Emotional Intelligence

Introduction

I was sitting next to a gentleman at a seminar in early 2019 when we were asked to turn to the person next to us and talk about some of the biggest blockages in the workplace.

I had taken my seat just as the seminar commenced and was yet to meet him. He turned out to be a very friendly, highly respected author and an experienced leadership and performance consultant with more than 30 years’ experience. He turned to me and said, ‘On a side note from the biggest blockages, you know what drives me crazy? These new, so‐called emotional intelligence specialists that are coming into businesses and softening everyone up. You know, where no‐one can do wrong, everyone is hard done by and everyone is always right.’

At this point, he knew my name but had no idea what I did for a living. For the next few minutes, I listened to him tell me exactly what he thought of these ‘so‐called emotional intelligence specialists’ before the activity ended and our attention refocused on the seminar speaker. At the end of the seminar, he instantly turned to me to continue to vent his very emotional frustrations but instead I asked him to tell me more about what he did.

His face instantly lit up as he started to speak of his true passion. I heard all about the amazing new book he was finalising, which had been inspired by well‐known leadership figures, including big names such as Simon Sinek. The book encompasses areas such as building performance, communication and other leadership skills. ...