If your schedule allows—and your bookshelves have extra space—reading books or listening to popular podcasts is most likely on your radar!
While a suspenseful mystery or riveting romance might be a perfect distraction at the end of a stressful day, how ‘bout flexing those emotional fitness muscles instead? Learning emotional intelligence will make your life and relationships sweeter AND reduce stress!
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
As an emotional intelligence coach and executive consultant for decades, I get asked continually for recommendations, so I’ve compiled my favorites on emotional intelligence. Some of them are the reference books I covet, others are on a predominant bookshelf with tags, markings, and highlights. If you prefer listening while active, I’ve got you covered with a mix of audios and podcasts, too.
This dish towel says it all: "Coffee because adulting is hard."
Sometimes, adulting IS hard. Juggling work, business, and career, alongside parenting, and relationships plus maintaining physical, mental, and emotional well-being is herculean.
Finding a work-life balance is like a tight-rope walk every day with so many demands on our time.
With such busy lives, learning new stuff is difficult to fit in. It takes real commitment, but it's totally worth it. Learning emotional intelligence can make a huge difference in your life and work.
EQ tools will help you navigate adulthood—AND be successful! Emotional intelligence skills such as self-awareness, motivation, self-regulation and empathy keep us afloat and swimming faster and easier with the currents!
Trust me, if there's any skillset you want to learn and carve into your already full life, it’s to grow your EQ (or emotional quotient). It has a BIG positive impact on our lives and relationships.
We've handpicked the best on emotional intelligence to make the decision easy.
If you’re a reader, you probably have a Kindle, and reading is one of your favorite pastimes. It is for me; I only listen to audios when exercising or traveling.
Fortunately, most of our recommendations can be listened to while you’re on the go. Check them out!
What You Can Expect
Author Forrest Hanson and his father, Dr Rick Hanson, want you to craft a life of wellness. Being Well is an invitation for well-being with simple tips in a very welcoming format! The father and son duo discuss the practical science of attaining long-lasting well-being with guest experts in the science field. Common themes include embracing change, building confidence and overcoming obstacles, like anxiety and procrastination. There's a backlist of over 300 episodes, with new ones launching every Monday!
Why Recommend?
The connection and energy between this father and son make this among the best—and most unique—emotional intelligence podcasts. While the son has no experience in clinical psychology, Forest Hanson bounces questions and ideas off his father, Dr. Rick Hanson. What an incredible balance their different perspectives, ages, and experiences bring the listeners! Their focus on mental health also shows up in multiple episodes.
One of our favorite is How to Change Your Life: Self-Efficacy, Learned Helplessness, and Growth Mindset. The Hansons unpack how to move from feeling 'stuck' in life to active growth in only an hour.
What You Can Expect
Rachael O'Meara has done it all: from author and TEDx Speaker to executive leadership coach. Her book Pause holds a distillation of the nuggets and O'Meara's unique perspective.
Pausecast is a compiling of O'Meara's knowledge in personal development, existentialism, neuroscience, psychology and, of course, emotional intelligence! With her guest experts, O’Meara shares valuable insights into how you can move to the next leadership level. Over 100 episodes—and still going strong—you can look out for a new installment on Tuesdays.
Why Recommend?
Rachael O'Meara continues to guide hundreds of leaders in rising the ranks, including executives at Google, PayPal and other Fortune-500 companies. Episodes like #91 “What Does Emotional Intelligence or EQ Solve?” highlight the work needed for a fulfilling, successful life. That episode in particular explores mastering your EQ, so give it a listen! Much of O'Meara's work—both her book and podcast—explores taking adequate breaks in our pursuit of professional growth.
Listen to her interviews and audio at the Pausecast. Or buy her book, Pause.
What You Can Expect
With his decades’ worth of experience in the Emotional Intelligence space, Daniel Goleman uncovers the secret to great leadership. FOCUS is Goleman’s brainchild of all his research. While distractions are a problem, especially in today's tech age, Goleman draws our attention to how to perform at our top potential. He cements this concept further with his triple focus concept, highlighting that focus can be inner, other, and outer.
Why Recommend?
