{"id":20955,"date":"2025-01-22T14:48:01","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T19:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/?p=20955"},"modified":"2025-10-09T10:21:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T15:21:18","slug":"richard-boyatzis-on-using-his-intentional-change-theory-to-re-learn-guitar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/richard-boyatzis-on-using-his-intentional-change-theory-to-re-learn-guitar\/","title":{"rendered":"Richard Boyatzis on Using His Intentional Change Theory to Re-Learn Guitar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-a-leading-expert-on-emotional-intelligence-is-applying-his-own-research-to-rediscover-the-joy-of-learning-through-music\">How a Leading Expert on Emotional Intelligence Is Applying His Own Research to Rediscover the Joy of Learning Through Music<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Richard Boyatzis is one of the world\u2019s leading scholars on emotional intelligence, behavior change, and leadership. One of his claims to fame is his development of Intentional Change Theory (ICT), which focuses on achieving change in sustainable ways. Boyatzis is putting his own theory to practice studying guitar at Berklee Online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Coaching with Compassion Can &#039;Light Up&#039; Human Thoughts\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZFjgAxmRaYo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy research has shown that what really motivates people is not pain, and it\u2019s not goals,\u201d says Boyatzis, a Distinguished University Professor at Case Western Reserve University. \u201cTurns out specific goals close you down neurologically to being open to learning. What really motivates people to continue with learning or change, is vision, purpose, and it\u2019s bigger than goals.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Boyatzis, his vision and purpose is to play guitar with the musicality and artistry of his instructors, like <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/faculty\/bruce-bartlett?campaign_id=7010Z000001ZkQgQAK&amp;pid=&amp;utm_source=takenote&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=bol-gen-takenote-link-from-article\" target=\"_blank\">Bruce Bartlett<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/faculty\/robin-stone?campaign_id=7010Z000001ZkQgQAK&amp;pid=&amp;utm_source=takenote&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=bol-gen-takenote-link-from-article\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Robin Stone (opens in a new tab)\">Robin Stone<\/a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen Bruce would play the opening eight stanzas of \u2018Moonlight in Vermont\u2019 that Johnny Smith made very famous, or when Robin would play this Santana song that still is in my head weeks later, that is so motivating; it reminds me of why I am doing this,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Johnny Smith Quintet - Moonlight in Vermont\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gRNpc-hFkCs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With an undergraduate degree in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT, and a PhD in social psychology from Harvard, Boyatzis will be the first to tell you that he\u2019s not after a Berklee degree, or even a certificate. \u201cWho am I going to show that to?\u201d he jokes. Boyatzis is simply looking to get better at guitar by taking courses. So far, he\u2019s taken <em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/courses\/guitar-chords-101?campaign_id=7010Z000001ZkQgQAK&amp;pid=&amp;utm_source=takenote&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=bol-gen-takenote-link-from-article\" target=\"_blank\">Guitar Chords 101<\/a><\/em> and <em><a href=\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/courses\/guitar-scales-101?campaign_id=7010Z000001ZkQgQAK&amp;pid=&amp;utm_source=takenote&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=bol-gen-takenote-link-from-article\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">Guitar Scales 101<\/a><\/em>, and he\u2019s sticking to a strict practice routine to make sure he can rise to the occasion.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI decided early on that the only way I was going to be able to handle this, especially when my fingers were screaming that they were on fire, was to make sure I had two practice sessions a day,\u201d says Boyatzis. \u201cI went through a period where I was taking Tylenol every night and spreading arthritis cream on my hands, but that seems to have stopped, and I seemed to be stretching enough.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Boyatzis enrolled at Berklee Online with the encouragement of his wife. She thought he needed something fun to do outside of work, especially as he writes his next book, which he considers his magnum opus.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy wife knows that I have this ability to focus and stick-to-itiveness,\u201d he says, \u201cwhich is why I get so much writing done in publications, but she\u2019s been impressed by the fact that I\u2019m still doing the two sessions a day. Again, there\u2019s nothing in it except my curiosity and joy of learning.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This isn\u2019t the first time that Boyatzis is picking up the guitar; he\u2019s returning to it after a 60-year hiatus. Growing up in Queens, NY, as the son of Greek immigrants, Boyatzis\u2019s parents supported him taking guitar lessons, but encouraged him to pursue his affinity for math and science as a career. Throughout high school, Boyatzis played paying gigs all over NYC and even saved up enough money to cover his first year at MIT.