Daniel Goleman: biography of the author of Emotional Intelligence

Daniel goleman he is one of the most famous psychologists of recent years, due to the international best-seller of his book: Emotional Intelligence (1995).

Although the concept of emotional intelligence appears in the literature thanks to the American psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer in 1990, it was Goleman who, thanks to the publication of his work, made this concept famous. Today, emotional intelligence is applied in many fields (clinical, organizations, sport ...) because it provides benefits for both mental health and performance (sports or labor).

You can delve into his work in this article: "What is emotional intelligence?"

Biography of Daniel Goleman

Currently, Daniel Goleman lectures for entrepreneurs, teachers, psychologists and other professional groups, but for many years he was a journalist in The New York Timesas he reported on the science of the brain and behavior in the prestigious American newspaper. In his book Emotional Intelligence, he explains that the skills of self-awareness, self-discipline, persistence, or

empathy They are more important to life than IQ (Intelligence Quotient), and he states that ignoring these competencies is a risk for us.

Thus, we must teach children to develop these skills from an early age, because they are beneficial for their future. His work was the best-seller in the ranking The New York Times for a year and a half, with more than 5,000,000 books sold in the world. What's more, it was also a best-seller in Europe, Asia and Latin America, and was translated into almost 30 languages.

• Recommended article: "The benefits of emotional intelligence at work"

Daniel Goleman: a renowned psychologist

Daniel Goleman was born in Stockton, California, where his parents were college professors. His father taught literature at San Joaquin Delta College, while his mother taught sociology classes at Universidad del Pacífico. Goleman, who was a great student, He received his BA and Ph.D. in Clinical Development of Psychology and Personality from Harvard University, where he usually lectures and is a visiting professor.

He currently resides in the Berkshires and is co-chair of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations, which is located at the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University. This institution recommends the best practices for the development of emotional intelligence skills, and promotes rigorous research for greater effectiveness of emotional intelligence in the workplace and organizations.

In addition, Goleman was a co-founder of the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) at the Yale University Child Studies Center (now at the University of Illinois at Chicago), which has as aim to help schools introduce courses in emotional literacy, an important part of communicating emotions. Hundreds of schools around the globe have started implementing these courses.

His early days as a writer: carving out a long life of success

When he was studying at Harvard University, his mentor was David McClelland, a renowned psychologist who developed the famous achievement theory. Thanks to him, Goleman began working at the famous magazine PsychologyToday. Despite the fact that he wanted to be a teacher like his parents, writing caught his attention, and the magazine served him as learning for the rest of his life and for his successful career as a writer and theorist.

His first book was "The Varieties of Meditative Experience", 1977 (later called: "The Paths of Meditation"), in which he described the different meditative systems. In addition to this, Goleman has written the following works:

• Triple focus (2016)
• Focus (2013)
• The brain and emotional intelligence (2013)
• The Power of Emotional Intelligence (2013)
• The Creative Spirit (2009)
• Ecological Intelligence (2009)
• Child and youth emotional intelligence (2009)
• The Blind Spot (2008)
• Transparency: How Leaders Forge a Culture of Honesty (2008)
• Social intelligence. The New Science of Human Relationships (2006)
• Emotional intelligence at work (2005)
• The Resounding Leader Create More (2003)
• Destructive emotions. How to understand and overcome them (2003)
• The Practice of Emotional Intelligence (1999)
• Meditation and Higher States of Consciousness (1997)
• Emotional Health: Conversations with the Dalai Lama (1997)
• Emotional Intelligence (1995)

Obviously, his great work and for which he is world renowned is the book of Emotional intelligence which he wrote in 1995.

Awards and accolades

Daniel Goleman has received various awards for his writing, including an award for his career as a journalist from the APA (American Psychological Association). He was twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and has received numerous awards in recognition of his research and outreach work.

His contribution to Emotional Intelligence

As already mentioned, Goleman made the term emotional intelligence famous when no one was talking about it, and Since then, this construct has been very well received in different areas (company, clinic, education…).

If we stop to think about the importance of our emotions in our daily life we ​​will realize quickly that there are many occasions when these decisively influence our lives, even if we do not account. So, emotional intelligence is key to our mental well-being and our relationships with others.

The psychologist Adrian Triglia, in an article published months ago in Psychology and Mind, affirms that Emotional Intelligence helps people because:

• Improve self-awareness, self-discovery and improves decision-making

• Improve work performance and productivity

• Protects and prevents stress and nervousness

• Improve interpersonal relationships and empathy

• Promotes personal development

• Grants the ability to influence and leadership

• Promotes psychological well-being and emotional balance

• Reduces anxiety and helps overcome depression and sadness

• Increases motivation and helps achieve goals

• Helps you sleep better

You can learn more about the benefits of Emotional Intelligence in our article: "The 10 benefits of emotional intelligence"