Leading With Heart: Neal Ashkanasy’s Journey in Management Education

Neal M. Ashkanasy’s career embodies the transformative power of leading, teaching, and learning with heart. His pioneering research has illuminated how emotions shape leadership effectiveness, decision-making, and education, challenging the long-standing dominance of rationalist models. Through an in-depth interview, this article traces Ashkanasy’s transition from civil engineering to academia, highlighting the pivotal experiences that led him to redefine the role of emotions in leadership and education. His reflections illustrate how emotions impact leadership effectiveness, organizational dynamics, and teaching and learning. The accompanying commentary contextualizes Ashkanasy’s contributions to management education, emphasizing his five-level model of emotions in organizations and his dedication to emotionally intelligent teaching. His insights challenge conventional wisdom, advocating for an approach that integrates emotional engagement with intellectual rigor. Through innovative teaching methods and groundbreaking research, Ashkanasy has demonstrated that leading with heart fosters resilience, collaboration, and enduring impact in organizations and education. This article invites educators, leaders, and students to reconsider the role of emotions in their professional and academic lives, offering practical applications for fostering emotionally intelligent workplaces and classrooms. Ashkanasy’s legacy is both an inspiration and a guide for educators, leaders, and students striving to integrate emotional intelligence into their professional and academic lives.