Daniel Goleman 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 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. Nowadays, emotional intelligence is applied in many fields (clinical, organizational, sports…) because it brings benefits both to mental health and to performance (sports or work).

You can read more about his work in this article: “What is emotional intelligence?”

Biography of Daniel Goleman

Currently, Daniel Goleman gives lectures to businessmen, teachers, psychologists and other professional groups , but for many years he was a journalist for The New York Times , as he reported on brain science and behaviour in the prestigious American newspaper. In his book Emotional Intelligence, he explains that the competencies of self-knowledge, self-discipline, persistence or empathy are more important for life than IQ (Intelligence Quotient), and states that ignoring these competencies is a risk for us.

We must therefore teach children to develop these skills from an early age, because they are beneficial to 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 worldwide. In addition, 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 at the University of the Pacific. Goleman, who was a great student, received his B.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and Personality Development from Harvard University , where he often 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 best practices for the development of emotional intelligence skills, and promotes rigorous research for more effective emotional intelligence in the workplace and organizations.

In addition, Goleman co-founded 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 aims to help schools introduce emotional literacy courses, an important part of communicating emotions. Hundreds of schools around the globe have begun implementing these courses.

His beginnings as a writer: working towards a long life of success

When he was studying at Harvard University, his mentor was David McClelland, a renowned psychologist who developed the famous theory of achievement. Thanks to him, Goleman started working at the famous magazine PsychologyToday. Although he wanted to be a professor like his parents, writing caught his attention, and the magazine served as a learning experience 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 Ways 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)
  • Green Intelligence (2009)
  • Child and Adolescent Emotional Intelligence (2009)
  • The blind spot (2008)
  • Transparency: How Leaders Build a Culture of Honesty (2008)
  • Social intelligence. The new science of human relations (2006)
  • Emotional Intelligence at Work (2005)
  • The Resonant Leader Creates 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)

Evidently, his great work and for which he is world renowned is the book by Emotional Intelligence which he wrote in 1995.

Awards and prizes

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

Your contribution to Emotional Intelligence

As already mentioned, Goleman made the term emotional intelligence famous when nobody talked about it, and since then, this construct has been very well received in different areas (business, clinic, education…).

If we stop to think about the transcendence of our emotions in our daily lives, we will quickly realize that there are many occasions in which they have a decisive influence on our lives, even if we do not realize it. Therefore, emotional intelligence is key to our mental well-being and our relationships with others .

The psychologist Adrián Triglia , in an article published months ago in Psychology and Mind , states that emotional intelligence helps people because:

  • Improves self-knowledge, self-discovery and improves decision-making
  • Improves work performance and productivity
  • Protects and prevents stress and nervousness
  • Improves interpersonal relationships and empathy
  • Promotes personal development
  • Gives influence and leadership capacity
  • 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 EQ in our article: “The 10 benefits of EQ”