Emotions, emotional intelligence, and leadership: From Folkpsychology to neuroscience

Abstract

The concept of Emotional Intelligence (EI) has thoroughly captured the public imagination. It has become absorbed into the vernacular as a description that seems to say something authentic about an important aspect of being human, our emotions, and how to deal with them. To be thought of as “emotionally intelligent” somehow elevates a person, while appearing to be without it is practically considered a character flaw. When applied in organizational contexts, as, for example, in the case of leadership, Goleman enthusiastically declares that “... emotional intelligence is the sine qua non of leadership” (Goleman, 2004, p. 82; Goleman, Boyatzis, & McKee, 2002). Its possession is declared to tru..