The Heart of a Leader

June 1, 2020
Harper, CEO of the leadership development company Driven to Succeed, covers the “what” and “how” of successful business leadership in her helpful debut. Using case studies based on her experience working for such companies as Proctor & Gamble, Hershey’s, and Coca Cola, she covers 12 skills one needs to be a successful leader—social awareness, emotional self-control, positive outlook, adaptability, and conflict management, among others. Her advice is organized into 52 leadership and emotional intelligence insights and includes tips on how to “control the controllable,” “prosper where you’re planted,” and “extend grace.” She also covers navigating office politics and personalities, getting along with one’s boss, establishing a 90-day plan for starting a new job or taking on a new role, the importance of self-management, and how to deal with disappointment. For instance, in order to “cultivate influence” within one’s office, she recommends developing and pitching plans, soliciting feedback, and using the information to align the interests of others within the office. Useful tables, lists, and practice scripts round things out. This action-oriented guide will be useful to anyone looking to climb the corporate ladder.

July 1, 2020

Harper, CEO of the leadership development company Driven To Succeed, describes and analyzes the skills needed to be a successful manager using emotional intelligence.The four domains of emotional intelligence are self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. Harper draws on her experiences working for companies including Coca-Cola, Hershey's, and Procter and Gamble, and analyzes the skills needed to be a successful leader. She presents practical advice navigating through office politics, dealing with disappointments, and working successfully with supervisors. In addition to using emotional intelligence competencies and case studies to illustrate them, she includes a quick reference guide to 52 insights across 12 emotional intelligence competencies among which are know thyself, forgive frequently, experience is the best teacher, leadership can be lonely, be patient for growth, act confident when you feel confident, try to make your manager look good, and extend grace. Additionally bibliographical references are included for further reading. VERDICT This informative, detailed guide to using emotional intelligence on the job is tailored to those in midcareer, seeking careers in business, or wishing to learn more about emotional intelligence. Business administration students could use this as supplemental reading for management courses.--Lucy Heckman, St. John's Univ. Lib., Queens Village, NY

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