Emotional Intelligence Training for New Managers

I’ve listened to a lot of management audiobooks, and most either drown you in buzzwords or oversimplify human behavior. *Emotional Intelligence Training for New Managers* is the rare exception—it’s like having a blunt, experienced mentor whispering in your ear during a crisis. The standout feature? Ellison’s **‘say this, not that’** comparisons. For example, he contrasts a passive-aggressive performance review opener (*‘Some people might see this as an issue…’*) with a direct but fair alternative (*‘Here’s where we’re misaligned, and here’s how we fix it’*). It’s the kind of specificity that makes you pause the audiobook to take notes. Diogenes Dreamer’s performance elevates the material. His voice has a gravelly authority that sells the tough-love moments, but he softens just enough during vulnerable sections (like handling an employee’s personal crisis) to keep it from feeling clinical. My only critique: the production occasionally suffers from uneven audio levels—some of the dialogue examples are noticeably quieter than the narration, forcing me to adjust the volume. And while Ellison’s scripts are gold, I wished for more *real-world reactions*—how these phrases land with different personality types, not just the idealized outcomes. Still, at under 4 hours, it’s the most efficient leadership training I’ve encountered. If you’re a new manager who’s ever lied awake wondering *‘Did I handle that right?’*, this is your audiobook.