Richard Boyatzis

Emotional Intelligence Expert and Leadership Coach | Bestselling author of "Primal Leadership" and "Resonant Leadership"
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Author and professor Richard Boyatzis is a world-renowned expert in emotional intelligence, leadership development, and coaching. His work focuses on leadership effectiveness and change at all levels by going in-depth on the neural and hormonal processes within the leader that help or hinder performance; building more renewal than stress; cultivating and nurturing better relationships; and inspiring learning and change in oneself and others.

Boyatzis is one of five people who started the competency movement in HR and was twice ranked as one of the top 10 “Most Influential International Thinkers” by HR Magazine. He was also named one of the World's Top 2% Scientists, a list compiled by Stanford honoring the most-cited scientists across the length of their career. His research on human behavior has revolutionized management education and helped spawn a new industry of competency consultants, researchers, academics, and executive coaches. Over 1,500,000 students from 215 countries have enrolled in his online Coursera courses on leadership and coaching, including "Inspiring Leadership Through Emotional Intelligence."

His Intentional Change Theory (ICT) and complexity theory predict how individual, dyad, team, organizational, community, and global sustained, desired changes occur. He describes ICT as an exploration of "how and why people change. It is a way of thinking about your talent, who you are, and what you want to do with it. My hope is that we can rediscover the power of the human spirit.

A frequent lecturer throughout Europe and the U.S., Boyatzis has written nine books and over 250 articles on leadership, behavioral change, coaching, emotional intelligence, neuroscience, and managerial competencies. He has consulted with Fortune 500 companies, educational and health organizations, government agencies, and firms worldwide on organizational change, leadership and team development, competency assessment, and performance appraisal.

Boyatzis co-wrote the iconic bestseller Primal Leadership: Learning to Lead with Emotional Intelligence with Annie McKee and Daniel Goleman. The book unveiled scientific evidence that a leader’s emotional competencies have an enormous impact on an organization’s bottom line. Primal Leadership has been translated into 31 languages. His book, Becoming a Resonant Leader (co-written with McKee and Fran Johnston), the companion workbook to Resonant Leadership, draws from extensive multidisciplinary research and outlines concrete ways to create the resonance that fuels outstanding leadership. According to Boyatzis, resonant leaders, by establishing deep emotional connections with others, bring out the best in their people and build resilient, adaptive organizations.

Boyatzis also co-authored the book Helping People Change: Coaching with Compassion for Lifelong Learning and Growth, a practical look at developing others and inspiring people to be open to learning and change, with moving real-life stories and three decade’s worth of published research for leaders, managers, therapists, teachers, physicians, nurses, and parents.

Boyatzis is a Distinguished University Professor at Case Western Reserve University, as well as a Professor in the Departments of Organizational Behavior, Psychology, and Cognitive Science. Before turning to academia, he was CEO of research consulting firm McBer & Company (now part of the Hay Group/Korn Ferry) for 11 years and COO of market research company Yankelovich, Skelly & White for three years.

A fellow of the Association of Psychological Science, American Psychological Association, and the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Boyatzis holds his B.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT and Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Harvard.

Topics

The Science of Inspiring Others to Learn and Change

The latest research in neuroscience is helping us understand the mechanisms of how various forms of leadership affect a person’s openness to new ideas, change, and learning. fMRI studies show that relationship-focused compassionate leadership activates the neural networks that promote receptivity, while problem-focused compliant leadership activates neural networks that encourage resistance. The key is emotional intelligence. Leaders with high EI create and nurture resonant relationships through mindfulness, hope, compassion, and playfulness. These experiences of mindfulness, hope, compassion, and playfulness are essential to the renewal of people at the neurological, hormonal, emotional, and behavioral levels. In this presentation, Professor Richard Boyatzis will explain the cumulative findings of decades of research that supports leading to activate the Positive Emotional Attractor (hopes, dreams, possibilities, and strengths) rather than to activate the Negative Emotional Attractor (present reality, fears, problems, and shortfalls). The evidence shows how this form of compassionate leadership benefits the leader as well. Through real-world examples from reducing the psycho-physiological effects of chronic stress to greater patient adherence to diabetic treatment, your audience will understand the central role of compassion in motivating sustained, desired change in others.

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Resonant Leadership

When you envision a great leader, what comes to mind? Always available, first one in the office, last one out, puts the organization above everything else? If so, it may surprise you to realize you’re envisioning a 5-star recipe for burnout that has little to do with excellent leadership. The best leaders, research shows, are resonant leaders. Resonant leaders are attuned to the needs and dreams of people they lead, create conditions where people can excel, and are self-aware, motivating, and collaborative. They are also able to sustain their effectiveness through physical, mental, and emotional renewal — combatting stress, avoiding burnout, and encouraging their teams to do the same. In this talk, you’ll uncover the path to resonance through building emotional intelligence and connecting with others through mindfulness, hope, and compassion. You’ll walk away with the inspiration and tools to take your leadership to a new level.

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Fostering Balance and Restoration with the Personal Sustainability Index

Stress is inevitable in life. What matters is that it doesn’t become the overwhelming force in your day-to-day. To live vibrantly, you must find balance in stress and renewal. That is, of course, easier said than done. Perhaps you’ve tried your share of pop culture’s self-care suggestions to no avail and are at your wit’s end. It’s time to find personalized solutions backed by decades of scientific research. Created by emotional intelligence experts Richard Boyatzis and Daniel Goleman, the Personal Sustainability Index (PSI) allows you to assess the different sources of stress in your life, how much and how often they impact you, and discover the best path to renewal for your specific situation. When we prioritize balance and renewal, “We can think again, love again, and can do all the things that make life worth living,” says Boyatzis. Renewal activities — as simple as laughing with loved ones, cuddling a pet, spending time in nature, or volunteering — can reverse the damage done by stress, healing the body and bolstering the spirit. Flexible in its application, the PSI can be used at the organizational level as a pulse check for workplace culture and as a guide to better supporting employees, and at the individual level for those seeking to build healthy and fulfilling lifestyles.

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Videos

What is Effective Leadership
Richard Boyatzis
What Brain Science is Teaching Us about Leadership
Richard Boyatzis
The Neuroscience of Leadership
Richard Boyatzis
On Resonant Leadership Research
Richard Boyatzis
Fight Chronic Stress to become a More Effective Leader
Richard Boyatzis
Emotional Self-awareness and Leadership
Richard Boyatzis

Articles

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Compassion as a catalyst for change
AVMA
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3 Steps To Empowering Employees To Solve Problems
Forbes
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Getting to Yes, And… | Richard Boyatzis – “Helping People Change.”
WGN Radio
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How to Support the People You Lead in Times of Uncertainty
Greater Good
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Q&A on the Book Helping People Change
InfoQ
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Six Key Elements Of Hope-Based Leadership
Forbes
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The science behind positive thinking your way to success
CNN
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This is your brain on management
WKSU
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What Great Coaching Looks Like
Harvard Business Review

Podcasts

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Emotional Intelligence
Leadership
Neuroscience
Business Strategy
Wellness
Talent Development
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