces.Usingleadershipdevelopmenttoaddressalloftheselevelsbuildsgreaterresonanceintheorganization.

A good example is themultifaceted effort to develop leadership atMerrillLynch’sU.S.PrivateClientbusiness.

GettingBullishonLeadershipAlreadyahighlysuccessfulbusinesswithalonghistoryofsolid,experienced

leadership, Merrill Lynch’s U.S. Private Client business unit was confrontingnew challenges. Throughout the industry, competition was coming fromunexpected sources. Clients’ demands for services were becoming markedlymore insistent, the globalmarketplacewas now a reality, and the e-commercerevolutionwas threatening the very core of the business itself. To ensure thatleadershipstrengthswouldgrowwith thebusinessunit’schangingneeds,FirstVicePresidentLindaPittariworkedwithTimMcManus,directorof leadershipdevelopment and training, to create amore systematicmethod for developingleaders—withafocusonemotionalintelligencecompetencies.

“We knew that the challenges of the coming few years were going to bedifferent from anythingwe’d faced before,” Pittari told us. “Wewanted to besureourleaderswerelearninghowtooperateinanewenvironment.”

Theprocessbeganwithidentifyingpeopleinthefield—aswellasthehomeoffice—who had management potential. As time went on and the initiativeprogressed,Pittariandherteamcoachedthesemanagersintheirfirstfewcriticalyearson the job.Theexperiences thatmanagershad in thefield,coupledwithgoodmentoring,enabled thecompanytodevelopgoodleaders.Butoneof themainreasonsthatPittari’sleadershipdevelopmentinitiativeworkedsowellwasthat she went beyond a focus on people. She understood the importance oflooking broadly at the business’s underlying culture and how it supported orinhibited leadership. That is a dramatic difference from most developmentprograms—whichbeginandendwiththeindividual.

LindaPittaribeganwithakeensenseofwhatthepivotalnormswereintheculture and set about exploringwhichof thosewere actually helpful to a newkind of leadership and which got in the way. Using the process of dynamicinquiry that we discussed in chapter 10, she and her team interviewed keyleaders togetasenseof theculturalbox they lived in. Inessence, theyasked:What’s allowed here? What behaviors and values were expected? Whichmanagementstylesweresmileduponandwhichpanned?Whichcompetenciesweredevelopedandwhichignored?

But that was just a start. Pittari and her team also began to peel back theonion,lookingforrootissuesandthedeep-seatedreasonswhypeoplesucceededorfailedinthecontextoftheculture.7Theyexploredthedepthofcommitmenttocoreprinciples,andwhy leadersbehaved theway theydid.And theyasked

peopleabouttheleadershipofthecompanyandwhatwasandwasn’tworking—akeytounderstandinghowtopositionleadershipdevelopmentlateron.Armedwiththisinformation,theteamwasabletoseewhichaspectsoftheculturewerehampering leadership effectiveness, and which habitual leadership practicesneededtochange.Theycouldalsoseewhattheyneededtopreserve.

Forexample, inthiscompany,whichafterallwasgroundedonrelationshipbuildingwithclients,peoplereliedontheaffiliativeleadershipstyle.Thewarmrelationships thatmanagers establishedwith their direct reportswere powerfuldriversofloyaltyanddedication—resultinginlifelongcommitment,hardwork,andstrong,trustingrelationships.Thataffiliativestylealsomeant,however,thatthesemanagershesitatedtoexposeareaswherepeopleneededtoimprove,anditmaderealcoachingdifficulttopulloff.Althoughmanagerstriedtocompensateby using elaborate performance-management systems and holding peopleaccountable for the numbers, often people would still go for years withoutreceivingdirect feedbackabouthow to improveordevelop themselves for thenextstep.

Using the dynamic inquiry process as a foundation, as well as a thoroughreview of individuals who were seemingly very effective in this newenvironment, Pittari’s team was able to construct an agenda for leadershipdevelopment that was designed to counteract some of the old culture whilesupportingthevalues,norms,andsystemsthatwerepositiveandhelpfultonewleaders. They identified skills and competencies that people would need todevelop, such as how to give and receive developmental feedback, how toachieve the right balance of good judgment and risk taking, how to fosterinnovation, and how tomanage an increasingly diverse workforce. They alsoidentifiedareasofbusinessacumenthatneededenhancing.

Today, several years after Pittari and her team initiated this leadershipdevelopmentprocessattheMerrillLynchbusiness,40percentofthepeoplewhoparticipated in the process have been promoted and are in significantly moreresponsiblepositions than theywerea fewyearsago.Perhapsmore important,the change effort focused the top level’s attention onmanagement, leadership,andculturalpracticesthatreallyneededtochange,andtheyhavecontinuedthework.Successionplanningisnowmoresystematic—withmoreattentionpaidtothoseindividualswhoexemplifyleadersofthefuture.

By understanding that the initiative would have to do double duty—exemplifyingtheindividualchangemodelwhilealsoworkingonculturalissues—Pittari’steamcraftedaprocessthatchangedboththecultureandthelivesof

individualswhoworkedinthecompanyeveryday.

MaximizingtheHalf-LifeofLearningInsum,thebestleadershipprogramsaredesignedforculture,competencies,

andevenspirit.Theyadheretotheprinciplesofself-directedchangeanduseamultifaceted approach to the learning and development process itself thatfocuses on the individual, team, and organization. Excellent processes includethefollowingelements:

• A tie-in to the culture—and sometimes culture change—in anorganization

•Seminarsbuiltaroundthephilosophyandpracticeofindividualchange•Relevant learning about emotional intelligence competencies—not justbusinessacumen

•Creativeandpotentlearningexperienceswithapurpose•Relationshipsthatsupportlearning,suchaslearningteamsandexecutivecoaching

We look at developing leaders in terms of maximizing the half-life oflearning.The idea is to develop a process that has “stickiness” so that there’scontinuinglearning.

Inthebestprocesses,peoplehavelearnedhowtolearnandarefocusedinanewandsustainedwayonreachingfortheirdreamstogether.Theyhavearoadmap thatmakes sense to them—and the roadmap is as good a guide in theircurrent job as it will be in the next one. It has been drawnwith the person’svalues, beliefs, hopes, and dreams as the backdrop. Competency developmentfor any given job is just a piece of it: The real issue is ensuring that adevelopmentprocessleavesitsmarkonpeople,theculture,andthesystemsthatsupport change, development, and effective norms.And one payoff should becontinuouslearningandanenhancedcapacityforchange.

People can and will change when they find a good reason to do so.Leadershipchangetakespeopletothepointofunderstandingwhattheywanttochangeandhow.Inorderforthiskindoflearningtohavelastingimpactonanorganization,oneneedstogobeyondtheindividualandthinkaboutwhatneedstohappeningroups—andin theorganizationat large—thatwillencourage thedevelopmentofEIleaders.

TowardResonantWorkandResonantLivesAsourjourneyends,wewanttolookintothefutureandexpandtheimplicationsofwhatwehavesaidthusfar.

First, consider our argument. We make the case that emotions matterenormously for leadership—that primal leadership is a crucial dimension, onethat largely determines whether a leader’s other efforts take off or go awry.We’ve reviewed the underlying neurology—particularly the open loop foremotions—thatmakescreatingresonancetheprimaltaskforanyleader.

We’ve shown that emotional intelligence offers the essential competenciesfor resonant leadership, and that these abilities can be cultivated andstrengthened—both for the individual and for an entire team. Such resonantleadershipcanbedistributed throughout an entire organization.And, as ampledata demonstrate, there are hard payoffs in organizational effectiveness andbusinessperformance.

We’vedonemore than justofferanew theoryof leadership—we’vegottendowntothequestion,HowcanIactonthisMondaymorning?Thefirstpracticalapplicationcomesinupgradingaleader’sEIabilities.We’veoutlinedthestepsthat our research has shown lead to lasting improvements in the crucial EIcompetenciesforleadership.

Thenwe turned tohowtomakeagroup, team,orentireorganizationmoreresonant. Raising the collective emotional intelligence of an entire group canhave far greater business impact than cultivating it only in a given individualwithinthatgroup.Butdoingsodemandsanastuteleaderwhounderstandshowto take theemotionalpulseof thegroupand transformthenormsorculture intherightdirection.Andfinally,organizationsthemselvescanbecomeincubatorsfor resonant leadership, thus making a crucial difference for those who workthere—andforthebottomline.

NowMoreThanEverWhydoesallthismattersomuch,notjusttoday,butgoingintothefuture?Leaders everywhere confront a set of irrevocable imperatives, changing

realities driven by profound social, political, economic, and technologicalchanges. Our world, not to mention the business world, is in the midst oftransformationalchange,callingfornewleadership.Inourbusinesses,wefacecontinual increases in computing power, the spread of e-commerce, the rapiddiversification of the workforce, the globalization of the economy, and the

relentlessratchetingupwardofthepaceofbusiness—allatanever-acceleratingrateofchange.

Thesebusinessrealitiesmakeprimalleadershipevermorecrucial.Consider,forinstance,theimplicationsofthefactthatsomanybusinessstrategiesviabletodaywillbeirrelevanttomorrow.“Halfthebusinessmodelswon’tworkintwotofiveyearstime,”theCEOofaninformationservicescompanylamented.“Inourcase,wenowsellinformationthatmaybeavailablefreeontheInternetinafewyears—soourfocushastobefindingnewwaystomarketourinformation.”And, as an investment banker put it, “Most companies perish while theirmanagementisfrozenwithterror.”

Whether a companyprovesnimbleenough to survive tomorrow’s surprisesdepends to a large extent onwhether its leaders—particularly the top team—havetheabilitytomanagetheirownemotionsinthefaceofdrasticchange.Asmarket share erodes or profits plummet, leaders can panic, their fears fuelingdenial—thefutilerusethat“everythingisfine”—orpoorlyconceivedknee-jerksolutions.Theycanturn,forexample,tocost-cuttingmeasuresthatfocusonthepeoplecheapest to loserather than thosevital to retain.Anxietydebilitates thebrain’s ability to understand and respond;when fear cripples leaders’ decisionmaking,anentireorganizationcancrashandburn.

Emotionally intelligent leaders know how to manage their disruptiveemotionssothattheycankeeptheirfocus,thinkingclearlyunderpressure.Theydonotwaitforcrisistocatalyzeaneededchange;theystayflexible,adaptingtonewrealitiesaheadofthepackratherthanjustreactingtothecrisisoftheday.Even in themidstofvastchanges, theycansee theirway to abrighter future,communicatethatvisionwithresonance,andleadtheway.

Consider,too,howcompaniesthatoncedidwellenoughbybeingamongthebestinasmallmarketnichenowfindthattheircompetitorscomefromaroundtheworld.Asmoreandmorebusinessesfindthemselvesfightingitoutinglobalmarkets,thestandardsforaleader’sperformancearechanging.Whereresultsatagiven levelmighthavemadeacompanybest inclass for its industry inoneregion or country, the global reality means that to be among the best nowdemands a world-class performance. And that demand drives a need for theresonancethatspawnscontinuousimprovement—notjustinaleader,butinthewholeorganization.

ExcellenceRedefined

There’sanotherreasonprimalleadershipwillmattermoregoingintothefuture.Theoldmodelof leadershiphada functional focus, onewithout regard to theemotional or personal dimension; people were seen as interchangeable parts.Suchimpersonalleadershipincreasinglyfailstoday.Resonantleadersshattertheoldleadershipmoldthatwascastintheimageofthecaptainsofindustry,thoseold-fashionedlead-from-the-topfiguresofauthoritywholedlargelybyvirtueofthepoweroftheirposition.

Increasingly, the best of breed lead not by virtue of power alone, but byexcelling in the art of relationship, the singular expertise that the changingbusinessclimaterendersindispensable.Leadershipexcellenceisbeingredefinedininterpersonaltermsascompaniesstripoutlayersofmanagers,ascorporationsmerge across national boundaries, and as customers and suppliers redefine thewebofconnection.

Resonant leadersknowwhen tobecollaborativeandwhen tobevisionary,whentolistenandwhentocommand.Suchleadershaveaknackforattuningtotheirownsenseofwhatmattersandarticulatingamissionthatresonateswiththevaluesofthose they lead.These leadersnaturallynurture relationships,surfacesimmeringissues,andcreatethehumansynergiesofagroupinharmony.Theybuilda fierce loyaltybycaringabout thecareersof thosewhowork for them,andinspirepeopletogivetheirbestforamissionthatspeakstosharedvalues.

Anemotionallyintelligentleaderdoeseachoftheseattherighttime,intherightway,withtherightperson.Suchleadershipcreatesaclimateofenthusiasmand flexibility, one where people feel invited to be at their most innovative,wheretheygivetheirbest.Andsuchaworkingclimate,giventoday’sbusinessrealities, creates added value through the essential human ingredients fororganizationalperformance.

Such leadersaremorevalues-driven,more flexibleand informal, andmoreopenand frank than leadersofold.Theyaremoreconnected topeopleand tonetworks.Mostespecially,theyexuderesonance:Theyhavegenuinepassionfortheirmission,and thatpassion is contagious.Their enthusiasmandexcitementspreadspontaneously,invigoratingthosetheylead.Andresonanceisthekeytoprimalleadership.

APPENDIXA

EIVERSUSIQ

ATechnicalNote

INRECENTYEARS,wehaveanalyzeddatafromclose to500competencemodels from global companies (including the likes of IBM, Lucent, PepsiCo,British Airways, and Credit Suisse First Boston), as well as from healthcareorganizations,academicinstitutions,governmentagencies,andevenareligiousorder.1Todeterminewhichpersonalcapabilitiesdroveoutstandingperformancewithintheseorganizations,wegroupedcapabilitiesintothreecategories:purelytechnicalskillssuchasaccountingorbusinessplanning;cognitiveabilitiessuchas analytic reasoning; and traits showing emotional intelligence, such as self-awarenessandrelationshipskill.

