Leading with Feeling

June 22, 2020
Cherniss (Beyond Burnout), professor of applied psychology at Rutgers, and Roche, a corporate management consultant, argue that emotional intelligence is important in the workplace in this shrewd yet surface-level study. The authors use case studies from fields including private business, social work, and education to illustrate their findings that expressing feelings and concentrating on “underlying emotional dynamics” improves a work environment. They suggest that effective leaders focus on their impact on others, “change perspectives” to understand the viewpoint of coworkers, and respect clear boundaries. While hands-on exercises are offered (such as storytelling prompts and “emotional fingerprint” self-assessments), many of the strategies are simplistic (“consider how your feelings influence others”) or too diffuse (“express emotion but maintain control”). Also lacking is an analysis of how these strategies intersect with organizational norms in different professions, or with cultural biases around race or gender. Readers looking for an introduction to navigating emotions in the workplace may find this helpful, but those looking for a more nuanced take on the complexities of leadership should look elsewhere.