The opening chapter of Resonant Leadership is titled “Great Leaders Move Us.”  These masters are among the emotionally intelligent. The foundation of their strength comes from keenly developed self-awareness.  They are organizationally cognizant and integrate themselves competently.  Their leadership emotions are contagious and consequently their vision echoes. There you have it—Resonant Leadership.

Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee, authors of Resonant Leadershp, are researchers in the area of emotional intelligence. This text focuses on mindfulness, hope, and compassion as the three key ingredients of resonant leadership. Additional focus is placed on the need for renewal by any person in a leadership role. Take a look.

Mindfulness, as defined by the authors, is moment-to-moment awareness. This includes internal cues, in addition to all external feedback coming from our increasingly more global existence. The story of Studs is offered as an example of mindfulness in operation. This man accomplishes more in a month than many do in a year.  Studs knows what beliefs are important, he sees situations clearly, and is attentive. This is in direct contrast to mindlessness, a condition more people find themselves in these days due to the demands, the pace, and over stimulation of our culture. often referred to as the curse of mega-multitasking. When life is feeling too automatic and rigid, reflection is the remedy. If a checklist is guiding big decisions, the question that needs to be answered is, what's being proved here? Reflection can lead to a genuine life and authentic connections. It is this type of life and these relationships that set the stage for great leadership.

Every person holds some hope or dream. Many automatically think of Martin Luther King when they hear the word dream. A leader's challenge is to turn individual aspiration into collective reality. Leaders set the emotional tone of an organization. When goals are clearly articulated with a sound plan of action and the team believes the goal feasible, the outcome is attainable. There is truth in the self-fulfilling prophecy theory. Boyatzis and McKee case study the Kkomo Primary School in KwaZuluNatal, South Africa to demonstrate the power of dreams. The headmistress envisioned a learning community where once there was no school at all. Her mission statement is  "to provide quality education that will develop the full potential of every learner." After seven years there are 13 rooms with 760 students enrolled with a sense of hope in their future.

The authors define compassion as empathy in action, a definition closely aligned with the Confucian philosophy of compassion being the "emotional expression of the virtue of benevolence." Rudy Giuliani will be historically remembered as an empathy action hero. In more ordinary circumstances, compassion requires that leaders listen fully and develop a complete understanding with their population. The key to getting people to do anything is to make certain it's something they really want to do. If the followers are questioning whose dream it is, you're losing them. Sound leadership also demands that the leader coach for a team member's personal development, which may not ultimately work to the organization's advantage. There are unremitting cases of team members being courted away by the competition.

Throughout Resonant Leadership there are reminders of the importance of renewal and change. This is no wonder when you consider the physical and emotional effort placed into mindfulness, hope and compassion. Intentional change is required for leaders in dissonance. Those leaders that are in resonance need to allow time and space for renewal, because keeping resonance is difficult over time. Long-term goals need continual renewal and revitalization. The challenge is to create resonance and maintain it.

Resonant Leadership is a publication of the Harvard Business School Press. Primal Leadership and 360 Degree Leadership are two noteworthy books on the subject of leadership. Other suggested reading about great leaders includes John Paul the Great: Remembering a Spiritual Father and Ronald Regan: The Triumph of Imagination.

"Be the change you wish to see."  -Mahatma Ghandi

		A veteran of the publishing industry, Sandra Guinness Lupini is a freelance writer.