The intersection of emotional intelligence and leadership becomes clearer with Goleman’s explanations. The ‘triple focus’ approach, for example, is crucial to different fields. From athletes to artists—and especially leaders—adapting greater ‘inner’, ‘other’ and ‘outer’ focus points is important. Inner tackles our self-awareness; other tackles our interpersonal relationships; outer is how we interact with the world. Together, this threesome, as Goleman puts it in FOCUS, improves mindfulness and performance.
What You Can Expect
Learn about Emotional Intelligence straight from the source with Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence. This book and audio bridges the gap between IQ (intelligence) and EQ (emotional quotient). His framework involves using all five elements of EQ—Self-awareness, Self-regulation, Motivation, Empathy and Social Skills—all facets of your life.
Why Recommend?
Our recommendation list would not be complete without Emotional Intelligence—the book that started it all!
With over 5 million copies in print in 30 different languages, Daniel Goleman’s timing could not have been better! It’s a must-read (or listen).
Daniel Goleman first coined the term in 1995 and remains the go-to thought leader in emotional intelligence. The benefits of high EQ can help you become more compassionate, successful and influential—while also making society more harmonious and collaborative. The Emotional Intelligence audiobook also features an exclusive segment between Daniel Goleman and Professor Jon Kabat-Zinn.
What You Can Expect
Published 14 years after Daniel Goleman’s work, author Travis Bradberry proposes a new and insightful approach to emotional intelligence. In Emotional Intelligence 2.0, Bradberry breaks EQ down into four core elements: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, and Relationship Management. His user-friendly language and personal anecdotes give a fresh look at EQ as a remedy to competitive environments and turbulent dynamics.
Why Recommend?
Bradberry’s inclusion of Social Awareness and Relationship Management as elements of emotional intelligence is well justified! Social Awareness refers to identifying social cues to understand those around you. Bradberry encourages us to be active listeners—don’t interrupt for the sake of getting words in!
Audiobook listeners also receive exclusive content: Access to Bradberry’s online assessment tool. After entering your unique code, you can measure your own EQ levels so the audiobook can share personalized strategies for your improvement.
Studies show that those with higher EQ levels earn $29,000 more on average than those who don’t? This research doesn’t apply only to managers, supervisors and CEOs either!
Regardless of what chapter of your professional life you’re in, these resources are some of the best on emotional intelligence for business and leaders:
What You Can Expect
The same skills that make interactions between your partner and your kids seamless, can be applied in the workplace!
Written with leaders and managers in mind, the book Executive EQ argues that an emotionally intelligent organization is within your reach. A foundational book for all leaders and executives. Robert Cooper and Ayman Sawaf’s solid EQ framework is applicable for every modern-day workplace.
Why Recommend?
Executive EQ, an evergreen book, is one of my favorite reference books. It continues to give me gems every time I read it; the authors are insightful and thorough. Cooper and Sawaf split the book into four foundational cornerstones but one of my favorites is the second. They dedicate an entire section to Resilience and Renewal, with practical suggestions to strengthen your EQ fortitude. In today’s world, resiliency is essential to the well-being of every leader and manager. Emotional intelligence plays a key role in navigating the our professional lives.
What You Can Expect
World-recognized CEO coach Kevin Cashman zeroes in on the relationship between personal growth and leadership in Leadership from the Inside Out. You can’t lead authentically without first reflecting on yourself—and learning to LEAD yourself! To unlock your true potential, he believes you must tap into your core values; only then does Cashman think we can lead with impact and understanding.
Why Recommend?
Cashman proposes a new concept of the ‘Grow Model’ for self-discovery and growth. This model is broken into Groundedness, Realness, Others First, Wisdom In Action, and Self-Awareness, which comprise the Grow Model—and are explored in great detail!
Cashman’s years of coaching and his trademark approach rivet on the core concept that I continually teach myself: “We lead by virtue of who we are.” This premise is at the center of every emotional intelligence training I do. To support and reinforce this concept, Cashman shares insightful case studies and tips for success.
Get it now!
What You Can Expect
More often than not, some organizations shun those who lean into their emotions. But, what if that’s the right way to approach leading? Daniel Goleman agrees, posing EQ as a vital part of effective leaders in Primal Leadership. Leaders who acknowledge and manage emotions are the backbone of positive work climates and high-performing teams.
Why Recommend?
