Emotional Intelligence (EI) aims to describe the ability to recognize and evaluate our own feelings and the others’ feelings, as well as the ability to deal with them. As an approach to communication and personal development, Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) contributes to a better understanding of our internal functioning, to identify our mental models in order to evaluate, reflect and redesign them. Joined, they were a great challenge to managers and engineers, as they have a deep impact in the business world, particularly in the areas of leadership and employee development. NLP is an extraordinary technology, since it allows us to unconsciously envision new and improved choices, even before we can consciously select our usual choice. This is the real secret of flexibility; in other words, of EI.

Today, all of us are continuously facing new challenges in our daily and work life. In the workplace, we face many and diverse challenges and problems relating to poor communication, unclear objectives, pressure, making decisions, meeting deadlines, etc. More than technical skills, many employees don’t obtain necessary and potential performance levels due to a lack of self-confidence, anxiety and demotivation. At this level, EI assumes a relevant role as a means to work with our emotions in an intelligent way. Developing employees’ emotional intelligence is a powerful contribution to self-awareness, expressing emotions, making decisions, interpersonal relationships and dealing with stress. But in order to obtain better results, it is important that we know more about ourselves as a way of increasing our attitudinal and behavioural choices. At this level, NLP appears as relevant methodology that helps to achieve the desired results. With NLP, it is possible to teach employees to manage their thoughts and emotions, becoming the leader of themselves and of their relationships with others, thereby increasing their performance. Together, EI and NLP are important methodologies that managers and engineers can use in their daily routines in their organization. Conscious of its importance to organizations nowadays, this book looks to highlight the contributions that different academics, researchers and practitioners are giving to these matters in a diverse range of organizations all over the world.

Aiming to promote research related to new trends that open up a new field of research in the management and engineering areas, the present book, divided into five chapters, covers: in chapter one, “The relationship between emotional intelligence and job performance: an evidence-based literature review with implications for scientists and engineers”; in chapter two, “Emotional intelligence: telling the history and discovering the models”;in chapter three, “How Japanese managers use NLP in their daily work”; in chapter four, “Neurolinguistic programming for managers and engineers as evidence-based practitioners”; and, finally, in chapter five, “The evolution of cultural intelligence (CQ) and its impact on individuals and organizations”.

Focusing on the latest and most recent research findings occurring in this field and looking to share knowledge and insights on an international scale, this book, entitled Emotional Intelligence and Neurolinguistic Programming: New challenges to Managers and Engineers,can be used as a research book for undergraduate engineering and management courses or as a subject on management and engineering at the postgraduate level. Also, this book can serve as a useful reference for academics, researchers, managers, engineers and other professionals in.

The Editors acknowledge their gratitude to CRC Press/Taylor & Francis Group for this opportunity and for their professional support. Finally, we would like to thank all chapter authors for their interest and availability to work on this project.

Carolina Machado

Braga, PORTUGAL

J. Paulo Davim

Aveiro, PORTUGAL