Insightful Books About Emotional Intelligence to Help You Thrive in Life and Work

Dr. Marc Brackett is the founding director of Yale’s Center for Emotional Intelligence, so if anyone can teach us about EQ, it’s him. In his previous book, Permission to Feel, Brackett explored the power of emotional intelligence to reduce stress and improve well-being for children and adults. In Dealing with Feeling, he presents an actionable guide to mastering our emotions so we can live our best lives. Brackett provides readers with evidence-based, easy-to-follow emotional-regulation strategies to nurture healthy relationships, increase well-being, and attain lasting achievement. He also explains how recognizing emotions in others can strengthen connections and support long-term personal growth. Dealing with Feeling is a “must-read for anyone hoping to thrive in today’s emotionally charged world ― which should be everyone!” (Lisa Damour, bestselling author of The Emotional Lives of Teenagers).

If you were put on the spot to name emotions, we bet the average person could identify a handful. In Atlas of the Heart, Brené Brown goes well beyond our most familiar feelings. In fact, she explores 87 different human emotions and experiences that define us, grouping them into categories such as “places we go when we compare” and “places we go when we’re hurting.” Brown’s acclaimed emotional intelligence book seeks to radically expand your understanding of emotions and teach you how to describe them better. It’s only when we can identify what we feel that we can manage those feelings with intention. This is a crucial book for developing high EQ. 

When most of us hear the word “agility,” we think of physical movement. In Emotional Agility, Dr. Susan David helps readers increase their flexibility around feelings to improve their lives. Becoming more emotionally agile is all about shifting the center of control: Instead of being at the mercy of our feelings, we learn how to recognize and react to them, thereby reducing the power they have to push us away from our life goals. David offers key strategies that help us understand uncomfortable emotional experiences, then shows us how to detach from them so we can move past our negative feelings.  

Susan Cain, acclaimed author of Quiet, returns with yet another insightful narrative on the intricate beauty of the human experience. Bittersweet is a radiant book on emotional intelligence that explores states of longing, joy, and sorrow, demonstrating that both the bitter and the sweet are what make life whole. Cain eloquently argues that embracing this bittersweetness — including the emotions of personal or collective pain — is the way to maximize creativity, improve our relationships, and achieve fullness. 

We often discuss how things feel, but rarely do we take a step back and try to understand why we feel what we feel from a biomedical perspective. In How Emotions Are Made, psychologist and neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett presents evidence that emotions are not automatic reactions; instead, we play an active role in formulating our feelings. How Emotions Are Made is a book about emotional intelligence in the truest sense: It will deepen your understanding of emotions and expand the way you think about them, illustrating how feelings are highly individualized and intertwined with our cognitive functioning. 

In Emotional Intelligence, bestselling author, journalist, and Pulitzer Prize nominee Daniel Goleman argues that our emotional intelligence, or EQ, can matter more than our IQ, thus redefining what it means to be “smart.” Drawing on insights from psychology and neuroscience, Goleman examines the rational and emotional sides of the mind, showing how emotion-driven factors like self-awareness, self-discipline, and empathy are essential tools for achieving success. More than 20 years after it was first published, Emotional Intelligence continues to teach people how to develop and enhance their EQ, which can benefit all aspects of life. 

In Emotional Intelligence 2.0, Dr. Travis Bradberry and Dr. Jean Greaves demonstrate why emotional intelligence is crucial for success in the professional environment. Combining in-depth research with real-world examples, the authors explain how EQ is the most important tool for meeting goals and unlocking your work–life potential. The book offers dozens of valuable strategies centered on four EQ skills: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. While all of these skills can be applied to one’s personal life, Bradberry and Greaves gear the book toward professional success. As a bonus, purchasing the book gets you a code to complete their Emotional Intelligence Appraisal, providing insight into your own EQ level and how it compares to others’.

Primal Leadership is an eye-opening read for anyone who’s in a management position or aspires to reach that role in their career. Written by Daniel Goleman, Richard E. Boyatzis, and Annie McKee, Primal Leadership highlights what the best leaders already know: that possessing high emotional intelligence isn’t just “nice to have” in the professional environment, it’s a necessity. The acclaimed narrative examines key aspects of EQ, explores various leadership styles, and offers ways for leaders to improve their emotional intelligence and boost EQ in others, resulting in more productive teams and higher-performing organizations. 

Yes, we included a Brené Brown book in the previous section. But guess what? Brown’s wisdom and insights are just as valuable for increasing emotional intelligence in the workplace. Dare to Lead, a New York Times bestseller, is one of the best books on emotional intelligence, connecting Brown’s lessons on vulnerability and bravery with effective leadership. Based on interviews with leaders, change-makers, and cultural influencers, Brown persuasively argues for the importance of empathy, connection, and courage in managers of all types of business, whether big or small, for-profit or not-for-profit. Brown excels at presenting complex ideas in ways that are clear and impactful, and she shines in Dare to Lead. We dare you to read this emotional intelligence book and not feel inspired and empowered. 

Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy want you to embrace your emotions in the workplace, which may run counter to what friends and colleagues have told you in the past. In No Hard Feelings, the authors show that ignoring your emotions isn't a winning strategy — and neither is letting your emotions run wild. Instead, the pair offer practical strategies for improving your EQ at work where it matters most, whether that’s learning to separate feelings from facts or expressing vulnerability in the right moments. We appreciate the humor that the authors bring to this book, which adds much-needed levity to the task of boosting emotional intelligence in the professional environment to achieve balance and success. 

Thanks for the Feedback delves into a topic that so many of us struggle with: receiving critical and constructive feedback from others. In the book, Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen embrace the central tension of wanting to know how we can be better while still wanting to be appreciated for where we’re at right now. The authors draw on scientific research and their years of experience in organizational behavior and leadership spaces to help explain why getting feedback, even if it’s desired, can be so tricky. The result is a guide to fully embracing advice, critiques, and coaching to improve ourselves at work and home. This means reducing defensiveness, increasing self-awareness, and identifying relationship triggers — all of which reflect a high-functioning EQ.