Daniel Goleman

Background

About Daniel Goleman

Daniel Goleman is the author of the best-selling Emotional Intelligence, as well as many other works in emotional and social intelligence, leadership, and education. He is also a psychologist, former science journalist for the New York Times, and co-director of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. He lectures frequently to professional audiences. Daniel has a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College, and a PhD in clinical psychology and personality development from Harvard, where he also taught. He received the 2023 Centennial Medal from Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences for “excellence in communicating science” and for his influence on education, business, and society at large. During the early part of his career, Daniel traveled extensively to India to pursue his interests in Asian traditions and meditation, which inspired his first book, The Meditative Mind, and created lifelong relationships with fellow thinkers, writers, and researchers in the field of contemplative science. Dr. Goleman’s most recent book, written with long-time colleague and friend, neuroscientist Richard J. Davidson, is Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body. His work as a science journalist led Daniel to write his breakthrough book, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. EI, as Goleman defines it, has four parts: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. He has co-designed flagship emotional intelligence online learning journeys that combine guided facilitation, evidence-based knowledge of what drives meaningful behavioral change, and the experiences that build impactful EI competencies. He has also published a set of primers, each focusing on one of the twelve competencies in the Emotional and Social Intelligence Leadership competency model he developed with Richard Boyatzis, which includes contributions from over a dozen experts in applying EI competencies to leadership and organizational settings.