Leadership & Organizational DevelopmentEI & Personality Assessment Certifications
Empowering leaders.Elevating teams.
We work with organizations through growth, transition and change, and certify the coaches and HR professionals who develop their leaders.
Add the EQ-i 2.0®, MSCEIT® 2 and Pearman™ to your coaching practice. Live online, small cohorts, and ICF continuing coach education earned in the same days.
Good. Every claim here has a source. See what the four MHS instruments measure, the research behind them, and what clients say in their own words.
Buying for your team? Send a few people through certification, or arrange assessments for them, each with a one-hour debrief with James. A manager or HR can buy for someone else, and every price is listed.
Develop your leaders and teams through growth, transition and change, with executive coaching, team workshops and consulting built on scientifically grounded assessments.
Buying for a government office? Purchase cards, SAM registration and paperwork →
Hello, I'm James. Thank you for stopping by. Whether you are a coach, a leader, or your organization is navigating change, I would be happy to help. Have a question? Please send me a note. In a hurry? Ask our LeaderEI® Assistant. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Recording coming soon. The words are here in the meantime.
"What I didn't expect was the level of personal connection and psychological safety that he cultivated through the program."
TWTherese WykoffEQ-i 2.0® certification"His people-first, research-backed approach is changing the game for executives, HR pros, and teams around the world."
TSTrisha StetzelHost, Houston Business RadioX®"He has a rare ability to meet practitioners exactly where they are and pull them forward."
DPDarren PetersExecutive Coach for Wealth Management Advisors"What sets James apart is his ability to blend professional acumen with genuine care and support."
ALDr. Anatalia Labilloy, MD, PhDExecutive Coaching client"He is a genuine expert and cares about every student's success."
CGCertification participantGoogle review"His ability to connect emotional intelligence to real workplace challenges was especially valuable to me, coming from both an engineering and I/O Psychology background."
DSDanielle Suprick, MSIOPEQ-i 2.0® & EQ 360® certification"At first, I asked myself, 'At my age, what would coaching do for me?' … Suffice to say, that coaching brought me back."
ECExecutive Coaching clientTestimonial on leaderei.com"Coaching has been most helpful by getting me 'unstuck'."
ECExecutive Coaching clientTestimonial on leaderei.com"Coaching has helped me build on my communication skills, executive presence, and taught me how to emotionally unhook from trying work situations."
ECExecutive Coaching clientTestimonial on leaderei.com"From our first conversation about the support that our leadership team could benefit from to today, you have been world-class."
NHNicole HammDirector, Blue Zones Project, Jacksonville"James is an expert in all things emotional intelligence."
SWSammie Walker HerreraGoogle review"James is exceptionally knowledgeable, supportive, and genuinely invested in his clients' success."
CPCindy PalmerDirector of Finance and Administration"The tools he introduced allowed me to recognize and leverage my strengths and identify areas where I could improve."
PJPaul JubberExecutive Coaching client"He helped me recognize my stressors and we worked together on how to handle this in the workplace."
LRLindsay Schaack Rothstein, PharmDExecutive Coaching client"What started as an attempt to resolve a few hiccups at work has resulted in a sense of control and satisfaction in all aspects of my life that I could not have anticipated."
THT. HeberLaceExecutive Coaching client"I was impressed by his ability to coach, his cultural sensitivity and wisdom to point out several ways I can improve."
SKDr. Smruti Kinariwala, MDUF STEP Leadership Development Program"James is an excellent mentor and coach."
BVBrenna Van Stone, MS, PMPSpeaker event"James Castleberry tops my list of the dozens of Human Resources Leaders I've worked with in the past 15 years!"
PBPaul BeckerPresident and CEO, The Becker T3 Group LLC"Many thanks to James L. Castleberry for an awesome educational experience."
JAJulie AdcockLearning & Talent Development Leader"Thank you, James L. Castleberry of LeaderEI®, for facilitating a valuable learning experience and bringing both depth and practicality to the program."
CIChristine IannucciLeadership Coach, Advisor & Speaker"James L. Castleberry, thank you for your leadership, support and for pouring knowledge into my cohort. You're the best!"