To create some of the competency models, psychologists typically askedseniormanagersatthecompaniestoidentifythecompetenciesthatdistinguishedtheorganization’smostoutstandingleaders,seekingconsensusfroman“expertpanel.” Others used a more rigorous method in which analysts asked seniormanagers to use objective criteria, such as a division’s profitability, todistinguish the star performers at senior levelswithin their organizations fromthe average ones. Those individuals were then extensively interviewed andtested,andtheircompetenciesweremethodicallycomparedtoidentifythosethat

distinguishedstarperformers.Whichevermethodwasused,thisprocessresultedinlistsofingredientsfor

highlyeffectiveleaders.Thelistsusuallyrangedinlengthfromahandfultouptofifteenorsocompetencies,suchasinitiative,collaboration,andempathy.

Analyzingallthedatafromhundredsofcompetencemodelsyieldeddramaticresults. To be sure, intellect was to some extent a driver of outstandingperformance;cognitiveskillssuchasbig-picture thinkingandlong-termvisionwere particularly important. But calculating the ratio of technical skills andpurely cognitive abilities (some of which are surrogates for aspects ofintelligence quotient, or IQ) to emotional intelligence in the ingredients thatdistinguishedoutstandingleadersrevealedthatEI-basedcompetenciesplayedanincreasingly important roleathigher levelsoforganizations,wheredifferencesintechnicalskillsareofnegligibleimportance.

Inotherwords, thehigher therankof thoseconsideredstarperformers, themoreEIcompetenciesemergedas the reason for theireffectiveness.When thecomparisonmatched star performers against average ones in senior leadershippositions,about85percentofthedifferenceintheirprofileswasattributabletoemotional intelligence factors rather than to purely cognitive abilities liketechnicalexpertise.2

Onereasonhastodowiththeintellectualhurdlesthatseniorexecutivesjumpin obtaining their jobs. It takes at least an IQ of about 110 to 120 to get anadvanceddegreesuchasanMBA.3ThereisthusahighselectionpressureforIQ in order to enter the executive ranks—and relatively little variation in IQamong those who are in those ranks. On the other hand, there is little or nosystematic selection pressure when it comes to emotional intelligence, and sothereisamuchwiderrangeofvariationamongexecutives.Thatletssuperiorityin these capabilities count farmore than IQwhen it comes to star leadershipperformance.4

WhilethepreciseratioofEItocognitiveabilitiesdependsonhoweacharemeasuredandontheuniquedemandsofagivenorganization,ourruleofthumbholds thatEIcontributes80 to90percentof thecompetencies thatdistinguishoutstanding from average leaders—and sometimes more. To be sure, purelycognitivecompetencies,suchastechnicalexpertise,surfaceinsuchstudies—butoftenas thresholdabilities, theskillspeopleneedsimply todoanaverage job.Althoughthespecificsvaryfromorganizationtoorganization,EIcompetenciesmakeup the vastmajority of themore crucial, distinguishing competencies. 5

Evenso,whenthosespecificcompetenciesareweightedfor theircontribution,the cognitive competencies can sometimes have quite significant input too,dependingonthespecificcompetencemodelinvolved.

Togetan ideaof thepracticalbusiness implicationsof thesecompetencies,consider an analysis of the partners’ contributions to the profits of a largeaccountingfirm.Ifthepartnerhadsignificantstrengthsintheself-managementcompetencies, he or she added 78 percent more incremental profit than didpartnerswithout those strengths. Likewise, the added profits for partnerswithstrengthsinsocialskillswere110percentgreater,andthosewithstrengthsintheself-regulationcompetenciesaddedawhopping390percentincrementalprofit—inthiscase,$1,465,000moreperyear.

Bycontrast,significantstrengthsinanalyticreasoningabilitiesaddedjust50percent more profit. Thus, purely cognitive abilities help—but the EIcompetencieshelpfarmore.6

APPENDIXB

EMOTIONALINTELLIGENCE

LeadershipCompetencies

SELF-AWARENESS•Emotional self-awareness.—Leaders high in emotional self-awarenessare attuned to their inner signals, recognizinghow their feelings affectthemandtheirjobperformance.Theyareattunedtotheirguidingvaluesandcanoftenintuitthebestcourseofaction,seeingthebigpictureinacomplex situation. Emotionally self-aware leaders can be candid andauthentic,abletospeakopenlyabouttheiremotionsorwithconvictionabouttheirguidingvision.

•Accurate self-assessment.—Leaders with high self-awareness typicallyknowtheirlimitationsandstrengths,andexhibitasenseofhumoraboutthemselves.Theyexhibitagracefulness in learningwhere theyneedtoimprove, and welcome constructive criticism and feedback. Accurateself-assessment lets a leader knowwhen to ask for help andwhere tofocusincultivatingnewleadershipstrengths.

•Self-confidence.Knowingtheirabilitieswithaccuracyallowsleaderstoplay to their strengths. Self-confident leaders can welcome a difficultassignment. Such leaders often have a sense of presence, a self-

assurancethatletsthemstandoutinagroup.

SELF-MANAGEMENT•Self-control. Leaderswith emotional self-control findways tomanagetheir disturbing emotions and impulses, and even to channel them inusefulways.Ahallmarkofself-controlistheleaderwhostayscalmandclear-headed under high stress or during a crisis—or who remainsunflappableevenwhenconfrontedbyatryingsituation.

• Transparency. Leaders who are transparent live their values.Transparency—an authentic openness to others about one’s feelings,beliefs, and actions—allows integrity. Such leaders openly admitmistakesorfaults,andconfrontunethicalbehaviorinothersratherthanturnablindeye.

•Adaptability. Leaderswho are adaptable can jugglemultiple demandswithout losing their focus or energy, and are comfortable with theinevitableambiguitiesoforganizationallife.Suchleaderscanbeflexibleinadaptingtonewchallenges,nimbleinadjustingto fluidchange,andlimberintheirthinkinginthefaceofnewdataorrealities.

•Achievement.Leaderswithstrength inachievementhavehighpersonalstandardsthatdrivethemtoconstantlyseekperformanceimprovements—bothfor themselvesand those they lead.Theyarepragmatic,settingmeasurablebutchallenginggoals,andareable tocalculate riskso thattheir goals areworthy but attainable.A hallmark of achievement is incontinuallylearning—andteaching—waystodobetter.

•Initiative.Leaderswhohaveasenseofefficacy—thattheyhavewhatittakes to control their own destiny—excel in initiative. They seizeopportunities—or create them—rather than simply waiting. Such aleaderdoesnothesitatetocutthroughredtape,orevenbendtherules,whennecessarytocreatebetterpossibilitiesforthefuture.

•Optimism.Aleaderwhoisoptimisticcanrollwiththepunches,seeinganopportunityratherthanathreatinasetback.Suchleadersseeotherspositively,expectingthebestofthem.Andtheir“glasshalf-full”outlookleadsthemtoexpectthatchangesinthefuturewillbeforthebetter.

SOCIALAWARENESS•Empathy. Leaderswith empathy are able to attune to awide range ofemotionalsignals,lettingthemsensethefelt,butunspoken,emotionsin

apersonorgroup.Suchleaderslistenattentivelyandcangrasptheotherperson’s perspective. Empathy makes a leader able to get along wellwithpeopleofdiversebackgroundsorfromothercultures.

•Organizationalawareness.Aleaderwithakeensocialawarenesscanbepolitically astute, able to detect crucial social networks and read keypowerrelationships.Such leaderscanunderstand thepolitical forcesatwork in an organization, as well as the guiding values and unspokenrulesthatoperateamongpeoplethere.

• Service. Leaders high in the service competence foster an emotionalclimatesothatpeopledirectlyintouchwiththecustomerorclientwillkeeptherelationshipontheright track.Suchleadersmonitorcustomerorclientsatisfactioncarefullytoensuretheyaregettingwhattheyneed.Theyalsomakethemselvesavailableasneeded.

RELATIONSHIPMANAGEMENT•Inspiration.Leaderswhoinspirebothcreateresonanceandmovepeoplewithacompellingvisionorsharedmission.Suchleadersembodywhattheyaskofothers,andareabletoarticulateasharedmissioninawaythat inspires others to follow. They offer a sense of common purposebeyondtheday-to-daytasks,makingworkexciting.

• Influence. Indicators of a leader’s powers of influence range fromfindingjusttherightappealforagivenlistenertoknowinghowtobuildbuy-in from key people and a network of support for an initiative.Leaders adept in influence are persuasive and engaging when theyaddressagroup.

• Developing others. Leaders who are adept at cultivating people’sabilities show a genuine interest in those they are helping along,understanding their goals, strengths, andweaknesses.Such leaders cangive timely and constructive feedback and are natural mentors orcoaches.

•Changecatalyst.Leaderswhocancatalyzechangeareabletorecognizetheneedforthechange,challengethestatusquo,andchampiontheneworder.Theycanbestrongadvocatesfor thechangeeven in thefaceofopposition, making the argument for it compellingly. They also findpracticalwaystoovercomebarrierstochange.

•Conflictmanagement. Leaders who manage conflicts best are able to

drawoutallparties,understandthedifferingperspectives,andthenfinda common ideal that everyone can endorse. They surface the conflict,acknowledge the feelings and views of all sides, and then redirect theenergytowardasharedideal.

• Teamwork and collaboration. Leaders who are able team playersgenerate an atmosphere of friendly collegiality and are themselvesmodelsof respect,helpfulness,andcooperation.Theydrawothers intoactive,enthusiasticcommitmenttothecollectiveeffort,andbuildspiritandidentity.Theyspendtimeforgingandcementingcloserelationshipsbeyondmereworkobligations.

NOTES

PREFACE1.Anoteontheuseofweinthisbook:Forthesakeoffluidityofstyle,andto

emphasizethatwespeakinacollectivevoice,weusetheterminthemostliberalsense.We as used here refers not just to the three of us together but toworkundertakenbyanyoneofus,aswellasbyourcloseprofessionalassociates.

CHAPTER11. The BBC news division: Likemost of the other vignetteswe use in this

book,thisincidentwasrecountedbyoneofthepeopleweinterviewed(whointhiscasewasaneyewitness to theseevents). Ifvignettesarefromasecondarysource, credits are given in endnotes. In cases where people spoke to us inconfidence,identifyingdetailsoftheincidenthavebeendisguised.2. The comforting effect: Lisa Berkman et al., “Emotional Support and

SurvivalafterMyocardialInfarction,”AnnalsofInternalMedicine(1992).3. Stress and death: Anika Rosengren et al., “Stressful Life Events, Social

SupportandMortalityinMenBornin1933,”BritishMedicalJournal207,no.17(1983):1102–1106.4. Limbic regulation: Thomas Lewis, Fari Amini, and Richard Lannon, A

GeneralTheoryofLove(NewYork:RandomHouse,2000).5.Emotionalmirroring:RobertLevenson,UniversityofCaliforniaatBerkeley,

personalcommunication.6. Expressiveness transmits moods: Howard Friedman and Ronald Riggio,

“EffectofIndividualDifferencesinNonverbalExpressivenessonTransmissionofEmotion,”JournalofNonverbalBehavior6(1981):32–58.7. Groups have moods: Janice R. Kelly and Sigal Barsade, “Moods and

Emotions in Small Groups andWork Teams,” working paper, Yale School of

Management,NewHaven,Connecticut,2001.8. Work teams share moods: C. Bartel and R. Saavedra, “The Collective

Construction of Work Group Moods,” Administrative Science Quarterly 45(2000):187–231.9.Nursesandaccountantstrackingmoods:PeterTotterdelletal.,“Evidenceof

MoodLinkageinWorkGroups,”JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology74(1998):1504–1515.10.Sportsteams:PeterTotterdell,“CatchingMoodsandHittingRuns:Mood

LinkageandSubjectivePerformanceinProfessionalSportsTeams,”JournalofAppliedPsychology85,no.6(2000):848–859.11. The leadership ripple effect: SeeWallace Bachman, “Nice Guys Finish

First: A SYMLOG Analysis of U.S. Naval Commands,” in The SYM-LOGPractitioner:ApplicationsofSmallGroupResearch,eds.RichardBrianPolley,A.PaulHare,andPhilipJ.Stone(NewYork:Praeger,1988).12. The leader’s emotional impact inwork groups:AnthonyT. Pescosolido,

“Emotional Intensity in Groups” (Ph.D. diss., Department of OrganizationalBehavior,CaseWesternReserveUniversity,2000).13.Leadersasthemanagersofmeaning:HowardGardner,LeadingMinds:An

AnatomyofLeadership(NewYork:BasicBooks,1995).14. Informal leaders: V. U. Druskat and A. T. Pascosolido, “Leading Self-

ManagingWork Teams from the Inside: Informal Leader Behavior and TeamOutcomes.”Submittedforpublication,2001.15.Moods, contagion, andwork performance: SigalBarsade andDonaldE.

Gibson, “GroupEmotion:AView from theTop andBottom,” inResearch onManaging Groups and Teams, eds. D. Gruenfeld et al. (Greenwich, CT: JAIPress,1998).16.Smilesthemostcontagious:RobertLevensonandAnnaRuef,“Emotional

KnowledgeandRapport,”inEmpathicAccuracy,ed.WilliamIckes(NewYork:GuilfordPress,1997).17.Laughterisinvoluntary:MeredithSmall,“MoreThantheBestMedicine,”

ScientificAmerican,August2000,24.18. Laughter is “brain to brain”: Robert Provine, Laughter: A Scientific

Investigation(NewYork:VikingPress,2000),133.19.Laughterepisodes:Ibid.20.Goodmoodsinaleadermeanlowervoluntaryturnover:See,forexample,

Jennifer M. George and Kenneth Bettenhausen, “Understanding ProsocialBehavior,SalesPerformance,andTurnover:AGroup-LevelAnalysisinService

Context,”JournalofAppliedPsychology75,no.6(1990):698–706.21.Sobermoodandhigh-riskdecisions:R.C.Sinclair,“Mood,Categorization

Breadth, and Performance Appraisal,” Organizational Behavior and HumanDecisionProcesses42(1988):22–46.22.Angerandleadership:JenniferM.George,“EmotionsandLeadership:The

RoleofEmotionalIntelligence,”HumanRelations53,no.8(2000):1027–1055.23. Moods perpetuate themselves: A voluminous literature shows the self-

reinforcing effect of moods. See, for example, Gordon H. Bower, “MoodCongruityofSocialJudgments,” inEmotionandSocialJudgments,ed.JosephForgas(Oxford:PergamonPress,1991),31–53.24.Distressingemotionshijackattention:See,forexample,JacquelineWood,

Andrew Matthews, and Tim Dalgleish, “Anxiety and Cognitive Inhibition,”Emotion1,no.2(2001):166–181.25. The Yale study of mood and performance: Sigal Barsade, “The Ripple

Effect: Emotional Contagion in Groups,” working paper 98, Yale School ofManagement,NewHaven,Connecticut,2000.26. Bosses and bad feelings: John Basch and Cynthia D. Fisher, “Affective

Events-EmotionsMatrix:AClassificationofJob-RelatedEvents andEmotionsExperiencedintheWorkplace,”inEmotionsintheWorkplace:Research,TheoryandPractice,ed.N.Ashkanasy,W.Zerbe,andC.Hartel(Westport,CT:QuorumBooks,2000),36–48.27. Distress impairs empathy and social skill: Jeffrey B. Henriques and

Richard J. Davidson, “Brain Electrical Asymmetries during Cognitive TaskPerformance inDepressed andNondepressed Subjects,”Biological Psychiatry42(1997):1039–1050.28.Emotionsreflectqualityofworklife:CynthiaD.FisherandChristopherS.

