Emotional Self-Control

Emotional Self-Control is the ability to keep disruptive emotions and impulses in check, and to maintain your effectiveness under stressful or even hostile conditions.

It’s also something that can differentiate great leaders from those with whom it is difficult to work.

Instead of suppressing our emotions, we take notice of them as they emerge, mentally naming or noting them, along with any bodily signals that may accompany how we are feeling in the moment. Having Emotional Self-Control means staying clear-headed and calm, balancing one’s impulses and feelings for the good of the group, or for the good of a given task, mission, or vision.

In Emotional Self-Control: A Primer, Daniel Goleman and colleagues introduce the Emotional Self-Control Competency and describe why it’s essential for quality leadership.

This is the second in a series of primers that explores each of the 12 Emotional and Social Intelligence Leadership Competencies, with a thorough overview of the Competency Model itself. The first in the series was Emotional Self-Awareness.


Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, Richard J. Davidson, Vanessa Druskat, and George Kohlrieser explain Emotional Self-Control from the perspectives of research, psychology, neuroscience, team dynamics, and leadership development.

Here’s what is included:

Overview of the Emotional and Social Intelligence Leadership Competency Model
Introduction to Emotional Self-Control
Emotions in Our Brains and Bodies
Emotional Self-Control in Teams
How to Develop Emotional Self-Control
Staying Calm in a Crisis
Training Our Brains for Emotional Self-Control

Whether you are individual looking to elevate your personal performance, a consultant or coach in need of research-based resources, or a head of leadership development in your organization seeking a brief yet informative resource to share with your team, this primer is for you.