By Daniel Goleman; New York, NY: Harper Collins (2013); Reviewed by JORGE PEREZ
Can a leader be fulfilled and productive at the same time? Goleman thinks “Yes” and he makes his case by placing attention, the elusive and underappreciated mental faculty, in the spotlight. In Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence, he makes a case for the science of attention as a determinant skill for leaders, arguing that such a state of awareness is linked to excellence and a key to fulfillment and success. “Leaders must pay more attention to their attention if they want to increase it,” Goleman says.
In his previous book, Emotional Intelligence, Goleman defines emotional intelligence as self-awareness and self-management—how we manage ourselves, and social skills, how we manage our relationships.
Goleman argues that self-awareness and empathy are a variation of attention. in Focus, Goleman shows how attention training enhances the four dimensions of emotional intelligence.
The first is inner focus—being aware of what is going on inside us. He suggests meditation and mindfulness to retrain our attention. Inner focus is about our self-awareness, the first element of emotional intelligence theory with the basic intent of understanding ourselves. If we understand and appreciate our emotions then we can identify their focus and impact on others, the situation, and ourselves.
Goleman talks of the importance of cognitive control also called delayed gratification. He emphasizes this as a vital element since cognitive control will determine the level of leadership effectiveness. Goleman suggests that cognitive control is a great predictor of success, for adults as well as children. This type of control has to deal with the second element of Goleman’s emotional intelligence theory—self- management.
The second kind of focus is other focus—knowing what is going on with people around us. this kind of focus allows us to smooth the connections we have with people in our lives. The third, outer focus, is our system awareness. A system can be an organization, our family, or broader external systems. This kind of focus lets us navigate the larger world. Social awareness, the third element of the emotional intelligence theory, is the ability to understand the emotions and appreciate the viewpoints of those around us.
In a final analysis, Focus is for coaching us how to train our attention through mindfulness, meditation and other techniques used for flexing the muscle of attention. Goleman suggests these exercises as a means of rewiring our brain.
This book is important for the progress and growth of the Christian leader as it presents and sustains the hidden driver of excellence: attention. The three kinds of focus every Christian leader needs are inner focus for self-awareness and self-management; other focus for empathy, clear communication, and interpersonal effectiveness; and outer focus for reading the systems in the world in order to become aware of our surroundings and the systems that affect us.
This book has value for the Christian leader. The discipline of training the brain and focusing complete attention to the current moment is crucial, says Goleman. “Attention tends to focus on what has meaning— what matters” (p. 210). This involves putting in practice the three kinds of focus and knowing in what situation to use them.
Goleman, once again, gives us a glimpse of what makes us a leader. It is not primarily intelligence, but rather self-discipline, empathy, and attention, “far stronger forces in success.” Our success as Christian leaders, called to serve others, is enhanced by paying attention and maintaining focus on the mission to which we are called.
The value of this book was somewhat diminished in that while the author’s emphasis was attention, Goleman seems to lose focus in the later chapters. The author establishes the need and importance of attention in leadership and effectiveness quite well. However, outer focus, the third kind of attention, is vague and confusing. I was not able to relate attention, the hidden ingredient of excellence, with the larger picture presented in the last chapters.
Nevertheless, I would recommend Focus by Daniel Goleman as an esteemed reference in improving our attention capability in relation to our emotional intelligence. The common theme is that the more focused we are, the more effective we become. By understanding this aspect of cognitive science, leaders may become more effective and successful in life and work. This book can assist you in managing your emotions, being aware of others’ emotions, and developing your empathy to the end of increasing cooperation and collaboration.
Jorge Perez is an entrepreneur and owner of a bilingual Hispanic newspaper in Southwest Ontario. He serves as President of the Canadian Latin American Association and is a Ph.D. student in the Andrews University Leadership Program.