MPMontiqua M. Pettway, MSHRMFounder, People First Consulting"He is rigorous without being rigid. Generous with his knowledge and his time."
DPDarren PetersExecutive Coach for Wealth Management AdvisorsThe science behind it
Four instruments published by Multi-Health Systems (MHS). Every conversation starts from evidence, not opinion.
EQ-i 2.0® & EQ 360®
How people see their own emotional intelligence, and how others see it. MHS bases the model on decades of research.
Reliability: internal consistency of .97 for Total EI, and test-retest of .92 at 2 to 4 weeks and .81 at 8 weeks. Scores near 1.0 mean the results hold steady.
See the evidence →
MSCEIT® 2
Emotional intelligence as a skill. People solve emotional problems and are scored on the answers. Developed by John D. Mayer, Peter Salovey and David R. Caruso.
Normed on 3,000 adults in the U.S. and Canada, balanced by gender and age. Overall reliability of .88 to .89. Meets the AERA, APA and NCME fairness standards. Peer-reviewed in Frontiers in Psychology (2025).
See the evidence →
Pearman Personality Integrator®
Natural personality next to what people actually do, plus the FlexIndex for flexibility. Developed by Dr. Roger R. Pearman.
Normed on 2,400 North American professionals, with five validity indicators. MHS reports strong evidence of reliability and validity, and links FlexIndex scores to transformational leadership.
See the evidence →CSI™ 2
How people experience change, starting with themselves: as a Conserver, a Pragmatist or an Originator. MHS calls it a scientifically validated measure of a person's preferred approach to change.
Normed on 96,427 people in six world regions. Internal consistency .81; test-retest .80 at 1 to 2 weeks and .75 at 13 to 15 weeks. No meaningful differences across regions, genders or U.S. racial and ethnic groups.
See the evidence →Video from MHS
EQ-i 2.0® & MSCEIT® 2 compared: which emotional intelligence assessment is right for you?
Self-report or ability-based, and when each one answers the question you are asking.
Sources: MHS, EQ-i 2.0® brochure (model and reliability); MSCEIT® 2: Mayer, J. D., Caruso, D. R., Salovey, P., Lin, I. Y., Hansma, B. J., Solomon, J., Sitarenios, G., & Romero Escobar, M. (2025). Measuring emotional intelligence with the MSCEIT 2: theory, rationale, and initial findings. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1539785. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1539785 (open access, CC BY); model and fairness: MHS MSCEIT® 2 brochure (2025); MHS, Pearman Personality Integrator® brochure; MHS, CSI™ 2 brochure (2025). Models © Multi-Health Systems Inc., shown unaltered. Read 6 NOV 2026.
Global reach
Global reach for a global need.
LeaderEI® clients across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Australia, all served live online.
Led from Florida. Live online, wherever your people are.
Coaches and HR leaders have worked with James from cities across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Australia.
James has led NATO and allied teams with members from 17 nations. He brings that experience to your leaders, live online.
Clients join live online from across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Australia. No travel to budget for.
What you're seeing: the gold countries and lines show where LeaderEI® clients are based. Hover a country to see the cities.
James has developed and led teams with members from 17 nations, across the United States, the European Union, NATO and allied countries.
He studies leadership across cultures as a Global Leadership Ph.D. student and researcher.
- LeaderEI® client countries
- To LeaderEI® clients abroad
- Teams James has led
- Home base, Florida
- UNITAS and PANAMAX partner nations (not counted in the 17)
- Hover a client country to see cities
Nations and teams: James's About page. 55+ organizations: leaderei.com, 14 SEP 2026. Skyline: simplified outline of downtown Jacksonville and the Main Street Bridge. Map: public-domain Natural Earth data.
Certification
For coaches, consultants, and HR, L&D and talent professionals
Self-report · Start hereEQ-i 2.0® & EQ 360®$777⌄
How people see themselves, and how others see them.
Learn more
Ability-basedMSCEIT® 2$1,777⌄
Emotional intelligence measured as a skill.
Learn more
PersonalityPearman Personality Integrator®$1,777⌄
What feels natural, measured against what people actually do.
Learn moreConsulting and Executive Coaching
for leaders, teams and organizations