Noble,“AffectandPerformance:AWithinPersonsAnalysis” (paperpresentedattheAnnualMeetingoftheAcademyofManagement,Toronto,2000).29.Jobsatisfactionisnotthesameasfeelinggoodwhileworking:CynthiaD.

Fisher, “Mood and Emotions while Working: Missing Pieces of JobSatisfaction?,”JournalofOrganizationalBehavior21(2000):185–202.SeealsoHowardWeiss, JeffreyNicholas, andCatherineDaus,“AnExaminationof theJointEffectsofAffectiveExperiences and JobBeliefson JobSatisfactionandVariations inAffective Experiences over Time,”Organizational Behavior andHumanDecisionProcesses78,no.1(1999):1–24.30. Mental benefits of good moods: See A. M. Isen, “Positive Affect,” in

Handbook of Cognition and Emotion, eds. Tim Dalgleish andMick J. Power

(Chichester,England:Wiley,1999).31.Goodmoodsandperformance:SeeC.D.FisherandC.S.Noble,“Emotion

and the Illusory Correlation between Job Satisfaction and Job Performance”(paperpresentedatthesecondConferenceonEmotionsinOrganizationalLife,Toronto,August2000).32. Insurance sales: Martin E. Seligman and Peter Schulman, “The People

MakethePlace,”PersonnelPsychology40(1987):437–453.33.Theimpactofhumoronworkeffectiveness:Thefindingsarereviewedin

R.W.ClouseandK.L.Spurgeon,“CorporateAnalysisofHumor,”Psychology:AJournalofHumanBehavior32(1995):1–24.34.CEOsandtheirtopmanagementteam:SigalG.Barsade,AndrewJ.Ward,

et al. “To Your Heart’s Content: A Mode of Affective Diversity in TopManagementTeams,”AdministrativeScienceQuarterly45(2000):802–836.35.Improvementinserviceclimatedrivesincreaseinrevenue:LyleSpencer,

paper presented at themeeting of the Consortium for Research on EmotionalIntelligenceinOrganizations(Cambridge,Massachusetts,19April2001).36. Mood affects cardiac care unit. Benjamin Schneider and D. E. Bowen,

WinningtheServiceGame(Boston:HarvardBusinessSchoolPress,1995).37. Mood, customer service, and sales: George and Bettenhausen,

“UnderstandingProsocialBehavior.”38.Leaders’ positivemoodpredicts sales performance:See also JenniferM.

George,“LeaderPositiveMoodandGroupPerformance:TheCaseofCustomerService,”JournalofAppliedPsychology25,no.9(1995):778–794.39.Poorcustomerservicerepmoraleanddeclineinrevenues:Schneiderand

Bowen,WinningtheServiceGame.40.Theanalysislinkingclimatetobusinessperformance:DavidMcClelland,

“Identifying Competencies with Behavioral-Event Interviews,” PsychologicalScience9(1998):331–339;DanielWilliams,“Leadershipforthe21stCentury:LifeInsuranceLeadershipStudy”(Boston:LOMA/HayGroup,1995).41.Moretechnically,thestyleswerefoundtoaccountfor53to72percentof

the variance in organizational climate. See Stephen P.Kelner Jr., ChristineA.Rivers,andKathleenH.O’Connell,“ManagerialStyleasaBehavioralPredictorofOrganizationalClimate”(Boston:McBer&Company,1996).42. Much the same argument has been made in George and Bettenhausen,

“UnderstandingProsocialBehavior”;andinNealM.AshkanasyandBarryTse,“Transformational Leadership as Management of Emotion: A ConceptualReview,” inNealM.Ashkanasy,CharmineE.J.Hartel,andWilffredJ.Zerbe,

Emotions in the Workplace: Research, Theory and Practice (Westport, CT:QuorumBooks,2000),221–235.

CHAPTER21.Wearebynomeansthefirsttoarguethatthekeytogroupororganizational

cohesion is shared emotions. See, for example, B. E. Ashforth and R. H.Humphrey, “Emotion in theWorkplace: A Reappraisal,”HumanRelations 48(1995):97–125;andEdwardLawler,“AffectiveAttachmenttoNestedGroups:AChoice-ProcessTheory,”AmericanSociologicalReview57(1992):327–339.2.Weseeresonanceanddissonanceas the twomajorpolesofEI leadership.

Thesedimensionscanbethoughtofintermsoftwodimensions:emotionaltoneandempathicsynchrony.Onedimensiontrackstheemotionaltoneandimpactofa leader’s actions,positive or negative.The other dimension reflects empathy:whetherornotpeopleareinsynchronywiththeleader’semotionaltonality,andtheleaderwiththeirs.3.Yellingatwork:SurveyresultsreportedinVivianMarino,“It’sAlltheRage

atWork, Too,”TheNew York Times, 12November 2000,Money&Businesssection,3.4. The physiology of arguments: The research, by John Gottman of the

UniversityofWashington,wasdonewithmarriedcouples,butthephysiologyofresponse should apply whenever the two people involved have close andemotionally important relationships with each other, such as a boss andemployee. For details, see John Gottman, What Predicts Divorce: TheRelationshipbetweenMaritalProcesses andMaritalOutcomes (Hillsdale,NJ:LawrenceEarlbaumAssociates,1993).5. Inept criticism: Robert Baron, “Countering the Effects of Destructive

Criticism,”JournalofAppliedPsychology75,no.3(1990):235–246.6. Stress hormones circulate for hours: See, for example, Dolf Zillman,

“Mental Control ofAngryAggression,” inHandbook ofMental Control, eds.DanielWegnerandJamesS.Pennebaker(EnglewoodCliffs,NJ:PrenticeHall,1993).7. Dementors: J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azbakan

(London:Bloomsbury,1999),187.8. The dark side of ambition: See, for example, Michael Maccoby,

“Narcissistic Leaders: The Incredible Pros, the Inevitable Cons,” HarvardBusinessReview,January-February2000,69–75.9. The specifics of the neurology described throughout this chapter are far

morecomplexthanindicatedhere.Intheinterestsofclarity,wehavesimplifiedthe picture, focusing on key structures within the intricate web of circuitryalwaysinvolvedinanycomplexbehavior.10.Whenweusethetermamygdala,werefertothestructureitselfalongwith

thewebofcircuitry that integrates theamygdalawithotherpartsofbrain.SeeJosephLeDoux,TheEmotionalBrain(NewYork:Simon&Schuster,1996).11. Cognitive abilities intact, but EI impaired in patients with prefrontal-

amygdalalesions:Neurologicalpatientswithdamagetothebilateralareasoftheamygdala, the ventral-medial area of the prefrontal lobe, and the rightsomatosensory and insular cortices show deficits on tests of emotionalintelligence,whereaspatientswithdamagetootherbrainareas,suchasthoseinotherareasoftheneocortex,donot.Theseareasappearcriticalforbeingawareofourownemotions,forregulatingandexpressingthem,andforbeingawareofthe emotions of others. Antonio Damasio, University of Iowa College ofMedicine, personal communication; Reuven Bar-On, personal communicationon preliminary data collected with Antoine Bechara and Daniel Tranel,associatesofDr.Damasio.12. Themain tasks of a leader: See, for example,GaryYukl,Leadership in

Organizations(UpperSaddleRiver,NJ:PrenticeHall,1998).13. For details see Fabio Sala,ECI TechnicalManual (Boston:HayGroup,

2001).

CHAPTER31. Laughter and leadership: Fabio Sala, “Relationship between Executive’s

Spontaneous Use of Humor and Effective Leadership” (Ph.D. diss., BostonUniversityGraduateSchoolofArtsandScience,2000).2.Competenciesindependentlyestablishedassuperior:DavidC.McClelland,

“Identifying Competencies with Behavioral-Event Interviews,” PsychologicalScience9(1998):331–339.SeveraloftheEIcompetenciesmoststronglytiedtohumorwere in the social awarenessor relationship skilldomain, asonemightexpect, since these are the most visible socially. These included empathy,organizational awareness, influence, and team leadership. But humor also hadstrong associationswith competencies in the self-management area (initiative,the drive to achieve) and with self-confidence, which reflects self-awareness.This suggests that for these gifted leaders the expression ofmany ormost EIcompetenciesoftencameviatheartfuluseofhumor—andthatthiswasinitselfonebasisoftheirsuccessasleaders.

3.Aradicalproposal:DavidC.McClelland,“TestingforCompetenceRatherThanIntelligence,”AmericanPsychologist28(1973):14–31.WhenMcClellandwrote this article, Richard Boyatzis and Daniel Goleman were his graduatestudentsinpsychologyatHarvard.4. Lyle Spencer, “The Economic Value of Emotional Intelligence

Competencies and EIC-Based HR Programs,” in The Emotionally IntelligentWorkplace, eds. Cary Cherniss and Daniel Goleman (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,2001).5. While average branch managers had annual sales of $17 million, these

outstanding leaders had sales 75 percent higher—on average, $29.8million—plusa106percenthigherreturnonsales.6. James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras,Built to Last: Successful Habits of

VisionaryCompanies(NewYork:HarperBusiness,1994).7.The Johnson& Johnson leadership researchwas ledbyDottieBrienzaof

the Consumer Companies division and by Kathy Cavallo. Findings werepresentedatameetingoftheConsortiumforResearchonEmotionalIntelligenceinOrganizations(Cambridge,Massachusetts,3November2000).8. The ECI-360 assesses the full spectrum of emotional intelligence-based

leadershipcompetencies.Formoreinformation,seehttp://www.eisglobal.com.9. The differences were statistically significant for all twenty of the EI

competencies.TheECIcorrelatedmorehighlywithhighpotentialsthandidthecompany’sownleadershipcompetencemodel.10.We streamlined the EI competencemodel from five domains to four by

folding“motivation”into“self-management.”Statisticalanalyseshavealso ledus to combine several of the EI competencies—for instance, “leveragingdiversity” has become part of “empathy”—so that where there used to betwenty-fivecompetenciesonthelist,therearenowjusteighteen.Newthinkinghas also led us to rename some competencies to emphasize the featuresmostsignificant for EI leaders: “Trustworthiness” has become “transparency,” and“leadership” has become “inspirational leadership.” Beyond that, we havedropped “conscientiousness,” which is not as crucial for leaders who candelegatedetailstoanableassistant.Andwehavecombined“communication”—aninfluencetool—withthe“influence”competence.11.EIcompetenciesandthebrain:Foramoredetailedexplanationofthelinks

ofEIcompetenciestothebrain,seeDanielGoleman,“EmotionalIntelligence:ATheoryofPerformance,”inTheEmotionallyIntelligentWorkplace.12. For the basic theory, seeGoleman,Workingwith Emotional Intelligence

(NewYork:Bantam,1998).Inthisbookweextendthattheory.13. The critical mass of strengths in EI competencies was found both by

Richard Boyatzis, The Competent Manager: A Model for OrganizationalEffectiveness (New York: Wiley-Interscience, 1982) and by David C.McClelland, “Identifying Competencies with Behavioral-Event Interviews,”PsychologicalScience9(1998):331–339.14.Motivationandtheleftprefrontalcortex:RichardDavidson,D.C.Jackson,

andNedH.Kalin, “Emotion, Plasticity, Context andRegulation: PerspectivesfromAffectiveNeuroscience,”PsychologicalBulletin 126, no. 6 (2000): 890–909.15.Emotionsanddecisionmaking:AntonioDamasio,Descartes’Error (New

York:Putnam,1994).16. Intuitive decisionmaking in entrepreneurs: AnnGrahamEttinger,Make

UpYourMind(SantaMonica,CA:MerrittPublishing,1995).17. Predicting the weather: Barbara Knowlton, JenniferMangels, and Larry

Squire,“ANeostriatalHabitLearningSysteminHumans,”Science273(1996):1399–1402.18.Thebasalgangliaandimplicitlearning:MatthewD.Lieberman,“Intuition:

ASocialCognitiveNeuroscienceApproach,”PsychologicalBulletin126(2000):109–137.19.Thecircuitryinvolved:Ibid.20.Gutfeeling:Damasio,Descartes’Error.21.Theinhibitoryfunctionoftheprefrontalareasisanactiveresearchfocus,

with some evidence pointing to connections from the prefrontal cortex havinginhibitoryeffectsonneuronsintheamygdala.Dr.RichardDavidson,UniversityofWisconsin,personalcommunication.22. In other publications, we’ve used the term trustworthiness for this

competence. Here we use transparency to emphasize the importance of thisaspectofthecompetenceforleadership.23.“Cool”:LewisMacAdams,BirthofCool:Beat,BebopandtheAmerican

Avant-Garde(NewYork:FreePress,2001).24. The amygdala and prefrontal zones’ role in empathy: See, for example,

Paul J. Eslinger, “Neurological and Neuropsychological Bases of Empathy,”EuropeanNeurology39(1998):193–199.25. Limbic resonance: Thomas Lewis, Fari Amini, and Richard Lannon, A

GeneralTheoryofLove(NewYork:RandomHouse,2000).26.Theimportanceofvisionforleadership:See,forexample,WarrenBennis

andBurtNanus,Leaders:StrategiesforTakingCharge(NewYork:HarperandRow,1985);JayConger,TheCharismaticLeader(SanFrancisco:Jossey-Bass,1989);andJohnP.Kotter,LeadingChange (Boston:HarvardBusinessSchoolPress,1996).27.Theproductdirector:QuotedinMatthewManginoandChristineDreyfus,

“Developing Emotional Intelligence Competencies” (paper presented to theConsortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations,Cambridge,Massachusetts,19April2001).

