When people feel good, they think and work more efficiently, with positive results on creativity, customer relationships, staff retention and revenue.
In his book Primal Leadership, Daniel Goleman argues that the number one trait of any good leader is her Emotional Intelligence and her ability to connect and engage with her followers. In the book Goleman also describes his six types of leaders. One of them being the resonant leader.
According to Goleman a resonant leader will create a positive mood throughout the organisation, encouraging everyone to want to contribute at their best. A dissonant leader, who engenders a climate of anxiety, doubt or irritability, will act as a brake on the performance of the whole organisation. As Goleman writes: Resonance occurs when two people are on the same wavelength emotionally, when they feel in synch. Just like to original meaning of the word: Synchrony.”
Daniel Goleman is properly most famous for the concept of Emotional Intelligence that he detailed in his best-selling book “Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ”. Back then the concept of Emotional Intelligence had more success among the general population than among scientists and psychologists, mainly because they struggled to measure it.
In my view the first part of Primal Leadership is really good. If you have read any of his other books the second part is less interesting, it even lost me on some occasions. Yet the 6 styles of leadership can for most of us be very interesting reading.
To me this is an important book if for no other reason than its popularisation of the idea that we need resonant attuned managers.
I will not add a photo of the book nor of Daniel Goleman himself. The photo I have decided to share is the one of some beautiful Water Lilies together with myself during a Summer month … The Water Lilies being a flower which transform themselves in order to become something better and continue their life cycles. They also have many benefits for the environment they live in. For example, they become a filter and end up purifying the water where they float. This helps other aquatic plants that live nearby Water Lilies and will also help the fish that can be found in the ponds. Just like what resonant leadership can give to the organisation and all this you can read more about in the book.