‘Primal’ implies that this action should be instinctive and take first priority. Leaders who lean into their emotional intelligence skills are likelier to engage and motivate their team members. Goleman shares six leadership styles—four of which are positive and highly emotionally intelligent: Visionary, Coaching, Affiliative and Democratic. Each style is given countless real-world examples of a leader in action to draw inspiration from, which are one of our favorite things about Primal Leadership.
What You Can Expect
The Harvard Business Review (HBR) is the leading hub for smart management thinking. With the help of Daniel Goleman and other thought leaders, HBR encourages us to be ‘human’ at work across six volumes: Mindfulness, Resilience, Influence and Persuasion, Authentic Leadership, Happiness and Empathy. The HBR Emotional Intelligence Boxed Set highlights the critical need for emotional intelligence in our leaders.
Why Recommend?
It’s no secret that the five elements of EQ—Self-awareness, Self-regulation, Empathy, Motivation and Social Skills—make us more rounded and effective at communicating. Each HBR Emotional Intelligence Boxed Set volume tackles these elements in great detail. For example, ‘Resilience’ focuses on facing our challenges and setbacks head-on. We highly recommend this HBR boxed set for attention to detail and practical strategies to incorporate each in your work environment.
What You Can Expect
Effective leadership is nothing without high emotional intelligence, regardless of your IQ or degree. In fact, Daniel Goleman’s Working with Intelligence emphasizes how EQ absolutely trumps everything else! When leaders lean into elements of EQ, they are more likely to overcome challenges, strengthen work relationships and contribute to a positive work environment.
Why Recommend?
What sets Working with Emotional Intelligence apart from other self-help books is Goleman’s look at ‘emotional literacy’. Emotional literacy is using your self-awareness, recognizing your feelings and managing them accordingly. Think reassuring/encouraging yourself even when you’re knee-deep in doubt. With emotional literacy at the forefront, we can safely—and seamlessly—navigate water cooler chats and workplace delegation.
Learn how to work with EQ today!
What You Can Expect
In Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?, entrepreneur Seth Godin encourages you to strive to be a better employee—a linchpin, as he calls it. Linchpins rival the average employee by being more creative, challenging and courageous. By pushing past the things we resist—like fear of rejection or failure—we can join the ranks of linchpins and make ourselves indispensable.
Why Recommend?
Not everyone prioritizes lifelong learning, but Godin advocates it should be a priority! His use of real-life linchpins effectively shows what success can look like for anyone. Whether working at a coffee shop like David or landing a dream job with no resume like Jason! Godin accomplishes his point through stories about colleagues of his, who are excelling in their different lines of work as linchpins. BE A LINCHPIN—explore this essential work!
What You Can Expect
Whether you’re a leader, looking for a promotion, or have your own business, ending our list is a book that blends productivity and time management into one. Gary Keller and Jay Papasan’s The ONE Thing encourages readers to focus on a single thing at a time and illustrate the power of that single focus. Having fewer distractions and less to-do list items is actually much better for you! Keller and Papasan share practical advice to help you accomplish your goals—one thing at a time.
Why Recommend?
We understand your skepticism: How can you devote your time and energy to only one thing? As a person who often juggles a multitude of projects simultaneously, initially, I felt the same. Yet, I've put this single-mindedness into practice with great results. I even have his question framed on my desk to remind me to focus on what is MOST important.
Keller and Papasan make a convincing argument. Your one thing is a cut above the rest—something that holds greater priority or makes other tasks easier or irrelevant! The "domino effect," where tiny actions lead to big results is something to implement. Through better self-management and targeted goal-setting, we can achieve greater productivity in business, leadership and our lives.
Get The One Thing!
There you have it: Heartmanity’s top picks for the best emotional intelligence books, audiobooks, and podcasts!
Emotional intelligence may seem insurmountable, but we promise it’s easier than you think.
Think of it like this: Wherever communication is, emotional intelligence is the most significant key! We can’t begin to understand and relate to each other without first tapping into the most human parts of ourselves. Make one small change and everything is impacted.
Start small. Grab one of the best tools for EQ.
Related reading: "What Is Emotional Intelligence?"
If you need help unlocking your toolkit of EQ-based skills and desire emotional intelligence coaching or executive coaching customized to you, don’t hesitate to reach out.
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