CHAPTER41. The database was compiled by the Boston consulting firm of McBer &

Company(nowTheHayGroup)andoriginallyanalyzedbyStephenKelnerJr.See Stephen P. Kelner Jr., Christine A. Rivers, and Kathleen H. O’Connell,“ManagerialStyleasaBehavioralPredictorofOrganizationalClimate”(Boston:McBer&Company,1996).Thesamplewasinternational,includingleadersfromEurope, Africa, North America, Australia, and the Pacific Rim; half wereAmerican.ThemeasureofclimatewasdevelopedbyMcBer&Company,basedontheoriginalworkofGeorgeLitwin.SeeG.H.LitwinandR.A.StringerJr.,“Motivation and Organizational Climate” (Boston: Division of Research,Graduate School of Business Administration, Harvard University, 1971). Itassesses six specific indicators of climate, based on the pioneering work ofLitwin and Stringer, as refined by David McClelland and his colleagues atMcBer.2. Bob Pittman at Six Flags:Quoted inAldenM.Hayashi, “When to Trust

YourGut,”HarvardBusinessReview,February2001,59–65.3.Transformational leaders:JamesMcGregorBurns,Leadership (NewYork:

Harper & Row, 1978). So, too, with “charismatic” leaders, who articulate astrategic vision informed by a sensitivity to stakeholders’ needs; see Jay A.Conger, The Charismatic Leader: Behind the Mystique of ExceptionalLeadership(SanFrancisco:Jossey-Bass,1989).4.ShelleyLazarusandDavidOgilvy:“AJobandaLifeIntertwined,”TheNew

YorkTimes,23May2001,C3.5.Thesweetnessofsuccessatstretchtasks:CynthiaFisherandChristopherS.

Noble,“AffectandPerformance:AWithinPersonsAnalysis” (paperpresentedattheAnnualMeetingoftheAcademyofManagement,Toronto,2000).6. James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras,Built to Last: Successful Habits of

VisionaryCompanies(NewYork:HarperBusiness,1994).

7.Anxiousaffiliation:StephenP.Kelner,“InterpersonalMotivation:Cynical,PositiveandAnxious”(Ph.D.diss.,BostonUniversity,1991).8. LouGerstner on the 1993 IBM turnaround:Quoted in SteveLohr, “IBM

ChiefGerstnerRecallsDifficultDaysatBigBlue,”TheNewYorkTimes,31July2000,C3.

CHAPTER51.BusinessWeek,“TheBestPerformers,”29March1999,98.2.SECreportandanalysesofAlDunlap’stenureasCEOofSunbeam:Floyd

Norris,“S.E.C.AccusesFormerSunbeamOfficialofFraud,”NewYorkTimes,16May2001,1.3.Thequestionofleadershipnarcissism,or“ego”:See,forexample,Michael

Maccoby, “Narcissistic Leaders: The Incredible Pros, the Inevitable Cons,”HarvardBusinessReview,January-February2000,foraviewofthepositiveandnegativesidesofsuchleadership.4.SeeJimCollins,“Level5Leadership,”HarvardBusinessReview, January

2001,66–76.5. The insurance company study: Hay Group research team, led by John

LarrerewithMartinLeshner,DavidBaker,andStephenKelner,forLOMA.SeeDanielWilliams, “Leadership for the 21stCentury: Life InsuranceLeadershipStudy”(Boston:LOMA/HayGroup,1995).6.MarcusBuckingham and data onworkers leaving bad bosses:Quoted by

AmyZipkinin“TheWisdomofThoughtfulness,”TheNewYorkTimes,31May2000,C1.7. David McClelland, “Identifying Competencies with Behavioral-Event

Interviews,”PsychologicalScience9(1998):331–339.8. United Kingdom school leadership: See “Research into Headteacher

Effectiveness”(reportbyTheHayGrouptotheU.K.DepartmentforEducationandEmployment,2000).

CHAPTER61. The CEO disease: First describedwith this title by JohnByrne in “CEO

Disease,”BusinessWeek,1April1991,52–59.2. Feedback is less consistent for managers: James Conway and Allen

Huffcutt, “Psychometric Properties of Multi-source Performance Ratings: AMeta-analysis of Subordinate, Supervisor, Peer and Self-Ratings,” HumanPerformance10,no.4(1977):331–360.

3.Womenandminoritiesget less feedback thanothers:Anumberof studiesandmanagement scholars report thatwomen andmembers of visibleminoritygroups receive less and less useful feedback than others. See, for example,PeggyStuart,“WhatDoestheGlassCeilingCostYou?”PersonnelJournal71,no.11(1992):70–80;AnnM.Morrison,RandallP.White,EllenVanVelsor,andTheCenter for Creative Leadership,Breaking the Glass Ceiling: CanWomenReach the Top of America’s Largest Corporations? (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley,1987);andTaylorCoxJr.,CulturalDiversityinOrganizations:Theory,Research,andPractice(SanFrancisco:Berrett-KoehlerPublishers,1993).4.The poorestmanagers exaggerate their ability themost: J.Kruger andD.

Dunning,“UnskilledandUnawareofIt:HowDifficultiesinRecognizingOne’sOwn Competence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments,” Journal of PersonalityandSocialPsychology77,no.6(1999):1121–1134.5.CEOsofbest-performinghealthcarecompanies:EricHarter,“TheQuestfor

SustainableLeadership:TheImportanceofConnectingLeadershipPrinciplestoConcepts ofOrganizational Sustainability” (EDMdiss.,CaseWesternReserveUniversity,1999).6. Top-performing versus low-performing leaders: Analysis by Michele

Burckle,inFabioSala,ECITechnicalManual(Boston:HayGroup,2001).7.Thehoneymooneffect:JohnP.Campbell,MarvinD.Dunnette,EdwardE.

Lawler III, and Karl E. Weick, Managerial Behavior, Performance, andEffectiveness (New York: McGraw Hill, 1970) reviewed various studies andcameto thisconclusion.Morerecentmeta-analyticstudiesandutility analysesconfirmthatsignificantchangescananddooccur,butnotwiththeimpactthatthelevelofinvestmentwouldleadustoexpectnorwithmanytypesoftraining.See Charles C. Morrow, M. Quintin Jarrett, and Melvin Rupinski, “AnInvestigationof theEffectandEconomicUtilityofCorporateWideTraining,”PersonnelPsychology50(1997):91–119;TimothyBaldwinandJ.KevinFord,“TransferofTraining:AReviewandDirectionsforFutureResearch,”PersonnelPsychology 41 (1988): 63–105; andMichael J.Burke andRussellR.Day, “ACumulative Study of the Effectiveness of Managerial Training,” Journal ofAppliedPsychology71,no.2(1986):232–245.Furthermore,whenachangehasbeennoted,aquestionaboutthesustainabilityofthechangesisraisedbecauseoftherelativelyshorttimeperiodsstudied.8.Fewstudiesshowimpactoftrainingonbehavior:Somestudieshaveshown

that training canhave a positive effect on job or life outcomes,which are theultimatepurposeofdevelopmentefforts.But showingan impactonoutcomes,

althoughdesired,mayalsoblurhowthechangeactuallyoccurs.Dotheperson’sactions andhabits change,ordoother factors in the situations account for thechange?AgloballiteraturesearchbytheConsortiumonResearchonEmotionalIntelligence in Organizations found only fifteen programs that improvedemotional intelligence.Mostof themshowedimpacton joboutcomes(suchasnumber of new businesses started) or life outcomes (such as finding a job orsatisfaction). These are reviewed in Cary Cherniss and Mitchell Adler,Promoting Emotional Intelligence in Organizations: Make Training inEmotional Intelligence Effective (Washington, DC: American Society forTrainingandDevelopment,2000).9.Studyingtheeffectoftraining:Aqualityresearchdesignwouldincludepre-

andpost-trainingtestingofthedesiredbehavior,aswellassomewaytocompareitwithotherprograms,suchasbycomparisongroupsor througha time-seriesdesign. The lack of these elements in the relatively few attempts to evaluatetrainingmeansthatmanyresultsarenotasusefulastheycouldbe.10. The effect of communications training: Preston E. Smith, “Management

Modeling Training to ImproveMorale and Customer Satisfaction,” PersonnelPsychology29(1976):351–359.Writtenresponsestotypicalcustomerproblemswere coded both before and after the training for the trained group, and forcomparisongroups,asmeasuresoftheircommunicationsskills.Thepercentageimprovementinthisstudyreflectsbehaviorafterthetrainingascomparedwithbeforethetraining.11.The effect of trainingmonths later: Inwhat is often considered a classic

study, educational administrators showed improvement of only 8 percent on abroad array of these skills three months after training. Raymond A. Noe andNeal Schmitt, “The Influence of Trainee Attitudes on Training Effectiveness:TestofaModel,”PersonnelPsychology39(1986):497–523.Behavioralchangewas assessed through a 360-degree typeofmeasure.The trainingparticipant’simmediatework supervisor, two teachers (i.e., subordinates or peers), and twosupportstaffmembersratedthetraineebeforeandafterthetrainingonsixscalesassessing behaviors such as sensitivity toward others, leadership, anddecisiveness. The percentage improvement drawn from this study reflectsbehaviorafterthetrainingascomparedwithbeforethetraining.Inanotherstudy,thesocialawarenessandsocialskillsofmanagersinasteel

companyimprovedby9percentthreemonthsaftertraining,anddroppedalittleto a 7 percent improvement eighteenmonths after training. Herbert H. Hand,Max D. Richards, and John W. Slocum Jr., “Organizational Climate and the

Effectiveness of a Human Relations Training Program,” Academy ofManagementJournal16,no.2(1973):185–246.Thebehaviorwasassessedbygroups of the participants’ work subordinates using a questionnaire regardingsuch areas as concern and sensitivity for others, self-awareness, and initiative.These data were collected for those going through the training and forcomparisongroups.Thepercentageimprovementinthisstudyreflectsbehaviorafterthetrainingascomparedwithbeforethetraining.In several other studies where behavior of people who were trained was

comparedwithothersnottrained(ornotgiventhesametypeoftraining),butinwhichnopretrainingtestingwasinvolved,theresultsweresimilar:an11percentcomparative increase in social skills two months after training first-levelsupervisorsinalargeurbanmedicalcenter.K.N.WexleyandW.F.Memeroff,“Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement and Goal Setting as Methods ofManagementDevelopment,” Journal of Applied Psychology 60, no. 4 (1975):446–450.Subordinatesoftheparticipantsinthetrainingandcomparisongroupscompleted a questionnaire regarding their supervisors that assessed behaviorssuch as consideration and sensitivity toward others, conflict resolution,cooperative spirit within the work group, and initiating and communicatingexpectations.Thepercentage improvement in this study reflectsbehavior afterthe training of those in the training groups as compared with those in thecomparison groups. The “post-test only” comparison is a legitimateapproximationbecauseparticipantswererandomlyassignedtothetrainingandcontrolgroups.Inanotherstudy,first-levelsupervisorsshowedan18percentimprovementin

avarietyofEI-relatedbehaviorsoneyearaftertraining.GaryP.LathamandLiseM. Saari, “Application of Social-Learning Theory to Training SupervisorsthroughBehavioralModeling,”JournalofAppliedPsychology64,no.3(1979):239–246.Supervisors of those in the training and comparisongroups assessedtheparticipantsthreemonthsandoneyearfollowingthetrainingonfactorssuchasemotionalcontrol, supervision,and interactionswithothers.Thepercentageimprovement in this study reflects behavior after the training of those in thetraininggroupsascomparedwiththoseinthecomparisongroups.The“post-testonly”comparisonis legitimatebecauseparticipantswererandomlyassignedtogroups.Another study showed an average increase of 8 percent improvement

followingthedevelopmentofaplanforchange.DianneP.YoungandNancyM.Dixon, Helping Leaders Take Effective Action: A Program Evaluation

(Greensboro, NC: Center for Creative Leadership, 1996). Executives andmanagersattendingtheLeaderLabprogramwereassessedbyco-workersaboutfiveandahalfmonthsaftertheprogramandretrospectivelyoneyearearlier.Thebehaviorsstudiedincludedflexibility,self-confidence,interpersonalrelationshipskills, and coping with emotional disequilibrium. Percentage improvement inthisstudyreflectsco-workers’assessmentsatthetimeofevaluationminustheirviewsofthepersononeyearearlier,dividedbytheearlierscores.12. The overall impact of training: The 10 percent figure represents the

average percentage improvement on the multiple or composite EI behaviorsfrom the five studies reviewed. It does not include the one study oncommunicationsskills,becauseitlookedatonlyonespecificcompetency.Ifyouinclude that study, the overall average is still only 15 percent. The lack ofstudies, difficulty in determining comparability of measures, and lack ofconsistency in research designs conspire to make a precise calculationimpossible.Thereare,undoubtedly,otherstudiesthatwerenotfoundandreviewed,orthat

werenot available through journals andbooks andwere therefore overlooked.We do not claim this is an exhaustive review, but it is suggestive of thepercentage improvement as a rough approximation of the real impact. Thisapproximation is offered to help in the comparison of the relative impact ofmanagement training, management education, and self-directed learning.Unfortunately,many of themore recentmeta-analyses and review articles usestatistical techniques reporting effect sizes and other associational data.Although this helps a researcher determine the statistical significance of thefindings, it does not allow for comparison of percentage improvement. Inaddition, the lack of research with more than a one-year to eighteen-monthfollow-up period makes it difficult to comment on the sustainability of thechangesobservedfollowingtraining.13. The half-life of knowledge: L. Specht and P. Sandlin, “The Differential

Effects of Experiential Learning Activities and Traditional Lecture Classes inAccounting,”SimulationsandGaming22,no.2(1991):196–210.14. People develop EI competencies throughout life:MatthewMangino and

Christine Dreyfus, “Developing Emotional Intelligence Competencies”(presentation to the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence inOrganizations, Cambridge,Massachusetts, 19 April 2001). The pattern of thenaturalacquisitionofEIcompetenciesfitswithanearlierstudyofmanagersatNASAbyChristineDreyfus,“ScientistsandEngineersasEffectiveManagers:A

Study of Development of Interpersonal Abilities” (Ph.D. diss., Case WesternReserveUniversity,1991).15.EIcompetenciesimprovewithage:Scoresfromself-assessmentaswellas

others’assessmentofthecompetenciesweresignificantlycorrelatedwithageforallclustersoftheEIcompetencies.Thiswasnotafunctionofmanageriallevel;the correlation with job level only appeared for the relationship managementskillscluster.Sala,ECITechnicalManual.16.Extinguishingof trainingeffects:Thisdoesnot includechanges induced,

willinglyornot, by chemicalorhormonal changes in one’s body.But even insuch situations, the interpretation of the changes and behavioral comportmentfollowingitwillbeaffectedbytheperson’swill,values,andmotivations.17.Importanceofextendedpractice:ThomasLewis,FariAmini,andRichard

Lannon,AGeneralTheoryofLove(NewYork:RandomHouse,2000).18.Impactofmindfulnesstraining:Theresearch,asyetunpublished,iscited

in Tara Bennett-Goleman, Emotional Alchemy: How the Mind Can Heal theHeart(NewYork:HarmonyBooks,2001).19. Brain plasticity of London taxi drivers: Eleanor A. Maguire, David G.

