Rating: 
Summary: Easily digestable, high re-readability and worth keeping
Review: There are many books on leadership and this book stands out with its light and non-technical writing style.The first part of the book provides a good introduction to the science behind leadership and describes some common leadership styles. I particularly enjoyed the discussion on how moods 'resonate' among people in a group. It certainly gave me a new perspective on my relationship with my teammates.
In the middle portion of the book, the author describes the process by which one may learn to be a better leader. "My ideal self", "My real self", "My learning agenda", "experimenting and practicing", "developing and sustaining". The reader who is looking for specific instructions in how to become a better leader will probably be disappointed. Nonetheless, this book is a good start and the proposed guidelines are light and easy enough for those with lesser motivations (me!) to actually get started on these processes. The last part of the book describes emotional intelligence when applied to teams and organization, a topic that can easily expand to another book. This book does provide a good overview, for more detailed information, I believe that there are many other books on these topics. An interesting point bought up was how difficult it is to change our default neural path and do something different from what we are used to. But our brains can be 'rewired' with sufficient practice and repetition, thus making the new paths more dominant. Simply: "habits are hard to change but if you do, they stick". I find that pretty true! All views expressed here are from a 26yr old software engineer in Singapore. The book is also published under the title of "The New Leaders", ISBN 0316857661.
Rating: 
Summary: Falls short on what it could have been.
Review: I had high hopes for this book. I do believe in primal leadership, that there is a real, biological basis to what does and doesn't work in leadership. Basically leadership is going from an art to a science, and it's this biologically based approach which will get us there. The problem with this book is that it's way too fluffy. There are lots of "case studies" with quite frankly poor science in them. I just got really discouraged to see the text stay so high level, and make grand statements without backing them up. What I was left with was a number of "you should do this" type things, but without enough specifics on why or how to be useful. It's too bad because the concept of primal leadership is great. For some reason Goleman didn't deliver. Where to go? Maybe check out "Working with Emotional Intelligence" by Goleman, which is pretty good. Or check out "Generation to Generation" by Edwin Friedman, which I see as the "Rosetta stone" work between high level leadership and the biology underneath. Even better would be "A Failure of Nerve--Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix" also by Friedman, except that you can only order it directly from his estate.
Rating:
Summary: Leading Intelligently
Review: Primal Leadership,Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence, is one of the more innovative studies of leadership. This book shows how using the power of emotional intelligence, creates leaders who inspire those they lead to reach their maximum potential. The book is very readable--both in clear, concise writing style and in the selections of examples from contemporary leadership. The book is current enough to include references to September 11th, and the leadership examples of today that impact our lives in the future. The explanation of using emotional intelligence to lead is very clear and set up up specific order. It is made clear, by the authors, that every individual can be a leader--they are born with the tools of leadership and by actively employing those tools they can excel and inspire others to excellence. Whether you are reading this book for yourself, for your business, school or sports team--you will find methods of positive self-development in addition to methods of developing those around you. You may purchase this book simply as a learning tool, but you will find that it is a pleasure to read. I'm looking forward to the next book from these authors!
Rating: 
Summary: Forest or The Trees?
