1 For ages, people have debated if leaders are born or made. So too goes the debate about emotional intelligence. Are people born with certain levels of empathy, for example, or do they acquire empathy as a result of life's experiences? The answer is both. Scientific inquiry strongly suggests that there is a genetic component to emotional intelligence. Psychological and developmental research indicates that nurture plays a role as well. How much of each perhaps will never be known, but research and practice clearly demonstrate that emotional intelligence can be learned.

多年来，人们一直在争论领导者是天生的还是人造的。关于情商的辩论也是如此，例如，人们天生具有一定的同理心，还是因为生活经历而获得同理心？答案是两者兼有。科学探究强烈表明，情商具有遗传成分。心理和发展研究表明，后天培养也起作用。也许永远不会知道每一部分影响多少，但是研究实践清楚地表明，情商可以被习得。

2 One thing is certain: Emotional intelligence increases with age. There is an old-fashioned word for the phenomenon ：maturity. Yet even with maturity, some people still need training to enhance their emotional intelligence. Unfortunately, far too many training programs that intend to build leadership skills-including emotional intelligence- are a waste of time and money. The problem is simple: They focus on the wrong part of the brain.

可以肯定的是，情商会随着年龄的增长而增加。对于这种现象，有一个老式的词：成熟。然而，即使成熟了，仍然有些人需要接受培训以增强他们的情商。不幸的是，太多旨在培养领导技能（包括情商）的培训计划浪费了时间和金钱。问题很简单：他们专注于大脑的错误部分。

3 Emotional intelligence is born largely in the neurotransmitters of the brain's limbic system, which governs feelings, impulses and drives. Research indicates that the limbic system learns best through motivation, extended practice and feedback. Compare this with the kind of learning that goes on in the neocortex, which governs analytical and technical ability. The neocortex grasps concepts and logic. It is the part of the brain that figures out how to use a computer or make a sales call by reading book. Not surprisingly- but mistakenly -it is also the part of the brain targeted by most training programs aimed at enhancing emotional intelligence. When such programs take, in effect, a neocortical approach, my research with the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations has shown they can even have a negative impact on people's job performance.

情商主要来自大脑边缘系统的神经递质，该神经递质控制着感觉，冲动和动力。研究表明，边缘系统通过动机，更多的练习和反馈来学习得最好。与此相对照的是，新皮质中进行的学习决定了分析和技术能力。新皮层掌握概念和逻辑。它是大脑的一部分，可以通过阅读书籍弄清楚如何使用计算机或进行销售电话。毫不奇怪-但错误地-它也是大多数旨在增强情商的训练计划所针对的大脑部分。当采用新皮层治疗这种方法时，实际上，我在组织中的情绪智力研究联盟的研究表明，它们甚至可能对人们的工作表现产生负面影响。

4 To enhange emotional intelligence, organizations must refocus their training to include the limbic system. They must help people break old behavioral habits and establish new ones.That not only takes much more time than conventional training programs, but also requires an individualized approach.

为了提高情商，组织必须重新调整培训重点，使其包括边缘系统。他们必须帮助人们打破旧的行为习惯并树立新的习惯，这不仅比传统的培训计划花费更多的时间，而且还需要个性化的方法。

5 Imagine an executive who is thought to be low on empathy by her colleagues. Part of that deficit shows itself as an inability to listen; she interrupts people and doesn't pay close attention to what they're saying. To fix the problem, the executive needs to be motivated to change, and then she needs practice and feedback from others in the company. A colleague or coach could be tapped to let the executive know when she has been observed failing to listen. She would then have to replay the incident and give a better response; that is, demonstrate her ability to absorb what others are saying. And the executive could be directed to observe certain executives who listen well and to mimic their behavior.

想象一下一位高管，一位高管被她的同事认为缺乏同情心，无法听取赤字的一部分，她打扰别人却没有专心听别人在说什么。要解决该问题，需要激励高管人员进行变革，然后她需要公司其他人员的实践和反馈。当观察到高管不听时，可以用同事或教练让高管知道。然后，她将不得不重播该事件并给出更好的响应；也就是说，表现出她吸收别人说话的能力。高管人员可能会被指示去观察某些高管人员，他们倾听并模仿他们的行为。

6 With persistence and practice, such a process can lead to lasting results. I know one Wall Street executive who sought to improve his empathy -specifically his ability to read  -people's reactions and see their perspectives. Before beginning his quest, the executive's subordinates were terrified of working with him. People even went so far as to hide bad news from him. Naturally, he was shocked when finally confronted with these facts. He went home and told his family-but they only confirmed what he had heard at work. When their opinions on any given subject did not mesh with his, they, too, were frightened of him.