Gadian, IngridS. Johnsrude,CatrionaD.Good, JohnAshburner,RichardS.J.Frackowiak,andChristopherD.Firth,“Navigation-RelatedStructuralChangeinthe Hippocampi of Taxi Drivers.” Proceedings of the National Academy ofSciences 97, no 8 (2000): 4398–4403. Available online athttp://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/97/8/4398.20. Using neural connections over and over strengthens them: Gerald M.

Edelman,Neural Darwinism: The Theory of Neuronal Group Selection (NewYork:BasicBooks,1987),58.21.Strengtheningofneuralconnections:ResearchersatCaseWesternReserve

University, notably Professor James E. Zull, have noted that when nervenetworks connecting nerves to muscles were stimulated vigorously, newbranches and connections were made. James E. Zull, The Art of Changing aBrain:HelpingPeopleLearnbyUnderstandingHowtheBrainWorks(Sterling,VA:StylusPublishers,2002).ProfessorElizabethGouldofPrincetonUniversity,studying neurogenesis, has shown that learning new things stimulated newnervestosurviveinprimates,whilelackoflearningnewthingsresultedintheloss of new nerve cells (summarized in Sandra Blakeslee, “A Decade ofDiscovery Yields a Shock about the Brain,” The New York Times, 4 January2000,D1).22. It takesa limbicconnection tochangeskills:Lewis,Amini,andLannon,

GeneralTheoryofLove,177.23. The course on competency development: This course is described in

RichardBoyatzis, “StimulatingSelf-DirectedLearning through theManagerialAssessmentandDevelopmentCourse,”JournalofManagementEducation 18,no.3(1994):304–323;andchapter4inInnovationsinProfessionalEducation:StepsonaJourneyfromTeachingtoLearning,eds.RichardE.Boyatzis,ScottS.Cowen, and David A. Kolb (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1995). The earliestversionofthiscoursewasdevelopedfortheAmericanManagementAssociationin 1979 as part of its fledgling Masters in Management program. Othervariations on this type of course were developed in parallel by the faculty atAlvernoCollege inMilwaukee (for adescription, seeMarciaMentkoswki andassociates, eds.,LearningThatLasts: IntegratingLearning,Development, andPerformanceinCollegeandBeyond[SanFrancisco:Jossey-Bass,2000])andbyDavid A.Whetton andKim S. Cameron for original use at the University ofMichigan(seethefourtheditionoftheirtextbook,DevelopingManagerialSkills(Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1998). The course was chosen as a modelprogram in developing emotional intelligence by theConsortium for Researchon Emotional Intelligence in Organizations, as reported in Cary Cherniss andMitchell Adler, Promoting Emotional Intelligence in Organizations: MakeTraining in Emotional Intelligence Effective (Washington, DC: AmericanSocietyforTrainingandDevelopment,2000).24.Outcomeassessment studies:Since1987, startingevenbefore thecourse

wasrequiredofallstudents,RichardBoyatzishasdirectedaseriesoffollow-upstudies to document the course and program’s long-term impact. The studiesmeasured improvements from self-reports and from behavioral coding of“critical incident” audiotapes and videotapes of the students tackling typicalwork challenges. Data collection beganwhen students started the course, andassessmentsweremadewhentheygraduatedandwhentheywereatwork.Fordetails of the studies, see Richard E. Boyatzis, Ann Baker, David Leonard,KennethRhee,andLorraineThompson,“WillItMakeaDifference?:AssessingaValue-Based,OutcomeOriented, Competency-Based Professional Program,”in Innovating inProfessionalEducation:Stepsona Journey fromTeaching toLearning, eds.RichardE.Boyatzis, Scott S.Cowen, andDavidA.Kolb (SanFrancisco: Jossey-Bass, 1995); Richard E. Boyatzis, David Leonard, KennethRhee,andJaneV.Wheeler,“CompetenciesCanBeDeveloped,butNottheWayWeThought,”Capability2,no.2(1996):25–41;andRichardE.Boyatzis,JaneV.Wheeler,andR.Wright,“CompetencyDevelopmentinGraduateEducation:

ALongitudinalPerspective,”ProceedingsoftheFirstWorldConferenceonSelf-DirectedLearning(Montreal:GIRAT,inpress).25.StudiesoftheimpactofotherMBAprograms:Thestudiesweredonefor

theAmericanAssembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) in 1979and the 1980s and are reported in Richard Boyatzis andMike Sokol,APilotProjecttoAssesstheFeasibilityofAssessingSkillsandPersonalCharacteristicsofStudents inCollegiateBusinessPrograms.Report to theAACSB (St.Louis:AACSB, 1982) and Development Dimensions International (DDI), FinalReport:PhaseIII.ReporttotheAACSB(St.Louis:AACSB,1985).Thebaselinestudiesof theWeatherheadSchoolofManagement in the late1980sused testsfor their comparisons and are reviewed in Boyatzis, Cowen, and Kolb,Innovating in Professional Education. The percentage improvement reportedwascalculatedbydividingthechangeinstudents’graduatingscoresfromtheirenteringscoresby theirenteringscores.The first twoprogramswereanalyzedwithassessmentcenters,sothedatareportedareaboutstudent’sbehaviorshowninsimulations.TheotherprogramsincludedteststhatwereshowntoassessEIbehaviorsbutwerenotdirectmeasuresoftheparticipants’behavior.26. Comparison of percentage improvement in EI: The percentage

improvement shown and the comparison to other programs involved observedbehavior (not tests) as assessedby codingofwork samples, “critical incident”interviews,videotapedassessmentcenterexercises,or360-degreeassessmentbyothersofaperson’sbehavior.Thepercentageimprovementshownforeachtimeperiodisanaverageoftheincreaseinfrequencyforeachofthecompetenciesinthat cluster (i.e., graduating frequency of showing the competency minus theentering frequency, divided by the entering frequency of the behavior). Tocontrolforlanguagedifficulties,onlynativeEnglishspeakerswere included inthis analysis. The reader is cautioned that the percentages refer to differentsamplesand thereforeareshown tosuggest the rangeof impactexpectedovertime.Thesamplesshowninthefigurearefromthefollowingcadres:Theone-totwo-yearresultsreflect163ofthefull-timeMBAsgraduatingin1993,1994,and1995 (reported in the references in note 25).The three-to five-year results arefromfifty-fourofthepart-timeMBAsgraduatingin1995and1996reportedinnote 25. The five-to seven-year results reflect thirty of the part-time MBAsgraduatingin1995and1996studiedeighteentothirtymonthsaftergraduationbyJaneV.Wheelerinherdissertation,“TheImpactofSocialEnvironmentsonSelf-Directed Change and Learning” (Ph.D. diss., Case Western ReserveUniversity,1999).

JaneWheelerreportedacomparisonof thethree-tofive-yearresultswiththefive-to seven-year results for the same people in her dissertation.Her smallersampleofthirtyofthepart-timeMBAgraduatesoftheclassesof1995and1996showed53percentimprovementinself-awarenessandself-managementand33percentimprovementinsocialawarenessandrelationshipmanagementatthreetofiveyears.Thesenumbersareslightlydifferentfromthepercentagesshownfor the complete sample in the graph but are still at a relatively high levelcompared with other management training or MBA graduate educationprograms.The self-awareness and management competencies included achievement

orientation, planning, initiative, conscientiousness, self-control, and self-confidence. The social awareness and relationship management competenciesincluded empathy, social objectivity, building bonds, conflict management,influence,leadershipinteamwork,anddevelopingothers.27.Itisalsoworthnotingthatthegraduatesofthecompetency-basedprogram,

bothfull-timeandpart-time,showedsignificantimprovementon100percentofthe six cognitive competencies assessed. Meanwhile, the earlier non-competency-basedMBAprogramhadshownimprovementononly86percentofthe cognitive competencies in the full-time program and 57 percent of thecognitive competencies in the part-time program. Among full-time MBAstudents, the improvements were in 100 percent of the fourteen emotionalintelligencecompetenciesassessedascomparedwithgainsinonly50percentofthese competencies for MBA students who did not receive the course. Part-timerstakingthecoursealsoshowedimpressivegains:Theygainedinthirteenof fourteen competencies as compared with gains in only one of the twelvecompetenciesassessedforthosewithoutthecourse.28. Impact of the Professional Fellows Program: Ronald Ballou, David

Bowers, Richard E. Boyatzis, and David A. Kolb, “Fellowship in LifelongLearning: An Executive Development Program for Advanced Professionals,”JournalofManagementEducation23,no.4(1999):338–354.29.Emergence of themodel of self-directed learning:RichardBoyatzis first

saw the promise of this approach during his personal involvement with threestreams of research, all providing convincing evidence about how people canbestimprovetheemotionalintelligenceabilities thatmakeleadershipeffective.His first exposure to development thatworks came fromhisworkwithDavidKolbandtheircolleaguesatMIT’sSloanSchoolofManagement,whichshowedthat people who used self-directed learning could improve their performance.

Early in the 1970s, students there selected a business skill to improve—andbecause so many had “nerdy” engineering and science backgrounds,interpersonalskillswereacommonchoice.ThesestudiesaredescribedinDavidA.Kolb, SarahK.Winter, andDavidE.Berlew, “Self-DirectedChange: TwoStudies,” Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 6, no. 3 (1968): 453–471;David A. Kolb, “A Cybernetic Model of Human Change and Growth,”unpublished working paper 526–71, Sloan School of Management,Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 1971; David A. Kolb andRichardE.Boyatzis,“OntheDynamicsoftheHelpingRelationship,”JournalofApplied Behavioral Science 6, no. 3 (1970): 267–289; David A. Kolb andRichard E. Boyatzis, “Goal-Setting and Self-Directed Behavior Change,”HumanRelations23,no.5(1970):439–457;andRichardE.BoyatzisandDavidA.Kolb,“FeedbackandSelf-DirectedBehaviorChange,”unpublishedworkingpaper 394–69, Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology,Cambridge,1969.Hissecondexposurecamefromhisinvolvement(alongwithDanielGoleman)

with the pioneering research of DavidMcClelland and colleagues at HarvardUniversity in the 1960s and 1970s that first showed that the skills that makepeople highly successful entrepreneurs can be developed.McClelland’s groupdevelopedtrainingprogramstoenhancethedrivetoachieve—perhapsthefirstemotional intelligence competence to be studied in depth. The results: Thosewhowentthroughthetrainingwentontoleadsmall-businessstart-upsthatmetwith dramatic success, creatingmore new jobs, startingmore newbusinesses,and generating greater revenues than comparison groups. See David C.McClelland and David G. Winter,Motivating Economic Achievement (NewYork: Free Press, 1969) and David Miron and David C. McClelland, “TheImpact of Achievement Motivation Training on Small Business,” CaliforniaManagement Review 21, no. 4 (1979): 13–28. Richard Boyatzis’s work withDavidC.McClellandinpowermotivation trainingasa therapeuticprogramtohelp alcoholics maintain sobriety and regain jobs and their functioning ascitizensaddedto thisworkonmotivationalchange.SeeHenryCutter,RichardE. Boyatzis, and David Clancy, “The Effectiveness of Power MotivationTrainingforRehabilitatingAlcoholics,”JournalofStudiesonAlcohol38,no.1(1977)andRichardE.Boyatzis,“PowerMotivationTraining:ANewTreatmentModality,”AnnalsoftheNewYorkAcademyofSciences273(1976):525–532.A third source for insights remains the research of his doctoral students and

colleaguesattheWeatherheadSchoolofManagementatCaseWesternReserve

University.OtherprominentmodelsofchangeareDavidMcClelland’s theoryofmotive

acquisition and that of James Prochaska and his colleagues. See David C.McClelland,“TowardaTheoryofMotiveAcquisition,”AmericanPsychologist20,no.5(1965):321–333,andJamesO.Prochaska,CarloC.Diclemente,andJohnC.Norcross,“InSearchofHowPeopleChange:ApplicationstoAddictiveBehaviors,” American Psychologist 47, no. 9 (1992): 1102–1114. Acomprehensivereviewofdocumentedprogramsintendedtoincreaseemotionalintelligence was made by the Consortium on Emotional Intelligence inOrganizations, headed by Professor Cary Cherniss of Rutgers University. ThereviewofthesemodelprogramsandtheConsortium’sviewofthebestpracticesareprovidedontheirWebsiteandinarecentbook:CaryChernissandMitchellAdler, Promoting Emotional Intelligence in Organizations: Make Training inEmotional Intelligence Effective (Washington, DC: American Society forTrainingandDevelopment,2000).30. Description of themodel of self-directed learning: Richard E. Boyatzis,

“Self-Directed Change and Learning as a Necessary Meta-competency forSuccessandEffectivenessinthe21stCentury,”inKeystoEmployeeSuccessintheComingDecades, eds.R.SimsandJ.G.Veres (Westport,CT:GreenwoodPublishing, 1999). See also Richard E. Boyatzis, “Developing EmotionalIntelligence,” in The Emotionally Intelligent Workplace: How to Select for,Measure, and Improve Emotional Intelligence in Individuals, Groups, andOrganizations,eds.CaryChernissandDanielGoleman(SanFrancisco:Jossey-Bass, 2001). This model describes the process as designed into the requiredcourseimplementedin1990attheWeatherheadSchoolofManagementfortheMBAprogramdescribedearlierandexecutiveeducationprograms.