Review: TITLE: Forest or The Trees? REVIEW: I agreed with a lot of what Goleman has to say in Primal Leadership and I'm fairly sympathetic to his general theme that much existing management theory and teachings lie too much on the analytical/reasoning side and do not put enough emphasis on the "softer"/psychological issues. However, while many of Goleman's statements and cited research make sense (the "trees") they often don't seem to fit well within his model/theory (the "forest"), which is overly one-dimensional in stating basically that "emotional intelligence" (EI) competencies are the be all and end all of leadership. Goleman's theory, which seems to be based on his statement that "the emotional task is the original and most important", swings the pendulum too far in the anti-analytical direction. He makes the same mistake as many of his analytical colleagues do/did in assuming that there is one ideal leadership mold to which everyone should be shaped into. The purpose of the book is to get the reader to understand Goleman's emotional intelligence (EI) mold for the ideal leader and how to fit this mold. Goleman lists 19 EI competencies that the ideal leader should have. First, note that many of the competencies are not simply emotional, but require reasoning skills/abilities. Second, while it is true that these competencies are good to have, it is folly to expect one individual to try to obtain all of these. This is a throwback to the myth of the well-rounded organizational man of the 1950s IBM which has been discredited. One should focus on their strengths and manage their weaknesses, not become a well rounded person in all these competencies. The other major disappointment I have with Primal Leadership is the same that I have with most books on "leadership". As Peter Drucker has taught, the only definition of a leader is someone who has followers. This definition includes Hitler, Jim Jones, David Koresh and all con artists who all knew/know how to appeal to human emotions to get people to do what they want. Books on "leadership" assume that leadership equates to management. While this difference may seem trivial and harmless it isn't upon deeper reflection. The primary goal of managers isn't simply to be a leader, that is to have followers, but rather to do the right things, make the organization effective/produce results, and assist employees in being productive. Goleman does succeed to some extent in identifying what is helpful in creating followers, but it's the wrong focus. STRENGTHS: The book is fairly well written, well organized, and easy to read as one would expect of a mass market Harvard Business School Press book. Also, I especially enjoyed the discussion of the importance of organizational vision and the importance of the culture of groups. WEAKNESSES: One-sided focus on emotional tasks. Tries to teach the reader how to be the ideal leader (i.e. the Tiger Woods of Leadership) instead of giving the tools and information needed to help average people (which most of us are) become more effective. Most example come from dysfunctional, rather than typical, situations. ALSO CONSIDER: Peter Drucker for effective management teachings. Marcus Buckingham for the opposite of the "one-size-fits-all" management theory.
Rating:
Summary: Read, if your a leader desiring increased trust and power
Review: Where there is no vision the people perish. Leaders from the most profitable businesses don't need to inflate their emotional competencies ratings because the people supporting and working for them will provide an accurate rating. Visionary leaders paint a larger picture illustrating the purpose for the organization. Visionary leaders have the ability to increase corporate focus and enthusiam. The leader is the focal point of the organization. Everyone looks to the leader during a crisis. Leaders who are empathic and understanding impact people both personally and professionally. Workers measure their performance based on expectations and feedback provided by their leaders. The book "Primal Leadership" describes a perception and behavioral model for to help leaders change behavior and significantly improve their organizations. "Primal Leadership" attempts to gain the readers focus by illustrating a new leadership model, a leadership model centered on emotional perception where increased trust is transferred to the leader through iterative improvement. Elements to the model are ideal self, realistic self, planning agenda, and behavior modification. The authors authors original emotional competencies remain: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, and Relationship Management with these competencies helped us measure the quality of leader, but does not necessary describe how to improve a leader. "Primal Leadership" goes to the next step by providing an leadership model designed to strengthen an leader by empowering for greater impact through greater levels of trust. The organization improves as the result of leadership improvement. The leader looks first at the ideal condition. "Describe what you want to be doing in fifteen years". The ideal condition describes the future and drops the barriers of reject and fear. The interesting observation is that 80 percent of the ideal has nothing to do with work. The ideal condition feeds into planned agenda. The planned agenda conceptualizes a course of action to achieve the ideal.
The ideal self plans for and builds the future of the company. Without an vision new product lines and service centers would not likely be created. The ideal self has the potential to energize the company. The realistic self narrows the focus to the leaders strengths. Diversity is the enemy with increased product and service not leading to increased profits. Diversity is often viewed as method to improve profit, but more often a long term drain on the company. The key is to narrow the range of products and services to those where the strongest core competencies exist. The realistic self helps center the leader back to the areas where clients are willing to pay the most money. The realistic self keeps the company from engaging in activities that lose money. Faith, hard work, and practice facilitate behavior modification. The paradim "You can't teaching a old dog new tricks" is not true. Leaders are expected to improve behavior. The authors go to great lengths to explain when command , coaching, and democratic styles of leadership work; but fall back to the visionary leader as having the greatest long term impact on an organization. Behavior modification can dramatically change the organization culture. The model works to gain the trust of all members in the organization. It works to gain an deeper understanding of "how well the leader is doing" and "how to improve behavior". I think "Primal Leadership" is an excellent book.
