Books by Daniel Goleman 
School Administrator, October 2021


Several books on organizational leadership by Daniel Goleman carry particular relevance for school leaders. Here’s what resonated for me in three of his works. 

»Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ (1995)

Goleman’s groundbreaking international bestseller was a game changer for understanding the components of a successful leader. There are countless leaders with high IQs and great technical skills who are not succeeding in their leadership positions. Goleman posits that the most successful leaders also have a high EQ or what has come to be known as Emotional Intelligence.

The foundations of EQ are self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. A synopsis of the terms can be found in Goleman’s article “What Makes a Leader,’’ which was named by the Harvard Business Review as one of its 10 “must read” articles. 

»Primal Leadership: Unleashing the Power of Emotional Intelligence (2001)

Primal leadership refers to the emotional dimensions of leadership. In Goleman’s words, “a leader’s primal task is an emotional one — to articulate a message that resonates with their followers’ emotional reality, with their sense of purpose, to move people in a positive direction. Leadership, after all, is the art of getting work done through other people.”

This book helps leaders understand that how they lead matters, the climate they create in their district matters and the feeling tone of the workplace matters. 

»Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence (2013)

As superintendents, we are relentlessly “pinged” by our technological devices with alerts, text messages, direct messages, tweets, likes and old-fashioned phone calls. I start most meetings by reminding people to set aside their “disruptive appendages” to put attention on the topic and or speaker at hand.

In this book, Goleman too asserts that what we need is focus — not so much that we have tunnel vision, but not too little that we are distracted by every little thing. “Open awareness lies in a particularly fertile area between the poles,” Goleman writes, and this book reminds us that we must resist the distractions and continue to sharpen our focus for effective leadership.

— JULIE VITALE