(Vincenzo Cimmini Green Holding Group) The ability to recognize one's own emotions, those of others, manage one's own and interact constructively with others. This is the definition of emotional intelligence provided by Daniel Goleman, the inventor of this concept launched in the mid-90s in a best-selling book that positively conditioned psychology, teaching and the theory of corporate leadership. 
Goleman will be in Milan at the end of October at the next World Business Forum. to talk about the skills needed to develop self management and achieve high performance, the power of self-awareness as the basis of professional development, how to become a successful leader by developing interpersonal relationships. Obviously starting from the basic concept of emotional intelligence or EQ. "After over twenty years - says Goleman - I continue to find articles, even on authoritative newspapers, that say that emotional intelligence is to be nice, or kind, or empathetic, or even to enhance their female part. It is not true that women have higher EQ, and there is no gender prevalence in top performers»Goleman's merit was that of distinguishing a successful leadership with only excellent technical skills and a high IQ. Something more is needed, namely that irrational component, emotional intelligence. A set of skills that allow us to know and control ourselves, to know how to involve others by demonstrating a propensity for understanding. In successful leadership there are two components: the first refers to the inside, a true leader is able first of all to manage himself well, knowing how to manage unpleasant or conflicting emotions, staying focused on the targets during crises, being able to count on a strong adaptability. The second component concerns the outside, the right empathy with the other people in the team, creating a harmonious and inclusive climate of the moods of others, their opinions on the experience that is being shared with them, the ability to resolve conflicts, conveying interest in their size. Only in this way will the leader get the most out of his team. Goleman's words at the Wolrd Business Forum in Sydney one year ago are enlightening: «I recently met the CEO of BlackRock, the largest investment fund in the world, which manages trillions. He asked me to explain to him why even though he hires the brightest students from the best business schools, the performance curves in his staff remain "bell shaped", that is, absolutely average. I replied that the right recipe is not to hire the "best" ever, but to look in your company who occupies the position for which you are doing the research, or occupied it in the past, identify 10% of top performers compare them with average performers, and find the skills and competences that top performers have, and average performers don't. It is called "competence modeling". Many companies apply it, especially to select top management. I have accessed data from over 200 of these recruiting processes, and have found that, for assignments of all kinds, EQ skills are twice as important as technical or IQ skills. Technical skills can be learned at school, everyone can have them. But the higher you climb the organizational hierarchy, the more important emotional intelligence will be. Among the C-Levels, 85% of the skills that distinguish the top performers are EQ. These are data that I have not taken over, but the companies themselves. A C-Level no longer uses technical skills. What he does most of the time is manage people as well as himself». According to Goleman the leaderhip is a real art that depends first of all on the quality of the work of others. In fact, it is necessary to try to keep people in the highest level of performance levels and in order to make them the same people must be in the best state of personal wellbeing. " It is an optimal state called Flow, in which the person himself is amazed at the results he obtains, and defined through research on the most diverse professionals, from dancers to chess players, from top managers to the military. There is a state of unshakable attention on the target. 100% focus. Then we find total flexibility: whatever happens, you are able to manage it. Personal skills are then tested at their highest level, sometimes even beyond. In short, we give our all when we feel our best ». It is Goleman himself who suggests how this ideal situation can be created: « One way is to set clear rules and goals, but leave some flexibility in how to achieve them. Another is immediate feedback - keeping people constantly updated on how well they are pursuing the goal. The third is to test and grow their skills, and try to match what people can do with their assigned tasks. There is an area of the brain that works like a "neural radar", tries to understand what happens in the other person's brain and establishes communication with it that goes beyond verbal communication. It is the mirror neurons, discovered in Italy, that create a bridge between brain and brain, a bridge that communicates emotions, feelings, intentions. This is why emotions are contagious, and why human nature leads to giving great attention and importance to what the group leader does and says. The leader is the determining factor: both the best and the worst.
Managing the "emotional state" of people is extremely important, from the top management to the front end, ie the points of contact between the company and the market. Anyone in the company is the interface with customers, in fact, has the power to "make the customer feel good". And if the customer is "well" is not well disposed only towards the person who acts as an interface: he is well disposed towards your company».