This text is meant to teach college students how to develop their skills in emotionally intelligent leadership. Like other texts of this nature, it assumes that everyone has the capacity to be a leader, not just those in official roles in formal organizations. The authors argue that college students are in the unique position of having a learning lab at their disposal. The campus environment provides a rich array of diversity and opportunities for honing leadership skills. It is the first book for students that combines the concepts of emotional intelligence (EI) and leadership into one model of Emotionally Intelligent Leadership (EIL), around which the book is organized. The EIL model is defined as consciousness of context, consciousness of self, and consciousness of others, and each chapter represents one of the 21 defined skills that make up this triad.
The book is meant to provide students with a clear and engaging theoretical perspective as well as practical application. Further it encourages purposeful reflection of the concepts presented and provides students with tools to learn more about themselves, work more productively with others, improve relationships, and be more effective in a leadership capacity.