CHAPTER71. The ought versus ideal self: Charles Handy, The Hungry Spirit: Beyond

Capitalism, A Quest for Purpose in theModernWorld (London: Hutchinson,1997),86.2. Impact of an ought self replacing an ideal self:Even studies showing the

importanceofworkingontheidealoftenmakethemistakeofassumingthattheprofileofanoutstandingperformerwillbetheidealimageforpeopleinagivenjob—see, for example, Mildred Burns, “The Effects of Feedback andCommitment to Change on the Behavior of Elementary School Principals,”JournalofAppliedBehavioralScience13,no.2(1977):159–166.

3.Thestudyofvaluesandvalueorientation:GordonW.Allport,P.E.Vernon,andGardnerLindzey,StudyofValues (Boston:HoughtonMifflin,1960);ChrisArgyris andDonSchon,Theory in Practice Learning (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,1982);ClydeKluckhohn,“ValuesandValue-OrientationsintheTheoryofAction,” inTowardaGeneralTheoryofAction, eds.TalcottParsonandE.A.Shils (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1951), 388–433; FlorenceKluckhohnandFredStrodtbeck,VariationsinValueOrientations(Evanston,IL:Row, Peterson & Co, 1961); Milton Rokeach, The Nature of Human Values(NewYork:FreePress,1973);ShalomH.Schwartz,“UniversalsintheContentand Structure of Values: Theoretical Advances and Empirical Tests in 20Countries,” Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 25 (New York:AcademicPress,1992),1–65;MichaelHechter,“ValuesResearchintheSocialandBehavioralSciences,”inTheOriginofValues,eds.MichaelHechter,LynnNadel,andRichardE.Michod(NewYork:AldinedeGruyter,1993),1–28.4. Assessing your operating philosophy: The Philosophical Orientation

Questionnairemeasures the relative dominance of each of the three operatingphilosophies—pragmatic, intellectual, and humanistic. Richard E. Boyatzis,AngelaJ.Murphy,andJaneV.Wheeler,“PhilosophyasaMissingLinkbetweenValuesandBehavior,”PsychologicalReports86(2000):47–64.5.Thepragmaticoperatingphilosophyemergedfrompragmatism(asreflected

in the works of John Dewey, William James, Charles Sanders Peirce, andRichardRorty), consequentialism (as reflected in theworks of C.D. JohnsonandP.Pettit), instrumentalism (as reflected in theworksof JohnDewey), andutilitarianism (as reflected in the works of Jeremy Bentham and John StuartMill).SeeBoyatzis,Murphy,andWheeler,“PhilosophyasaMissingLink”forthefullreferences.6. Larry Ellison described: MikeWilson, The Difference between God and

LarryEllison:InsideOracleCorporation (NewYork:WilliamMorrow,1998);StuartRead,TheOracle Edge:HowOracle Corporation’s TakeNo PrisonersStrategy Has Made an $8 Billion Software Powerhouse (Avon, MA: AdamsMediaCorporation,1999).7.Theintellectualoperatingphilosophyemergedfromrationalism(asreflected

in the works of René Descartes, GottfriedWilhelm Leibniz, and Benedict deSpinoza) and thevariousphilosophers claiming rationalismas their etiologicalroot,suchasGeorgWilhelmFriedrichHegelandJurgenHabermas,aswellasthe philosophical structuralists (Claude Lévi-Strauss and Jean Piaget) andpostmodernists (Friedrich Nietzsche). See Boyatzis, Murphy, and Wheeler,

“PhilosophyasaMissingLink”forthefullreferences.8.JohnChambersdescribed:AndySerwer,“There’sSomethingaboutCisco,”

Fortune, 15 May 2000, 114–138; John A. Byrne, “Visionary vs. Visionary,”BusinessWeek,28August2000,210–214.9.Thehumanisticoperatingphilosophyemergedfromcommunitarianism(W.

F. Brundage), hermeneutics (Hans-Georg Gadamer), humanism (FrancescoPetrarch and R. W. Sellars), and collectivism (R. Burlingame and W. H.Chamberlin).10.NarayanaMurthydescribed:AmitDawra,PinkeyJain,RuchikaKohli,and

AbhijitRajan,“N.R.NarayanaMurthy:PoweredbyIntellect,DrivenbyValue,”unpublishedpaper,CaseWesternReserveUniversity,October2000.11.PeterLynch’scareerchange:J.Fierman,“PeterLynchontheMeaningof

Life,”Fortune,23April1990,197–200.12.CareerchangesforsuccessfulCEOs:B.D.Fromson,“SecondActsforthe

TopGuys,”Fortune,23April1990,251–262.13. Our dreams and passion drive life satisfaction: Ruth A. Schiller, “The

RelationshipofDevelopmentalTaskstoLifeSatisfaction,MoralReasoning,andOccupational Attainment at Age 28,” Journal of Adult Development 5, no. 4(1998):239–254.14.A leader isadealer inhope:Napoleon inHisOwnWords, vol.4, comp.

JulesBertaut(Chicago:A.C.McClurg:1916).15. The Executive Doctorate in Management program: The seminar called

Leadership to Create Human Value is part of the Executive Doctorate inManagement program at Weatherhead School of Management, Case WesternReserve University. It is a three-year program designed for leaders from theindustrial,not-for-profit,andpublicsectorswhowant topursueorganizational,community,and global leadership from a practitioner/scholar perspective. Thestudentsflyinforaseveral-dayresidencyonceamonthfromvariouscitiesandcountriesaroundtheworld.16. Feedback on John Lauer’s current style: Personal communications from

Kathy Crowley, Christina Fiduccia, Michelle Lee, Chistopher Stevens, andRobertStratton-Brown,December2000.17.Self-deceptionasanaturalbutcostlyprocess:DanielGoleman,VitalLies,

Simple Truths: The Psychology of Self-Deception (New York: Simon andSchuster,1985).18.Optimism of successful people:Martin P. Seligman,LearnedOptimism:

HowtoChangeYourMindandYourLife(NewYork:AlfredKnopf,1991).

19.Studyshowingtheimportanceofevaluativefeedback:RichardE.BoyatzisandDavidA.Kolb,FeedbackandSelf-DirectedBehaviorChange,unpublishedworkingpaper394–69,SloanSchoolofManagement,MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology,Cambridge,1969.20.Effectivemanagers and leaders seekout feedback:Susan J.Ashfordand

AnneS.Tsui,“Self-RegulationforManagerialEffectiveness:TheRoleofActiveFeedback Seeking,”Academy ofManagement Journal 34, no. 2 (1991): 251–280.21. Consequences of seeking positive feedback only: Paul A.Mabe III and

StephenG.West,“ValidityofSelf-EvaluationofAbility:AReviewandMeta-analysis,”JournalofAppliedPsychology67(1982):280–296.22. Testing reality about yourself: In Morgan W. McCall Jr.,High Flyers:

Developing theNextGenerationofLeaders (Boston:HarvardBusinessSchoolPress,1998),theauthorpointsoutthatpeoplemayhave“powerfulexperiences”that could contribute to their development, but sometimes fail to realize thesemoments. He called these “moments of truth” when the person should askhimselforherself,“AmIabouttobethepersonIwanttobe?HaveIjustactedlikethepersonIwanttobe?”Inourframework,thesemomentsoftrutharelikelookinginthemirrorandcomingtogripswithyourrealself.23.Assessingtherealselfinthecontextoftheidealself:JayConger,Learning

to Lead: The Art of Transforming Managers into Leaders (San Francisco:Jossey-Bass,1989)describedthereactionofmanagersindevelopmentprogramsafter receiving a lot of instrumented feedback—he found them feeling “ho-hum.”Theyalreadyknewmostifnotallofthefeedback.Withoutthecontextoftheidealself,therewasnocompellingconceptastowheretogonext—whattodoaboutitorwhyanythingshouldbedoneaboutit.24. Knowingwhat to keep andwhat to change: This parallels what several

scholarshavesuggestedfororganizations.SeeRonFry,“ChangeandContinuityinOrganizationalGrowth,” inSureshSrivastva,RonaldE.Fry,andassociates,ExecutiveandOrganizationalContinuity:ManagingtheParadoxesofStabilityandChange(SanFrancisco:Jossey-Bass,1993);andJamesC.CollinsandJerryI.Porras,Built toLast:SuccessfulHabitsofVisionaryCompanies (NewYork:HarperBusiness,1994).25. Commitment to vision can lead to less adaptability: Lisa Berlinger,

“Managing Commitment to Increase Flexibility: An Exploration of ProcessesThat Strengthen andWeaken Commitment” (Ph.D. diss., University of Texas,1991);RussellAckoff,CreatingtheCorporateFuture(NewYork:JohnWiley&

Sons,1981).26. A caution: 360-degree feedback is most helpful when it is gathered in

confidence.Thatmeanstheresultsarerevealedonlytothepersontowhomtheyapplyandtohercoach,butnottoothersinherorganization(unlessshechoosestosharethem).Everyoneshouldalsobeawarethattheinformationwillbeusedintheserviceofleadershipdevelopment.When360-degreedataareusedinsteadas part of performance management or reviews, people are less likely to becandidabout theirweaknesses,andmoreprone tooverestimate theirstrengths.Similarly,peersandsubordinatesprovidingtheinformationmaylietoprotectorattacktheindividual.27. Different views of a manager from different sources of feedback: Gene

HarrisandJoyceHogan,“PerceptionsandPersonalitiesofEffectiveManagers”(paperpresentedat the13thAnnualPsychology in theDepartmentofDefenseSymposium,ColoradoSprings,Colorado,16April1992).28. Success versus effectiveness: Fred Luthans, R. M. Hodgetts, and S. A.

Rosenkrantz,RealManagers(Cambridge,MA:BallingerPress,1988).29.Strengthofpeersasasourceoffeedback:Areviewoftheresearchon360-

degree feedback found that peers give evaluations that have better predictivepower than those of bosses or subordinates—and, of course, better than aleader’sownself-assessment.A.V.LewinandA.Zwany,PeerNominations:AModel, Literature, Critique, and a Paradigm for Research (Springfield, VA:NationalTechnical InformationService, 1976);T.H.Shore,L.M.Shore, andGeorge C. Thornton III, “Construct Validity of Self-and Peer Evaluations ofPerformance Dimensions in an Assessment Center,” Journal of AppliedPsychology 77, no. 1 (1992): 42–54. But other studies have found thatsubordinates’viewsaremorepowerfulthanpeers’inpredictingleadership.See,for example,GlennM.McEvoy andRichardW.Beatty, “Assessment Centersand Subordinate Appraisals of Managers: A Seven Year Examination ofPredictiveValidity,”PersonnelPsychology42(1989):37–52.30. The strength of subordinates’ assessment: McEvoy and Beatty,

“AssessmentCentersandSubordinateAppraisalsofManagers,”37–52.31.PhilStonecallsthesepatternsaperson’ssignaturethemesinhisbookYour

CorneroftheSky(forthcoming).

CHAPTER81.Workingongoalsindifferentlifespheres:JaneV.Wheeler,“TheImpactof

SocialEnvironmentonSelf-DirectedChangeandLearning,”(Ph.D.diss.,Case

WesternReserveUniversity,1999).2. Performance-oriented goals are not good guides: John F. Brett and Don

VandeWalle,“GoalOrientationandGoalContentasPredictorsofPerformanceinaTrainingProgram,”JournalofAppliedPsychology84,no.6 (1999):863–873.3. Personal standards in learning-oriented goals: J. M. Beaubien and S. C.

Payne, “Individual Goal Orientation as a Predictor of Job and AcademicPerformance:AMeta-analyticReviewand Integration” (paperpresentedat themeeting of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Atlanta,Georgia,April1999).4.Performance-orientedgoals evoke anxiety:GiladChen,StanleyM.Gully,

Jon-AndrewWhiteman,andRobertN.Kilcullen,“ExaminationofRelationshipsamongTrait-like IndividualDifferences, State-like IndividualDifferences, andLearningPerformance,”JournalofAppliedPsychology85,no.6 (2000):835–847.Moreof the researchongoal setting is reviewed inEdwinA.LockeandGaryP.Latham,ATheoryofGoalSettingandTaskPerformance (EnglewoodCliffs,NJ:PrenticeHall,1990).5. Learning-oriented goals lead to better sales: Don VandeWalle, Steven P.

Brown, William L. Cron, and John W. Slocum Jr., “The Influence of GoalOrientation andSelf-RegulationTactics onSalesPerformance:ALongitudinalFieldTest,”JournalofAppliedPsychology84,no.2(1999):249–259.6. Moving beyond contemplation to change: James O. Prochaska, Carlo C.

Diclemente, and John C. Norcross, “In Search of How People Change:ApplicationstoAddictiveBehaviors,”AmericanPsychologist47,no.9(1992):1102–1114.7.Goalsareakeytoself-monitoring:RoyF.Baumeister,ToddE.Heatherton,

and Dianne M. Tice, Losing Control: How and Why People Fail at Self-Regulation(NewYork:AcademicPress,1994).8. Bringing habits into awareness: John A. Bargh and Tanya L. Chartrand,

“The Unbearable Automaticity of Being,” American Psychologist 54, no. 7(1999):462–479.9.Preparationof thebrain:CameronCarter,AngusMacdonald,StefanUrsu,

Andy Stenger, Myeong Ho Sohn, and John Anderson, “How the Brain GetsReady to Perform” (presentation at the 30th annualmeeting of the Society ofNeuroscience,NewOrleans,November2000).10. Setting goals is nothing new: David A. Kolb and Richard E. Boyatzis,

“Goal-SettingandSelf-DirectedBehaviorChange,”HumanRelations23,no.5

(1970):439–457.11.Goalsettingandentrepreneurs:Forareviewoftheresearch,seeDavidC.

