McKee, Annie 1955–

PERSONAL: Born 1955. Education: Chaminade University of Honolulu, B.S., 1987; Case Western Reserve University, Ph.D., 1991; postdoctoral study at Gestalt Institute of Cleveland and Institute für Gestaltorientierte Organisationsberatung.

ADDRESSES: Home—710 Spring Ave., Elkins Park, PA 19027. Office—Teleos Leadership Institute, 1831 Chestnut St., 9th FL, Philadelphia, PA 19103. E-mail—amckee@teleosleaders.com.

CAREER: Peace Education Program, Wai'anae, HI, administrator, 1982–87; Wai'anae High School, Wai'anae, teacher, 1982–87; Kamehameha Schools, Wai'anae, consultant, 1986–87; Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH, graduate teaching assistant, 1988–89; Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, graduate research assistant, 1987–90, instructor, 1988–90; Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland, instructor, 1992; University of Hartford, West Hartford, CT, assistant professor of management, 1990–93; independent consultant, 1990–2001; University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School, Philadephia, associate director of leadership program, 1993–96, lecturer for Aresty Institute of Executive Education, 1995–, associate director of program development, 1996–98, managing director of Center for Professional Development, 1997–99; The Hay Group, director of management development services, 1999–2001; Teleos Leadership Institute, cochair and managing director, 2001–. University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education, adjuct faculty, 1999–.

AWARDS, HONORS: ACE Fellow, 1999.

WRITINGS:

(With Daniel Goleman and Richard Boyatzis) Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence, Harvard Business School Press (Boston, MA), 2002.

(With Richard Boyatzis) Resonant Leadership: Renewing Yourself and Connecting with Others through Mindfulness, Hope, and Compassion, Harvard Business School Press (Boston, MA), 2005.

Contributor to books, including NTL Handbook of Organizational Development and Change, Wiley/Pfeiffer (San Francisco, CA), 2006. Contributor to periodicals, including the Harvard Business Review, Associations Now, Clinical Leadership & Management Review, Journal of Organizational Excellence, Performance Improvement Quarterly, Journal of Management Education, and Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences.

ADAPTATIONS: Primal Leadership has been made into a sound recording, Audio Renaissance (Los Angeles, CA), 2002.

SIDELIGHTS: A leadership consultant, speaker, and author, Annie McKee is the coauthor of two books on effective leadership within organizations. In Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence, McKee collaborated with Daniel Goleman and Richard Boyatzis to produce a book focusing on how leaders' emotions directly impact those working around them and ultimately the organizations they lead. The authors argue that good leaders are instinctive and use their emotions to inspire those under them. They also stress that "primal leaders" are also finely attuned to the emotions of those they lead. Drawing on scientific research, including the latest findings on the workings of the human brain, the authors present their case for a strong link between leaders' Emotional Intelligence (EI) and the ultimate success of their organizations. They also present numerous examples of good "primal leaders."

"Encouraging leaders to rely on a more basic or primal method, and tap into the positive emotions of the people who follow them, is sound advice worth understanding and promoting in your organization," noted Deanne Bryce in T&D. Writing in Publishers Weekly, a contributor felt that the "most intriguing" part of Primal Leadership could be its appendix, "where the authors compare the importance of IQ and EI in determining a leader's effectiveness." Jeffrey Marshall, writing in the Financial Executive, called the book "plenty challenging" and "a passionate, idealistic book about human behavior that deserves to be read and debated." Training contributor Jane Bozarth noted that the book is useful for more than just corporate leaders, commenting: "All supervisors, managers, and others in leadership roles can benefit from developing more Emotional Intelligence."

McKee teamed again with Richard Boyatzis to write Resonant Leadership: Renewing Yourself and Connecting with Others through Mindfulness, Hope, and Compassion. This time the authors expand on the theories presented in Primal Leadership and write about how the heads of organizations who may have learned how to be good emotional leaders can maintain their good leadership qualities even under the stresses of running a business or other complex organization. The authors discuss the latest knowledge about cognitive psychology and also include Buddhist philosophy in their discussion of how a leader can maintain equilibrium in the workplace and still continue to be effective. For example, they relate how leaders can use positive visualization techniques and focus on realistic goals and outcomes. They provide numerous examples to support their case, from great athletes to leaders of law firms and other organizations.

"This book is a good read for aspiring business leaders and adrenalin junkies," wrote a Management Today contributor. "The reader is left with a sense that Resonant Leadership is not an academic exercise," the critic continued, "but a book for them as a leader, a family member and a human." A Publishers Weekly contributor concluded that "the exercises and arguments in this book can help executives learn to improve their interests by strengthening their ethics."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Computer World, October 31, 2005, Thomas Hoffman, review of Resonant Leadership: Renewing Yourself and Connecting with Others through Mindfulness, Hope, and Compassion, p. 46.

Currents in Theology and Mission, February, 2006, Colin Crossey, Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence, p. 66.

Financial Executive, May, 2002, Jeffrey Marshall, review of Primal Leadership, p. 15.

HR, November, 2005, Leigh Rivenbark, review of Resonant Leadership, p. 132.

M2 Best Books, March 21, 2002, review of Primal Leadership.

Management Today, November 1, 2005, review of Resonant Leadership, p. 25.

Modern Casting, August, 2004, William J. Libby, review of Primal Leadership, p. 46.

Publishers Weekly, January 28, 2002, review of Primal Leadership, p. 279; August 29, 2005, review of Resonant Leadership, p. 49.

Reference & Research Book News, February, 2006, review of Primal Leadership.

T&D, March, 2002, Deanne Bryce, review of Primal Leadership, p. 81.

Training, June, 2002, Jane Bozarth, review of Primal Leadersip, p. 62.

University Business, March, 2006, Annie McKee and David Smith, "Resonant Leadership in Higher Education: Leaders Who Are Highly Attuned to Themselves and the Greater World Exemplify Effectiveness," p. 25.

ONLINE

NexusEQ Conferences Web site, http://www.nexuseq.com/ (April 23, 2006), brief biography of the author.

Royce Carlton Inc. Web site, http://www.roycecarlton.com/ (April 23, 2006), brief biography of the author.

Teleos Leadership Institute Web site, http://www.teleosleaders.com/ (April 23, 2006), brief biography of the author.