This perspective in the Washington Post by Bob McKillip, head coach Davidson College basketball team, brings home the claim those of us who advocate for emotional intelligence make, which is ‘emotions matter’.
Davidson College’s mission - “Our world needs leaders who aim to lead and serve guided by human instincts and creative and disciplined minds. We need advocates for and defenders of human dignity”
Having the men’s basketball team visit Auschwitz is testing the emotions of the players who they are grooming to become leaders.
McKillip describes what motivated the visit - “The volatility of our world right now requires a response informed by both a respect for human kind and an understanding of what happens in its absence.”
Another dynamic these young players experienced was the emotions they individually felt about the visit, and the subsequent realization of the need to depend on each other emotionally – Yes, emotions matter.