Return to Think By Numbers, the 2012-2013 Annual Report
Distinguished University Professor Richard Boyatzis has emerged as the ninth most influential international thinker in a 2012 survey of more than 11,000 human resources directors worldwide.
Boyatzis, a New York Times bestselling author renowned for his expertise on emotional intelligence and leadership, joined a roster topped by Harvard professors Rossabeth Moss Kanter and Chris Argyris and including such celebrated management scholars as McGill University’s Henry Mintzberg and Stanford University’s Jeffrey Pfeffer. Also on the ranking are Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, famed for his writings on the state of immense concentration and engagement with a task known as “flow,” and Martin Seligman, perhaps the world’s most prominent advocate of the study of the discipline of positive psychology.
“I am honored to be included within such an esteemed group,” Boyatzis said, “and pleased to see so many scholars recognized for their focus on the development of human element and spirit in leadership and management.”
HR Magazine, a publication based in the United Kingdom, annually releases lists of the most influential thinkers internationally and within the UK, as well as one revealing the top 30-ranked practitioners. This year marked Boyatzis’ first appearance on the top 20 international thinkers list. In recent years, Boyatzis’ research has focused increasingly on the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging to illustrate the neural activation on different parts of the brain of varying coaching approaches. Early results indicate that the more positive and compassionate the initial interaction, the more open and imaginative the individual coached will feel.
Boyatzis, whose primary faculty appointment is in the Department of Organizational Behavior at Weatherhead School of Management, also holds appointments in psychology and cognitive science and is the H.R. Horvitz Professor in Family Business. Earlier in his career he collaborated with Daniel Goleman and Annie McKee on Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence, and then with McKee alone on Resonant Leadership: Renewing Yourself and Connecting With Others Through Mindfulness, Hope, and Compassion.
Boyatzis joined Case Western Reserve in 1987 after an extensive career consulting in management and psychology in the private sector. He earned his doctorate in social psychology at Harvard University and his undergraduate degree in aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.