通过坚持和实践，这样的过程可以带来持久的结果。我认识一位华尔街高管，他试图改善他的同理心，特别是他的阅读能力，以了解人们的反应并了解他们的观点。在开始寻求任务之前，执行官的下属对与他一起工作感到恐惧。人们甚至甚至对他隐藏了坏消息。自然地，当他最终面对这些事实时，他感到震惊。他回家并告诉家人-但他们只确认他在工作中听到的话。当他们对任何给定主题的看法与他的观点不一致时，他们也对他感到恐惧。

7 Enlisting the help of a coach, the executive went to work to heighten his empathy through practice and feedback. His first step was to take a vacation to a foreign country where he did not speak the language. While there,he monitored his reactions to the unfamiliar and his openness to people who were different from him. When he returned home, humbled by his week abroad, the executive asked his coach to shadow him for parts of the day, several times a week, in order to critique how he treated people with new or different perspectives. At the same time, he consciously used on-the-job interactions as opportunities to practice "hearing" ideas that differed from his. Finally,the executive had himself videotaped in meetings and asked those who worked for and with him to critique his ability to acknowledge and understand the feelings of others. It took several months, but the executive's emotional intelligence did ultimately rise, and the improvement was reflected in his overall performance on the job.

在教练的帮助下，高管人员去上班，通过练习和反馈提高同理心。他的第一步是去一个不讲英语的外国度假。在那里，他监视着自己对陌生事物的反应以及对与他不同的人的开放态度。当他回到家中时，由于对国外一周的工作感到沮丧，高管要求他的教练每周几次在一天中的某些时候给他打阴影，以便批评他如何以新的视角或不同的视角对待人。同时，他有意识地利用工作中的互动机会来练习与他不同的“听觉”想法。最后，高管亲自在会议上录制了录像，并请与他一起工作的人和批评他的能力来认可和理解他人的感受。花费了几个月的时间，但这位高管的情感才智最终得以提升，而这种改善反映在他的整体工作表现上。

8 It's important to emphasize that building one's emotional intelligence cannot- will not- happen without sincere desire and concerted effort. A brief seminar won't help; nor can one buy a how-to manual. It is much harder to learn to empathize- to internalize empathy as a natural response to people-than it is to become adept at regression analysis. But it can be done. "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm,"wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. If your goal is to become a real leader, these words can serve as a guidepost in your efforts to develop high emotional intelligence.

需要强调的是，没有真诚的愿望和齐心协力，就不会建立自己的情商。简短的研讨会无济于事。也没有人可以购买使用手册。要学会同情-将同情内化为对人的自然反应，要变得比适应回归分析要困难得多。但这是可以完成的。拉尔夫·沃尔多·爱默生（Ralph Waldo Emerson）写道：“没有热情，就不可能取得伟大的成就。” 如果您的目标是成为一个真正的领导者，那么这些话可以作为您发展高度情商的指南。

NOTES

Daniel Goleman (1946-): well-known as the first to bring the term"emotional intelligence"to a wide audience with his 1995 book of the same title. In 1998, Dr. Goleman applied the concept to business with the present article in which he revealed a close tie between emotional intelligence and measurable business results.

丹尼尔·高曼（Daniel Goleman，1946-）：他以其1995年的同名书籍而广受读者欢迎，是第一个将“情商”一词带入大众的人。1998年，Goleman博士在本篇文章中将这一概念应用于商业，他在这篇文章中揭示了情商和可衡量的商业成果之间的紧密联系。

Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations: a research association at Rutgers University, which seeks to advance research on best practices for developing emotional competence, and the impact of emotional intelligence in leadership and organizations. Dr. Goleman is co-chairman of the Consortium. He reported in this text his findings based on his research at nearly 200 large, global companies.

组织中的情商研究协会：罗格斯大学研究协会，旨在推进有关发展情商的最佳实践的研究，以及情商对领导和组织的影响。Goleman博士是联盟的联合主席。他在本文中报告了他对近200家大型跨国公司的研究成果。

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882): American essayist, poet and popular philosopher, who was famous for his writings and lectures on individualism and freedom. He also advocated an "existentialist"ethic of self-improvement. He was quite rebellious in his time and had great influence upon generations of Americans, among others, Henry David Thoreau and John Dewey and Friedrich Nietzsche in Europe as well.

拉尔夫·瓦尔多·爱默生（Ralph Waldo Emerson，1803-1882年）：美国散文家，诗人和通俗哲学家，以其关于个人主义和自由的著作和演讲而闻名。他还提倡自我完善的“存在主义”伦理。他当时很叛逆，对几代美国人产生了巨大影响，其中包括欧洲的亨利·戴维·梭罗，约翰·杜威和弗里德里希·尼采。