McClelland, Human Motivation (Chicago: Scott, Foresman, 1985). For theearlier research, see David C. McClelland, The Achieving Society (Princeton:VanNostrand,1961)andDavidC.McClellandandDavidG.Winter,MotivatingEconomicAchievement(NewYork:FreePress,1969).12.Goalsettingandself-directedbehaviorchange:DavidA.Kolb,SarahK.

Winter,andDavidE.Berlew,“Self-DirectedChange:TwoStudies,”JournalofApplied Behavioral Science 6, no. 3 (1968): 453–471; David A. Kolb, “ACyberneticModelofHumanChangeandGrowth,”unpublishedworkingpaper526–71,Sloan School ofManagement,Massachusetts Institute of Technology,Cambridge, 1971; andDavidA.Kolb andRichardE.Boyatzis, “Goal-Settingand Self-Directed Behavior Change.” Integration of McClelland’s steps inmotiveacquisitionandtheKolbandBoyatzismodelsresultedinaprocesscalledcompetencyacquisition.13. Recent research on effective goal setting: Wheeler, “Impact of Social

Environment”;DavidLeonard,“TheImpactofLearningGoalsonSelf-DirectedChangeinEducationandManagementDevelopment”(Ph.D.diss.,CaseWesternReserve University, 1996); and Kenneth Rhee, “Journey of Discovery: ALongitudinalStudyofLearningduringaGraduateProfessionalProgram”(Ph.D.diss.,CaseWesternReserveUniversity,1997).14. Tipping points: David C. McClelland, “Identifying Competencies with

BehavioralEventInterviews,”PsychologicalScience9,no.5(1998):331–339.Thetheorywascross-validatedinalongitudinalstudyofthefinancialimpactofcompetencies used by senior partners in an international consulting firm, asreported in Richard E. Boyatzis, “Building Brilliant Organizations:Competencies,Complexity,andConsequences”(keynotepresentationatthe4thInternational Conference on Competency Applications, London, 25 October1999); Richard E. Boyatzis, Daniel Goleman, and Kenneth Rhee, “ClusteringCompetenceinEmotionalIntelligence:InsightsfromtheEmotionalCompetenceInventory(ECI),” inHandbookofEmotional Intelligence,eds.ReuvenBar-Onand James D. A. Parker (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000), 343–362; andMalcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a BigDifference(Boston:Little,Brown,2000).15.Personalcommitmentiskeytogoalattainment:HowardJ.Klein,Michael

J.Wesson,JohnR.Hollenback,andBradleyJ.Alge,“GoalCommitmentandtheGoal-Setting Process: Conceptual Clarification and Empirical Synthesis,”

JournalofAppliedPsychology84,no.6 (1999):885–896;LockeandLatham,TheoryofGoalSetting.16.Intrinsicmotivationisfarmorepowerfulthanextrinsicmotivation:R.M.

Ryan and E. L. Deci, “Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation ofIntrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being,” AmericanPsychologist 55,no.1 (2000):68–78;T.Kasser andR.M.Ryan, “BeCarefulWhat You Wish For: Optimal Functioning and the Relative Attainment ofIntrinsicandExtrinsicGoals,”inLifeGoalsandWell-Being,P.SchmuckandK.M.Sheldon(Lengerich,Germany:PabstScience,inpress).17. Different planning styles: Annie McKee, “Individual Differences in

PlanningfortheFuture”(Ph.D.diss.,CaseWesternReserveUniversity,1991).18. Crafting a meaningful future: Michael McCaskey, “A Contingency

Approach to Planning: Planning with and without Goals,” Academy ofManagement Journal 17 (1974): 281–291;McKee, “Individual Differences inPlanningfortheFuture.”19. Specific, measurable goals: Edwin Locke, “Toward a Theory of Task

Performance and Incentives,” Organizational Behavior and HumanPerformance 3 (1968): 157–189; J. Hollenbeck and H. Klein, “GoalCommitmentandtheGoalsSettingProcess:Problems,Prospects,andProposalsforFutureResearch,”JournalofAppliedPsychology40(1987):212–220.20. Targeting specific competencies works: Leonard, “Impact of Learning

Goals”;Wheeler,“ImpactofSocialEnvironment.”21. Using one’s preferred learning styles works best: David A. Kolb,

ExperientialLearning:ExperienceastheSourceofLearningandDevelopment(EnglewoodCliffs,NJ:Prentice-Hall,1984).22.Typicallearningstyles:Ibid.;andDavidA.Kolb,RichardE.Boyatzis,and

Charalampos Mainemelis, “Experiential Learning Theory: Previous Researchand New Directions,” in Perspectives on Thinking, Learning, and CognitiveStyles, eds. Robert J. Sternberg and Li-fang Zhang (Mahwah, NJ: LawrenceErlbaum Associates, 2001), 227–248. Other references are available athttp://www.learningfromexperience.com.23. Tests of learning styles: See, for example, the Kolb Learning Style

Inventory and Boyatzis and Kolb Adaptive Style Inventory athttp://www.haygroup.com.24.Triggerstodysfunctionalhabits:Inthefieldofcognitivebehaviortherapy,

this early warning allows the identification of triggers before they haveunleashed old, dysfunctional habits. See Tara Bennett-Goleman, Emotional

Alchemy: How the Mind Can Heal the Heart (New York: Harmony Books,2001).25. The prefrontal cortex and limbic circuits: Matthew D. Lieberman,

“Intuition:ASocialCognitiveNeuroscienceApproach,”PsychologicalBulletin126 (2000): 109–137; B. J. Knowlton, J. A. Mangels, and L. R. Squire, “ANeostriatalHabitLearningSysteminHumans,”Science273(1996):1399–1402.26. The need for repetition and practice in learning: Thomas Lewis, Fari

Amini, andRichard Lannon,AGeneral Theory of Love (NewYork: RandomHouse,2000);andLieberman,“Intuition.”27.Strengtheningofneuralpathwaysandneurogenesis:RichardJ.Davidson,

Daren C. Jackson, and Ned H. Kalin, “Emotion, Plasticity, Context, andRegulation:Perspectives fromAffectiveNeuroscience,”PsychologicalBulletin126,no.6(2000):890–909.28. Executives spend little time practicing: Paraphrasing a point Tony

Schwartz made from Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, “The Making of theCorporate Athlete,” Harvard Business Review, at a presentation at theWeatherheadSchoolofManagement,17November2000.29. Practicing to create new neural pathways: Bennett-Goleman, Emotional

Alchemy.30.Usingself-controlforpractice:MarkMuravenandRoyBaumeister,“Self-

RegulationandDepletionofLimitedResources:DoesSelf-ControlResembleaMuscle?”PsychologicalBulletin126,no.2(2000):247–259.31. Practicing in many settings: Christine R. Dreyfus, “Scientists and

Engineers as Effective Managers: A Study of Development of InterpersonalAbilities”(Ph.D.diss.,CaseWesternReserveUniversity,1991).32. Action learning is stealth learning: In reviewing dozens of leadership

developmentprograms,offeredbothbyconsultantsandin-houseprograms,JayConger and Beth Benjamin called action learning “the new paradigm forleadership development” in their book Building Leaders: How SuccessfulCompaniesDeveloptheNextGeneration(SanFrancisco:Jossey-Bass,1999).33.LauraWilkinson’smental rehearsal:JimLoehrandTonySchwartz,“The

Making of the Corporate Athlete,” Harvard Business Review, January 2001,120–128.34.Visioningfiresthesamebraincells:GabrielKreiman,ChristofKoch,and

ItshakFried,“ImageryNeuronsintheHumanBrain,”Nature408(2000):357–361.35.Relationships as the context for learning:KathyE.Kram, “ARelational

Approach to Career Development,” in The Career Is Dead—Long Live theCareer, ed.DouglasT.Hall (SanFrancisco: Jossey-Bass,1996);andKathyE.Kram and Douglas T. Hall, “Mentoring in a Context of Diversity andTurbulence,” in Managing Diversity: Human Resource Strategies forTransforming the Workplace, eds. Ellen E. Kossek and Sharon A. Lobel(Cambridge,MA:BlackwellBusiness,1996).36. Gains in self-confidence: Ronald Ballou, David Bowers, Richard E.

Boyatzis,andDavidA.Kolb,“FellowshipinLifelongLearning:AnExecutiveDevelopment Program for Advanced Professionals,” Journal of ManagementEducation23,no.4(1999):338–354.37.Positivegroupshelppositivechange:JinNamChoi,RichardH.Price,and

AmiramD.Vinokur,“HowContextWorks inGroups:TheInfluenceofGroupProcesses on Individual Coping Outcomes,” unpublished paper, University ofMichigan,InstituteforSocialResearch,1999.38.Leadershipisstressful:RobertS.Steele,“ThePhysiologicalConcomitants

of Psychogenic Arousal in College Males” (Ph.D. diss., Harvard University,1973); Robert S. Steele, “Power Motivation, Activation, and InspirationalSpeeches” Journal of Personality 45 (1977): 53–64; David C. McClelland,RichardJ.,Davidson,andC.Saron,“EvokedPotentialIndicatorsoftheImpactof theNeed for Power on Perception and Learning,” unpublishedmanuscript,HarvardUniversity, 1979; andDavidC.McClelland,Richard J.Davidson, C.Saron,andE.Floor,“TheNeedforPower,BrainNorepinephrineTurnoverandLearning,”BiologicalPsychology10(1980):93–102.39. Stress and cortisol interferewith learning:Recent research suggests that

“cortisol at persistently high levels cause[s] reduction in the branching ofneurons in the brain center for conversionof short termmemory to long termmemory(thehippocampus).Evenmoredramatically,longdurationofveryhighcortisollevelsappear[s]todestroyhippocampalcells.”JamesE.Zull,TheArtofChanging a Brain: Helping People Learn by Understanding How the BrainWorks(Sterling,VA:Stylus,2002),65.Prolongedstressanddepressionleadtoreduction in the hippocampus in victims of post-traumatic stress disorder andseverelydepressedwomen.RobertSapoloskyofStanfordUniversityandYvetteSheline ofWashington University in St. Louis as quoted in Robert S. Boyd,“ScientistsFindBrainContinues toReadaptThroughoutLife,”MiamiHerald,17May2000;Davidson,Jackson,andKalin,“Emotion,Plasticity,Context,andRegulation.”40.Settingsthataresafebutnottoorelaxedforlearning:KolbandBoyatzis,

“Goal-SettingandSelf-DirectedBehaviorChange.”41.Otherstakingriskshelpsus:PaulR.Nail,GeoffMacDonald,andDavidA.

Levy, “Proposal of a Four-Dimensional Model of Social Response,”PsychologicalBulletin126,no.3(2000):454–470.42. Mentors help early in our careers: Morgan W. McCall Jr., Michael M.

Lombardo, and AnnM.Morrison, Lessons from Experience: How SuccessfulExecutives Develop on the Job (Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1988).Research is underway aboutmentoring by ProfessorKathyKram, of BostonUniversity,inconjunctionwiththeCenterforCreativeLeadership,buildingonhertwentyyearsofresearchonthistypeofhelpingrelationship.43.Findingagoodcoach:Ifyoudecidetoseekcoachingfortheseleadership

skills,be sureyourcoach isnot just seasoned,but also familiarwith thebest-practice guidelines for improving a leader’s emotional intelligence.Many arenot.Theguidelines—basedonempiricaldataonwhatworksandwhatdoesnot—weredevelopedbytheConsortiumforResearchonEmotionalIntelligenceinOrganizations. The guidelines are summarized in chapter 12 of DanielGoleman’sWorking with Emotional Intelligence (New York: Bantam Books,1998)andinCaryChernissandMitchAdler,PromotingEmotionalIntelligencein Organizations (Washington, DC: American Society for Training andDevelopment,2000).44.HavinganotherCEOasamentor:JenniferReingold,“WanttoGrowasa

Leader?GetaMentor,”FastCompany,January2001,58–60.45. Effective coaches use EI: Richard E. Boyatzis and James A. Burruss,

Validation of a Competency Model for Alcoholism Counselors in the Navy—FinalReport onContractNumberN00123–77-C-0499 (Washington,DC:U.S.Navy,1979);JamesA.BurrussandRichardE.Boyatzis,ContinuedValidationofaCompetencyModel forAlcoholismCounselors in theNavy—FinalReportonContractNumberN00244–80-C-0521(Washington,DC:U.S.Navy,1981);Richard R. Carkhuff, Helping and Human Relations: A Primer for Lay andProfessionalHelpers, vol. I,Selection and Training, and vol. II,Practice andResearch (NewYork:Holt,RinehartandWinston,1969);andTedP.AsayandMichaelJ.Lambert,“TheEmpiricalCasefortheCommonFactorsinTherapy:Quantitative Findings,” in The Heart and Soul of Change: What Works inTherapy, eds. Mark A. Hubble, Barry L. Duncan, and Scott D. Miller(Washington,DC:AmericanPsychologicalAssociation,1999).

