The NTL Handbook of Organization Development and Change: Principles, Practices, and Perspectives, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHTTHE POWER OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND HOW TO CREATE RESONANCE AT WORK^a

Annie McKee and Frances Johnston^b

Emotional intelligence differentiates good leaders from the average, and the average from the demagogues who claim our attention far too often at work (Goleman, Boyatzis, & McKee, 2002, 2013; McKee, Boyatzis, & Johnston, 2008). In the workplace, emotions—and emotional intelligence—are often dismissed as “soft” and unnecessary. What a naïve outlook! We feel before we think, so it’s impossible to pull cognition—or good decision making—away from feelings. Our feelings impact our capacity to take in new information, process data, adapt, learn, create, and grow (Boyatzis, 2006). Similarly, thinking creatively is inextricably ...