Teachers College, Columbia University

The Summer Principals Academy is a remarkable program for aspiring leaders called to advance equity through great education --  "Emotional Intelligence for Educational Leadership" is one the core courses, which I co-lead with Dr. Lorea Martinez & Michael Eatman

Adjunct Instructor

Six Seconds EQ Network

Six Seconds is the most extensive network of emotional intelligence practitioners worldwide.  We are educators, consultants, coaches, researchers and authors committed to co-creating a world where people can be and do our best.

Six Seconds publishes outstanding learning, development, and assessment tools that make emotional intelligence a practical - invaluable - skillset so people all over the world can access the wisdom and power of emotions.

Personally, I work all over the world delivering trainer certification programs and keynotes, and support our practitioners in their life-changing work in business, education, and communities.

While my bio says I am an emotional intelligence expert, I consider myself a learner who is working to integrate these skills into my life and work.  My best teachers are my kids and my clients.

I use my Master Certified Coach (International Coaching Federation) skills to support the global community of Certified Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Coaches

Certified EQ Coach

NexusEQ

NexusEQ is the preeminent series of emotional intelligence conferences at the intersection of science and practice... the nexus of head + heart + hands.  THE emotional intelligence conference, every 4 years around the world -- in June 2013 at Harvard University.  NexusEQ is singular -- top scientists, real-world change leaders, and emotional intelligence in practice.  In alternate years, we hold the virtual 24EQ Conference.

Get involved on http://nexuseq.com

Chairman

Inspire Design

Running a small design company, I helped primarily social-benefit organizations, authors, and artists bring their message to the larger world.  While we rarely take on new projects, the site is http://www.inspiredesign.com

Partner

Emotions can be a resource to connect us with what matters most. What if every person, of every age, everywhere, had the skills & support to grow their emotional intelligence? 

What if EVERYONE could grow empathy so we connect more deeply.... Increase emotional literacy so we can share what's really happening... Strengthen abilities to make choices on purpose to make tomorrow better?

That's what we do at Six Seconds!

We're working in over 200 countries & territories bringing a practical, measurable approach to increase value with emotional intelligence. From leadership & team development programs at places like FedEx, Qatar Airways, UN, US Navy, Microsoft, HSBC... to wellbeing programs at universities... to social emotional learning initiatives in partnership with UNICEF World Children's Day... 

I have the best job in the world because I get to work with people every day who are dedicated to an emotionally intelligent future. Like most ceos, my job is mostly herding cats... I'm also an author (five and counting), a researcher, and a Master Certified Coach.

What if the greatest gifts of becoming a coach aren’t the ones you set out to learn?

In the Certified EQ Coach community, we started talking about the “unintended gifts” that come with this work. 
Not the techniques and tools we learned for client work… but the shifts inside us that are reshaping how we show up in the world.

For me, the journey to Master Coach Certification, and later building the global EQ Coach Certification, offered something I didn’t expect: a framework for connection.
A way to engage deeply, when for much of my life I felt like an outsider looking in.

Bit by bit, coaching rewired how I relate to others and to myself. It grew my capacity for compassion and, maybe even more importantly, for self-compassion. These qualities now feel essential to emotional wisdom.

Others in our group shared their own gifts:

• Being present without performing
• Hearing more than the words
• A profound inner courage
• Deep empathy
• Being comfortable not knowing
• Emotional resilience
• Comfort with big emotions
• The courage to ask real questions

These are not small things.
They’re the kind of gifts that change us — and through us, change the people we serve.

What unexpected gifts has coaching given you?

Joshua Freedman

CEO & Cofounder, Six Seconds | Bestselling Author | Emotional Intelligence at scale

Great leaders use empathy; that starts with understanding what empathy really is. Here's a breakdown with tips:

There are three dimensions of empathy, and each one calls for a different kind of practice:

🧠 Cognitive empathy 
This is about understanding what might be going on for someone else. You can draw on your past experiences and try to see their perspective.
👉 Tip: Ask open questions like “What might they be experiencing right now?” or “How might this decision land from their perspective?”


💓 Emotive empathy
Feeling what someone else feels, and connecting to their emotions. You can notice clues and imagine what might be up.
👉 Tip: Slow down and notice your own body’s response in conversations. Allow yourself to feel with, not just think about.


🤝 Empathic action
This is where you put empathy in motion, taking steps to support someone. Often it's just about being there and listening.
👉 Tip: Follow through with presence. That could mean offering help, checking in later, or simply saying, “I’m here with you.”


Most leaders are good at one or two of these, but putting them all together is what builds trust, engagement, and stronger teams. This applies to sales, customers, staff, investors -- every human part of business will be strengthened by effective empathy.


Which of these three dimensions do you most want to strengthen in your org?

Equipping Leaders to Build Great Cultures with Emotional Intelligence | Leadership • Engagement • Retention | CEO @ Six Seconds | Bestselling Author, MCC | Trusted by UN, Amazon, FedEx, WHO

How do you feel about AI? And does that actually matter to leaders?

It should. More than ever.

Because beneath the strategy decks and AI roadmaps
people are scared
overwhelmed
curious
excited
… and mostly trying to make sense of a world shifting under their feet. 

Leaders who name and work with those emotions build clarity and trust, which is exactly what teams need in 2026.

Here’s a snapshot from The Emotional Intelligence Playbook for AI Transformation — featured in my newsletter tomorrow:

1. Name the emotions in the room
Normalize fear, overwhelm, curiosity, and excitement. It reduces shame and increases trust.

2. Put trust at the center
Treat your guardrails as sacred, protect your ethics like the future depends on it, because it probably does.

3. Honor the grief of change
Change always includes an ending. AI is shifting what makes us feel valuable, which means identity loss is real.

4. Focus people on people-stuff
AI is bad at empathy, judgment, meaning, and emotional intelligence. Equip people to do the people work.

5. Engage feelings to fuel change
Systems and tech support change, but people and emotions drive it. Optimize for curiosity, openness, and care.

6. Relevance > hype
Give less attention to “what AI can do,” and more to why it matters to your mission.


If you need solutions to lead people through AI change, navigate the emotions under the surface, and build trust in a complex year — my newsletter tomorrow goes in depth.

👉 Subscribe: https://lnkd.in/gyaCDG3Y

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