Emotional Intelligence Theory & Book Review
When the
concept was groundbreaking, I read Daniel Goleman’s ‘Emotional Intelligence.’
Goleman’s book is perhaps more informative, while Bradberry and Greaves’ version
is a more interactive tutorial approach.
In fact, when you buy ‘Emotional Intelligence 2.0’
you receive a passcode to their website where you can test your EQ and if
necessary, learn to increase it. For
many, this hands-on learning approach could be wonderfully therapeutic. In my
meager opinion, the website is more interesting than the book, but keep in
mind, the concept is not new to me, because I read Daniel Goleman’s book
several years ago.
In reality,
emotional intelligence is a theory developed by Peter Salovey and John Mayer.
- Mayer & Salovey, 1997
Keeping that in mind, Daniel Goleman used the Mayer & Salovey theory to develop the five components of emotional intelligence. The purpose of the theory and the five components are awareness and to learn to use this self-awareness proactively to make positive changes in your behavior for you and those around you. This ultimately leads to a happier, more productive, life.
The five
components in paraphrase…
Self-awareness
is the cornerstone as the other four rely heavily on an individual’s ability to
master this one. Self-awareness is all about understanding and recognizing how
your mood affects you and perhaps more importantly, how it affects those people
around you.
Self-regulation-
which is your ability to control your urges, impulses and mood, Goleman claims
this is about a person’s ability to suspend judgement and be trustworthy.
Internal
motivation-this is passion and Goleman points out that it is the motivation to
do a job or task without money as a factor.
Empathy-
understanding others on an emotional level, and mastering the ability to
recognize and imagine how another person might feel in general and/or due to a
given circumstance and finally, treating and interacting with them accordingly.
Social-skills-
making friends, having healthy relationships with other people, in the end, I
believe this is the prize and maybe proof that an individual mastered the other
four. On the contrary, if this is a problematic area in your life, one of these
books and possibly the interactive website is a great idea.
Be that as
it may, it is important to understand that many people are masters at emotional
intelligence, yet use it in a negative way. These people tend to lack empathy
and suffer from emotional and/or mental illness. Consequently, sociopaths fall
into this category along with anyone that enjoys or craves the negative results
they can obtain with the same knowledge. Of course, these individuals likely
developed this knowledge early in life without the help of Daniel Goleman or
Mayer & Salovey.
In any
event, emotional intelligence is an important attribute and deserves attention
from anyone willing to take the time to make changes or simply understand self
and other humans. ‘Emotional Intelligence 2.0’ by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves
is a more tutorial interactive choice with access to the website. ‘Emotional Intelligence’ by Daniel Goleman
delves deeper and more academically into the theory.
Whatever
your choice might be, I suggest a bound edition as this is a subject to read,
and learn and eventually being able to shuffle through the pages for later reference
is nice. I absolutely did not enjoy the audio version of Emotional Intelligence
2.0 and would definitely advise against that version.
Review by Sammy Sutton |
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