A conversation with Daniel Goleman and Lee Newman

**SPEAKER_2** (0:03)
Welcome to the EnlightED Podcasts, the worldwide conference that focuses on the challenges of education in the new world. Driven by Fundación Telefónica, IE University and South Summit, it gathers leading experts in education, technology, and innovation.
What is emotional intelligence? Why is it so important for academic, professional, and personal success? How is it taught? How does one learn? Don't miss this exciting talk between world-renowned psychologist, Daniel Goleman, author of the theory of emotional intelligence, and Lee Newman, Dean of IE Business School, where you will learn specific techniques and mindfulness to improve as a person and as a professional.

**Lee Newman** (0:53)
Welcome, everyone. It's a pleasure to be here. And, in particular, welcome to Daniel Goleman who should be arriving shortly.
And thank you, Hadi Partovi, for showing us that anyone can code. Hadi mentioned one of the most exciting things that people are coding, which is artificial intelligence, AI. Now it's interesting because AI has gotten a lot better. Our series, our Amazon Alexa, our Google Assistant have become quite smart, and AI at this point can even really read your face and start to recognize your emotions. One of the big questions in computer science is will machines be able to become self-aware? And will eventually machines actually be able to feel what we're feeling?
Open question, and we're definitely not going to answer that today. However, it raises the issue that there's still something special about human intelligence, HI. HI is still different than AI, and there's something special about what we have, special competencies, special skills that we have that computers, at least today, do not. And so there's no better person to be with us today than Daniel Goleman, who is the protagonist for the idea of emotional intelligence, which is a critical part of human intelligence. So welcome.

**Daniel Goleman** (2:21)
And I can't hear Lee at all.

**Lee Newman** (2:23)
Welcome Dan.

**Daniel Goleman** (2:24)
Lee, I don't hear you.

**Lee Newman** (2:30)
So we're having a non-empathetic moment where we're going to switch later and be empathetic when we can hear each other. Can you hear me now?

**Daniel Goleman** (2:37)
I don't know.

**Lee Newman** (2:44)
Well, we may have to bring up Valeria again to code Daniel Goleman. Can you hear us now?
Can you hear us now, Dan?

**Daniel Goleman** (2:58)
I got you.

**Lee Newman** (3:06)
So I was just saying, there's something special about human intelligence, and particularly emotional intelligence, that machines don't quite have yet. And so I wanted to start us off on the same footing, by having Daniel Goleman, Dan Goleman, share with us what exactly is emotional intelligence? What are these special competencies?
And what are the behaviors that distinguish people who have higher and lower emotional intelligence?

**Daniel Goleman** (3:34)
Here's what machines can't do so far, and what people do really well. It's the elements of emotional intelligence. It includes self-awareness, knowing what you're thinking and feeling, and how it's affecting what you do.
Self-management, applying that information to manage your disturbing emotions, to stay focused, to work towards your goals, to stay optimistic, to be adaptable. Tuning in to other people, empathy.
Knowing what they're feeling without them telling you in words, because people never tell us in words, they tell us in non-verbs, tone of voice. And then finally, putting that all together to have highly effective relationships. To be able to influence people, to guide them, to listen, to communicate, to inspire them, to resolve conflicts if you need to. But also to work together as a team toward whatever it is you need to do together.

**Lee Newman** (4:32)
And any of those that are particularly challenging for us, even though there are special skills that computers don't have, any one of them that you think is the one that most people would need to work on?

**Daniel Goleman** (4:45)
I think the common cold of the workplace is poor listening.
Too often we listen in a way where we're thinking about what am I going to say next, rather than what is the person saying to me. Or we cut people off without having them finish the thought, and we take over the conversation. This is frustrating for the other person, but it's all too common.

**Lee Newman** (5:12)
And so we have, just to summarize, so we have self-awareness, we have self-regulation, and we have empathy, and we have this critical skill of human relationships, how we interact with each other. So I think that's a good place just to take a quick pause, and I want to ask each of you to think about those four things. Which one are you strongest at, and which one do you think is the one that you might work on of those four key ingredients of emotional intelligence? Something to think about.