The Art of Becoming a Smart and Emotionally Intelligent Leader by Andrea Blake is the most recent book which has been added to my self-help pile. Could this book help me break through those barriers and make me a successful leader?
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The book
The book claims on the front cover that it will tell you how successful women become strong leaders. It was also independently published on Amazon. Do not let this fact put you off because I will explain who Andrea Blake is down below. This book focuses on EQ (emotional intelligence) rather than IQ, and highly successful people have a high EQ. By understanding how emotional intelligence works, and how it can benefit you as a leader, can make your life a lot easier.
Thoughts on the book
To be honest, I’m kind of on the fence about this book. I want to like it (and I do) but I found it very difficult to read at times. It is a very old-school factual style to the writing that lacks a storytelling element to the message. Don’t get me wrong, we are all grown ups and we don’t need everything covered in fluff but it does help to keep people engaged. There were a few times I had to go back and re-read parts because it was so dry. It is possible that this book was published before it was completely finished, mainly because in places, there is a great narrative that is engaging. Other parts read as if someone was plotting out the first draft of a book and planned to go back to fill out missing sections.
Thoughts on the author
Andrea Blake is one of many pen names of journalist Jay Blakeney. But you probably know her better as Anne Weale, the famous Mills and Boon writer. Jay died 24th October 2007 and her family have been publishing her remaining books independently. This fact, that her family have continued to publish her books leads me to believe that this was one of those books that was nearly finished so they decided to pop it up.
Overall
This is a very clinical book that reads more like a psychology essay than the usual fluff. If you can get your head around the lack of fluff, then this could be a great book with heaps of information including original research that you can refer to. Although, the reason for the dryness in places could be because it was not properly finished before Jay died. Definitely worth a read if you want into the mind of one of the most successful romance writers of the 20th century.