Rating:
Summary: I Found This Book To Be Useful
Review: "Primal Leadership" cuts to the quick when it talks about emotional intelligence. Some scholarly type reviewers have criticized Mr. Goleman for not being up to speed on the latest scholarly research. Others out here in the business world say it is too scholarly, not practical enough. What's that old saying about pleasing people? I think, for the purpose he intended it, the author knew what he was doing. I say it is a very useful book. It only lacks giving a reader the philosophical basics for an understanding of what leadership is. But, in all fairness, that is beyond the scope of this book which I now recommend to you as probably one of the few reviewers who has actually read the book.
Also recommended: "West Point: Character Leadership Education.." by Norman Thomas Remick (for the philosophical basics).
Rating: 
Summary: Just like my boss...
Review: I'm listening to the audio book version of Primal Leadership and I think it's fantastic. Goleman's approach takes Emotional Intelligence into the Business world and shows its many applications. He cites examples of effective managers that use emotional tools to manage better and it is a good read. To some degree, he's putting common sense to work. It's pretty obvious that managers with out of control emotions do not earn the respect of their employees. However, Goleman quantifies this with statistics and examples that are fascinating to read (or hear). I really like hearing about the role of empathy and honesty when approaching your employees. My current boss is like the "coach" that Goleman describes. I completely trust my boss because I know he is acting with my best interests at heart. My boss is sincere and cares about my future with the company. In fact, I'm considering having a long distance marriage in the future just to continue working where I work and under my current boss. The principles of Emotional Intelligence are vastly underutilized in today's companies and I know my boss is a rare find. I'm giving this book four stars instead of five because Goleman does have a tendency to repeat himself. He sounds like a broken record and I have wondered if his editor didn't read all of the chapters. I want to tell Goleman that 'we get it already,' but on the whole, the novel hits home. I already have list of managers at work who will randomly receive copies of this book from Santa! <wink, wink>
Rating: 
Summary: Old wine in new bottles
Review: As a professor of organizational behavior I fully embrace the concept and notion of emotional intelligence, but not how Goleman has defined it. Others have done more solid work than has Goleman, but unfortunately they have not received much credit. Serious scholars of intelligence (social, emotional, or practical) don't really take Goleman very seriously, and it is sad to see "hype" and attention Goleman gets. As regards Mr. Goleman's recent escapades into leadership all I can say is that what he has recently discovered has [already] been discussed previously by many scholars of charismatic leadership (and related theories of inspirational, and Pygmalion leadership).
Rating:
Summary: Insight to an art...
Review: Primal Leadership takes what many think of as 'common sense' and presents it in a manner that brings real insight to the art of leadership. This is a great read for individuals looking to improve themselves. Leadership is not only important in the business world, but life in general. The book is a bit repetitious; however, it ensures complete understanding. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Emotional Intelligence: A New Look at Leadership
Review: Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee make excellent use of decades of organizational research. Insightful and well written. The authors provide a unique perspective on leadership and how emotional intelligence influences a leader's ability to relate with others. Easy to read and understand, the authors maintain that emotional intelligence can make the difference between organizational success and failure. Simply put, emotional intelligence impacts the bottom-line. Human emotion is an open-looped system influenced by rational thought and emotional stimuli. The nature of human emotion is carefully examined by the authors and shown to be a primary component in human relationships. The authors proclaim that Emotional Intelligence (EI) can be learned and practiced and when used as a leadership attribute can provide the aspiring leader with emotional competencies necessary to create lasting and productive relationships. The authors illuminate the importance of emotional intelligence and provide scientific evidence of its benefit; emotional intelligence bridges the relational gap between the leader and the led and provides a means to create healthy, functional, and productive relationships. Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee use their research and the research of others to skillfully demonstrate the importance of interpersonal relationships within an organizational context. The authors maintain that leaders create either "Resonance" or "Dissonance" when they interact with others. The authors provide ample evidence that leaders and those who aspire to lead do well to understanding and empathize with those they seek to influence on an emotional level and create "resonance", a connection on a profound emotional and intellectual level. Leadership within an organizational context is concerned mainly with increased productivity; which the authors maintain occurs when the quality of human interaction in increased and "Dissonance" is decreased. The authors provide many examples of how emotionally intelligent leaders cultivate relationships, create positive cultures, and increase bottom-line performance.
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