Review: Emotional Capitalists

Emotional Capitalists

Book reviews > Emotional Capitalists

Newman, M. (2008). Emotional Capitalists: The New Leaders, Chichester: Wiley

Emotion, once a word not mentioned in business, has of recent years come to the fore, popularized in particular by Daniel Goleman's 'Emotional Intelligence'. This book fits into the emotion category, with a leaning towards the implications for business leaders, though with equal value for general life.

When I saw the book I wondered 'Is this just another EI clone or does it add something new?' Fortunately the answer was the latter. Martyn Newman is a world authority in this area, with two doctorates and two masters degrees, gained in American and Australia, plus significant experience advising leaders in many organizations.

The book is based around the model of emotional ability that Newman has developed (and includes a free online test). This covers key abilities in self reliance, assertiveness, optimism, self-actualization, self-confidence, relationship skills and empathy.

Something I particularly like about the book, and which highlights the author's strong blend of theoretical and practical knowledge, is the balance of examples and research references. Newman thus develops his model whilst showing how to use it and explaining why it is as it is.

Although the book is nominally about leadership, its contents are very largely applicable to anyone who is interested in developing themselves and their ability to work with others.

I don't often get excited about a book, but this one got me going! I read it pretty much at one sitting and scribbled all over it as I went. This is a good sign that I'm learning. My only niggle was that there was some overt promotion of the psychometric instrument, but this is far overshadowed by the excellent content.

Overall, then, the book gets a rare five stars and I must recommend it, not only to leaders and those who aspire to lead, but also to anyone who, for want of a better phrase, 'just wants to be a better person.'