CHAPTER9

1.Superiorityofgroupdecisionmaking:AlanB.Krueger,“EconomicScene,”TheNewYorkTimes,7December2000,C2.2.Brilliantteamswithbaddecisions:R.MeredithBelbin,TeamRolesatWork

(London:Butterworth-Heineman,1996).3.Limbicregulationandpayingattentiontopeoplewhocanaffectourlives:

Thomas Lewis, Fari Amini, and Richard Lannon, A General Theory of Love(NewYork:RandomHouse,2000).4.Theleader’sroleincreatingtheemotionalrealityofthegroup:Someofthe

mostextensiveworkonauthoritydynamicshasbeendonebyassociatesof theA.K. Rice Institute. For a thorough review of the foundational research, seeArthur D. Colman and W. Harold Bexton, eds., Group Relations Reader 1(Washington,DC:A.K.RiceInstitute,1975),andArthurD.ColmanandMarvinH. Geller, eds.,Group Relations Reader 2 ( Jupiter, FL: A.K. Rice Institute,1985). For a brief, more recent review of the leader’s impact in a businesssetting, see Michel Deschapelle, “The National Conference Has Helped MyCareer,”SpeakingofAuthority,vol.7,no.1 ( Jupiter,FL:A.K.Rice Institute,2000). For a discussion of the impact of a minority leader on the emotionalrealityofgroups,seeKathyE.KramandMarionMcCollomHampton,“WhenWomen Lead: The Visibility-Vulnerability Spiral” in The Psychodynamics ofLeadership, eds. EdwardB.Klein, FaithGabelnick, andPeterHerr (Madison,CT:PsychosocialPress,1998).5. The leader’s role in creating a climate that supports healthy relationships

and a positive focus on the future: Rosamund Stone Zander and BenjaminZander, The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life(Boston:HarvardBusinessSchoolPress,2000).6. High-performing teams: Jon R. Katzenbach and Douglas K. Smith, The

WisdomofTeams(Boston:HarvardBusinessSchoolPress,1993).7.Groupemotional intelligence:VanessaUrchDruskatandStevenB.Wolff,

“GroupEmotionalIntelligenceandItsInfluenceonGroupEffectiveness,”inTheEmotionally IntelligentWorkplace: How to Select For,Measure, and ImproveEmotional Intelligence in Individuals, Groups, andOrganizations, eds. CareyCherniss and Daniel Goleman (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001). See alsoVanessa Urch Druskat and Steven B. Wolff, “Building the EmotionalIntelligenceofGroups,”HarvardBusinessReview,March2001,81–90.8.Groupasawhole:LeroyWells,“TheGroup-as-a-WholePerspectiveandIts

TheoreticalRoots,”inColmanandGeller,eds.,GroupRelationsReader2.9.Whenagroupmember leads:SusanWheelanandFrancesJohnston,“The

Role of Informal Member Leaders in a System Containing Formal Leaders,”SmallGroup Research 27, no. 1 (1996): 33–55. See also Susan A.Wheelan,CreatingEffectiveTeams(ThousandOaks,CA:SagePublications,1999).10.Mindfulness:Thisterm,usedtodescribeaheightenedattentionaboutself,

others,andtheenvironmentonelivesin,isnotoftenusedinthebusinesspress.It is, however, considered fundamental for emotional/psychological health andeffective interpersonal relationships, and foundational in our conceptualizationof self-awareness. At the team level, mindfulness is a set of shared norms,manifestedinbehaviorssuchasattendingtogroupmoods,articulatingunspokenconcernsorhopes,orcallingthegroup’sattentiontodysfunctionalpatterns.Forinteresting perspectives on the subject, see Robert Quinn,Change theWorld:HowOrdinary People Can Accomplish Extraordinary Results (San Francisco:Jossey-Bass,2000);TaraBennett-Goleman,EmotionalAlchemy:HowtheMindCanHealtheHeart(NewYork:HarmonyBooks,2001);HisHolinesstheDalaiLama,The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living (New York: RiverheadBooks, 1998); and Phil Nuerenberger, The Quest for Personal Power:TransformingStressintoStrength(NewYork:G.P.Putnam’sSons,1996).11.Empathyand thesystemsperspective:Emotionally intelligent individuals

and teamspayattention to thewhole system—self, interpersonal relationships,teams, intergroup relationships, organization, outside environment, theinteractionsofstakeholdergroups,andsoforth.Asystemsperspectiveenablespeople and teams to judge how their actionswill affectmultiple stakeholders;this is empathy for thedifferentpartsof the system,aswell as the individualsinvolved.The concept iswell documented in the organizational literature. SeePeter Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the LearningOrganization (NewYork:Doubleday, 1990). See alsoAnthony J.Dibella andEdwinC.Nevis,HowOrganizationsLearn:AnIntegratedStrategyforBuildingLearningCapability(SanFrancisco:Jossey-Bass,1998).12. Paying attention to the undercurrents in the group: Kenwyn Smith and

DavidBerg,ParadoxesofGroupLife(SanFrancisco:Jossey-Bass,1990).13.Behaviorandtheteamlifecycle:Thenotionthatteamsgothroughstages

ofdevelopmentisthebasisforaprimarystreamofresearchongroupdynamicsandteameffectiveness.Forareviewofthetheoryandguidanceonapplicationin business settings, see Susan Wheelan,Group Processes: A DevelopmentalPerspective(Boston:AllynandBacon,1994).14. Team results using the Emotional Competence Inventory: Although the

ECI isgenerallyusedasa360-degree feedback instrument for individuals,we

havefoundthatwhenaggregated,individualscoresonthecompetenciespresenta very interesting and useful picture of the team’s overall strengths andweaknesses.We are currently researching this method of measuring a team’semotional competence; at this point, anecdotal evidence (i.e., the manyconversations we have had with executives and their teams about their data)suggests thataggregatescorespoint tounderlying teamnormsaswellas teamcompetencies.

CHAPTER101.Shoney’s:StephanieN.Mehta, “WhatMinorityEmployeesReallyWant,”

Fortune,10July2000,181.2.Cultureandbehaviorinhealthcareorganizations:BeulahTrey,“Trustinthe

Workplace: Taking the Pulse of Trust between Physicians and HospitalAdministrators”(unpublisheddissertation,UniversityofPennsylvania,1998).3.Attendingtotheorganizationalrealityaspartofthechangeprocess:Annie

McKee and Cecilia McMillen, “Discovering Social Issues: OrganizationalDevelopment in a Multicultural Community,” Journal of Applied BehavioralSciences28,no.3(1992):445–460.Foradiscussionofsocialrealityandhowitrelatestothechangeprocess,seeEdwinC.Nevis,JoanLancourt,andHelenG.Vassallo, Intentional Revolutions: A Seven Point Strategy for TransformingOrganizations(SanFrancisco:Jossey-Bass,1996).4. Dynamic inquiry:McKee andMcMillen, “Discovering Social Issues.” In

thisandotherpublications,wehavealsousedthetermscooperativeinquiryandco-inquiry todescribe theprocessof investigating theunderlyingassumptions,norms, and emotional reality of organizations. We have adopted the phrasedynamic inquiry in our work with organizations to better reflect the actionorientation of our methodology. Cooperative inquiry and co-inquiry arediscussedinEdgarSchein,“OrganizationDevelopment:Science,Technology,orPhilosophy?” (transcript of an address to the Organization DevelopmentDivision,AcademyofManagement,WashingtonDC,1989);andPeterReason,“TheCooperativeInquiryGroup,”inHumanInquiryinAction:DevelopmentsinNewParadigmResearch, ed. Peter Reason (Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1988).AnotherrelevantstreamofpracticeisdiscussedinPeterF.SorensenJr.,DianaWhitney, and Therese F.Yaeger’s chapter inAppreciative Inquiry: RethinkingHuman Organization Toward a Positive Theory of Change, ed. DavidCooperrider(Champaign,IL:StipesPublishing,1999).5. Human resources and emotional intelligence: Ruth L. Jacobs, “Using

Human Resource Functions to Enhance Emotional Intelligence” in TheEmotionally IntelligentWorkplace: How to Select For,Measure, and ImproveEmotional Intelligence in Individuals, Groups, and Organizations, eds. CaryChernissandDanielGoleman(SanFrancisco:Jossey-Bass,2001).6.Attendingtothevision:WarrenBennisandBurtNanus,Leaders:Strategies

forTakingCharge(NewYork:HarperandRow,1985).7. Immunization in the developing world: Monica Sharma and J. Tulloch,

“Commentary:UnfinishedBusiness,”UNICEF,TheProgressofNations1996:Health, <http://www/UNICEF.org/pon96/heunfini.htm> (accessed 10 October2000).8. Challenges facing higher education in the United States, and fostering

emotionally intelligentmanagement to address those challenges:David Smith,“Leadership and Professional Competencies: Serving Higher Education in anEraofChange”(unpublisheddissertation,UniversityofPennsylvania,2000).

CHAPTER111. Organizational learning: Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and

PracticeoftheLearningOrganization(NewYork:Doubleday,1990);andSaritaChawlaandJohnRenesch,eds.,LearningOrganizations:DevelopingCulturesforTomorrow’sWorkplace(Portland,OR:ProductivityPress,1995).2.Trust and confidentiality in the executive coaching relationship:DavidH.

Maister,CharlesH.Green, andRobertM.Galford,TheTrustedAdvisor (NewYork:TheFreePress,2000).3. ADay in the Life: This process was developed by Fran Johnston of the

GestaltInstituteofClevelandinresponsetotheneedtoexpandthetypeofdataavailabletoacoach.Thecoachingprocessisgreatlyenhancedwhenthecoachhasanopportunitytoseetheleaderinaction—andhasexamplestodrawonaspartofthelearningprocess.4.Perceivedweirdnessindex isa termcoinedbyJonnoHanafin,chairof the

International Organization and Systems Development Program of the GestaltInstituteofCleveland, todescribehowtomanage thewaypeople take innew,intriguing,andpossiblythreateninginformationanddifferentapproaches.Inthecontext of leadership development this means that processes—and the peoplefacilitating them—should draw participants in through providing a unique, ifslightlyoutofthebox,approach,withoutbeingsodifferentastoputpeopleoff.5. Adult learning: David Kolb, Experiential Learning: Experience as the

Source of Learning and Development (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall,

1984).6.Actionlearning:Theprincipleswereportherehavebeendevelopedoverthe

yearsinourworkwithleadersandorganizations.Forareviewofgeneralactionlearningprocesses, seeDavidL.Dotlichand JamesL.Noel,ActionLearning:HowtheWorld’sTopCompaniesAreRecreatingTheirLeadersandThemselves(SanFrancisco:Jossey-Bass,1998).7. Connecting the culture with leadership development: Linda Pittari and

Annie McKee, “Getting Bullish about Leadership” (presentation for Linkage,Chicago,2001).

APPENDIXA1.Competencemodels:Thebestcompetencestudiesuseamethodology that

identifiesthespecificcapabilitiesthatdistinguishstarperformersfromaverage,as described in Lyle Spencer and Signe Spencer,Competence at Work (NewYork: Wiley, 1993). Daniel Goleman’s analysis of competence studies isdescribedinhisbookWorkingwithEmotionalIntelligence(NewYork:BantamBooks,1998).2.EI competenciesof outstanding leaders:SeeDanielGoleman, “Emotional

Intelligence: A Theory of Performance,” in The Emotionally IntelligentWorkplace, eds. Cary Cherniss and Daniel Goleman (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,2001).3.IQlevels:SpencerandSpencer,CompetenceatWork.4.EIversusIQ:Thesefindingsdonotreflecttheactualcorrelationsbetween

EIandIQ,whichrangefromzerotomildlypositive,dependingonthemeasuresofeachused(accordingtoreportsbyReuvenBar-OnandJohnMayeratanEIconferenceheld inLondon, 18May 2000). Their findings, however,were notbasedonthemostrigorousstudypossible,whichwouldrequireincludingpeopleacross the whole range of IQ, from mental retardation to genius. But such astudywould be of only academic interestwhen it comes to leadership. In theworkplace, and particularly for leadership in executive, professional, andtechnical roles, those involvedare at thehighendof thebell curve for IQ (asselected for by the educational requirements they had to pass to enter thesecareers).ItisonlyamongthoseattherelativelyhighendoftheIQspectrumthatorganizationsmustmakepracticaldecisionsabout the relativevalueofEI andIQinhiring,successionplanning,andleadershipdevelopment.5. EI competencies distinguish outstanding leaders: Lyle Spencer, “The

Economic Value of Emotional Intelligence Competencies and EIC-Based HR

Programs,”inTheEmotionallyIntelligentWorkplace.6. The incremental profit: Richard Boyatzis, Daniel Goleman, and Kenneth

Rhee, “Clustering Competencies in Emotional Intelligence: Insights from theEmotionalCompetenceInventory,”inTheHandbookofEmotionalIntelligence,eds.ReuvenBar-On and JamesD.Parker (SanFrancisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000),343–362.

ABOUTTHEAUTHORS

DanielGoleman is the authorof the international bestsellingbooksEmotionalIntelligence andWorkingwithEmotional Intelligence. A psychologistwho formany years reported on the brain and behavioral sciences for the New YorkTimes,hehasbeenavisitingfacultymemberatHarvardUniversity.GolemanisCo-chairman of the Consortium for Social and Emotional Learning in theWorkplace, based in the School of Professional and Applied Psychology atRutgers University, which seeks to identify best practices for developingemotional competence. He lectures frequently to professional groups and oncollegecampuses.

Goleman has received many journalistic awards for his writing, includingtwonominationsforthePulitzerPrizeforhisarticlesintheTimes,andaCareerAchievement award from the American Psychological Association. Inrecognitionofhiseffortstocommunicatethebehavioralsciencestothepublic,hewas elected aFellowof theAmericanAssociation for theAdvancementofScience.

RichardBoyatzisisProfessorofOrganizationalBehaviorandChairoftheDepartment of Organizational Behavior at the Weatherhead School ofManagementatCaseWesternReserveUniversity.From1994 to1999,he was responsible for executive education and served as AssociateDeanforExecutiveEducationProgramsattheWeatherheadSchool.

PriortojoiningthefacultyatCaseWestern,BoyatziswasPresidentandCEOofMcBer&Co.andChiefOperatingOfficerofYankelovich,Skelly&Whiteand served on the Board of the Hay Group. Boyatzis is the author of TheCompetent Manager: A Model for Effective Performance and TransformingQualitative Information: Thematic Analysis and Code Development and

coauthor of Innovations in Professional Education: Steps on a Journey fromTeaching to Learning. He is also the author of numerous articles on humanmotivation, self-directed behavior change, leadership, and managerialcompetencies.

Annie McKee serves on the faculty of the University of PennsylvaniaGraduateSchoolofEducation, teachesat theWhartonSchool’sArestyInstitute of Executive Education, and consults to business andorganization leaders worldwide. In these roles, she designs innovativeapproaches to leadership development and works internationally withsenior executives as an adviser, focusing on leadership andorganizationaltransformation.

In recent years,McKeedirected leadership developmentworldwide for theHay Group, was the Managing Director of the Center for ProfessionalDevelopment at the University of Pennsylvania, and taught in the WhartonSchool’sMBAprogram. She haswritten and presented numerous articles andspeechesonsubjectsincludingemotionalintelligence,organizationalchange,thedevelopment of leadership capabilities, management education, managing anincreasinglycomplexworkforce,andactionresearchmethodologies.