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere were four of us who were at the heart of it, but the key was we did dance music, which is derisively called \u2018boom chicka,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cWe did American Legion Hall parties, Democratic Club, Republican Club, VFW, Kiwanis, played some supper clubs, but we also got into ethnic music. So we did Italian weddings, Greek baptisms, Polish weddings, etc. \u2026 So I loved it. And even though I was quite a nerd, I\u2019d practice at least an hour or two every night, and we\u2019d always have rehearsals on weekends and we\u2019d have jobs.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When Boyatzis moved to the Boston area to attend MIT, he stopped playing gigs because the union scale was one-third of what it was in NYC. Plus, his studies were pretty rigorous. However, he says that he still managed to get a group of his fraternity brothers together once every month or so to play music.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2060\" height=\"1392\" src=\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/1966-REB-rehearsing-at-the-fraternity-house-at-MIT.jpg\" alt=\"A black and white photo of Richard Boyatzis rehearsing with three other bandmates in his MIT fraternity house in 1966. Boyatzis is playing guitar with other bandmates on bass, drums, and vocals.\" class=\"wp-image-20958\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Boyatzis rehearsing at his MIT fraternity house in 1966. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI was teaching two of my fraternity brothers to play the guitar and a whole bunch wanted to learn,\u201d he says. \u201cI got one into playing the drums, but we didn\u2019t have a bass player. So we got a guy from another fraternity. If I had known that in a few years that he would form the group Boston\u2014Tom Scholz\u2014I might have had a different career path, but at any rate.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When Boyatzis became a full-time professor, his life became too busy to play guitar. His storied career includes publishing more than 250 articles, writing nine books, creating <a href=\"https:\/\/www.coursera.org\/instructor\/richardboyatzis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Coursera courses (opens in a new tab)\">Coursera courses<\/a> that have enrolled 1.5 million students to-date, and traveling the world to give lectures. Even though he wasn\u2019t playing guitar, he still found a way to incorporate music into his teaching.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI always open my lectures with music,\u201d he says. \u201cI get people, whether it\u2019s 50, 100, or 2,500, standing up and clapping and dancing because of its effect on the neural network, the default mode network.\u201d&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Boyatzis started studying with Berklee Online in the winter semester of 2024. He is taking the summer to review the Berklee Online courses he\u2019s already taken and will be starting his 200-level guitar courses when the next semester begins in September. What\u2019s helping him stay motivated is straight from a chapter in his internationally best-selling book, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Helping-People-Change-Coaching-Compassion\/dp\/1633696561\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1M44R3QO6MVIB&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ueBgrZgcDmUEonYVrlPNJmtSBArCX0J-H-cD862LCBzId4ke9XBaEbF7nXsgQf1mPEYqwkRHQw60NfBp98cS6KOvNMlXx5Y3sB42v8ZH32Tqta76lGt77yeOlnIS-PaoNuJSxE5bUv0-1KpcjSfjFrSw3GE6sGJRPTSq9ncVsxPqxCGpai9JczoYZmdhJiIUmdbKyLe73g0NrfWv9z3ZSTOoskRpagxzSGo-p_Jw2Wo.Ey9lBmD_gWmQn3s8r4p1tj-q2-pnkBJAtpMDasmHau8&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=helping+people+change+book&amp;qid=1720782934&amp;s=books&amp;sprefix=Helping+People+Change%2Cstripbooks%2C85&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">Helping People Change<\/a><\/em>.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou literally want people to break with reality to dream, because you do it in a different part of your brain,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd if people did that, and they periodically reminded themselves of it, it\u2019s a phenomenal motivating force. It gets you through the rough spots. Learning requires a lot of emotional self-control, which in and of itself is stressful. So what keeps you going? These moments of emotional support, these moments of joy, these moments where all of a sudden, in my case, I play something and say, \u2018Oh my God, that sounds great! How did that happen?\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/guitar?campaign_id=7010Z000001ZkQgQAK&amp;pid=&amp;utm_source=takenote&amp;tum_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=bol-gen-takenote-article-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"STUDY GUITAR WITH BERKLEE ONLINE (opens in a new tab)\">STUDY GUITAR WITH BERKLEE ONLINE<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the world\u2019s leading scholars on emotional intelligence, behavior change, and leadership, Richard Boyatzis is putting his own research to practice while studying guitar at Berklee Online after a 60-year hiatus. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":20956,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,9564,9565,9560,32],"tags":[9431,359,5951,9433,9434,9430,9432,9429],"class_list":["post-20955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-features-articles","category-guitar-articles","category-spotlight","category-student-stories","tag-bruce-bartlett","tag-coursera","tag-guitar-chords-101","tag-guitar-scales-101","tag-helping-people-change","tag-intentional-change-theory","tag-johnny-smith","tag-richard-boyatzis"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.8 (Yoast SEO v25.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Richard Boyatzis on Using His Intentional Change Theory to Re-Learn Guitar<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A 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