I came across the emerging research on emotional intelligence about 10 years ago. Having focused much of my own personal development on these issues and then making the training and development of these “soft” skills my life’s work since 1981, I was really excited by this new research. Finally we had hard proof for the personal and professional pay-offs of these “soft” skills! I began incorporating the burgeoning EI research into my presentations and books.

You can view videos clips of me giving an EI overview here (scroll down to “Lessons from the Emotional Intelligence Research”). You can also find references to EI in some of my Management-Leadership Balance book excerpts and articles at http://www.clemmer.net/articles/subject_2.aspx.

Both Growing the Distance and The Leader’s Digest feature sections on EI and provide detailed steps for improving it.

Writer, Diann Daniel, interviewed me a few months ago for an article she was writing for CIO and CSO magazines. She also interviewed Daniel Goleman and other leading EI researchers and writers. The resulting article (“Soft Skills for CIOs and Aspiring CIOs: Four Ways to Boost Your Emotional Intelligence”) is excellent. You can read it online at http://www.cio.com/article/121200/Soft_Skills_for_CIOs_and_Aspiring_CIOs_Four_Ways_to_Boost_Your_Emotional_Intelligence/1.

I’d love to get your experiences with personally developing your own EI as well as any approaches you’ve found useful to help others build these vital skills. E-mail me at Jim.Clemmer@Clemmer.net.