For decades, emotionally intelligent leaders have proven to be good for business. In fact, employees who have managers with high emotional intelligence are 4x less likely to leave an organization than those who have managers without it.
But according to a recent study by Harvard Business Review, over 80% of companies are missing the mark when it comes to leading with emotional intelligence, and in turn, missing out on the benefits that come with it. Could your organization be at risk? Here’s everything you need to know about leading with emotional intelligence and how to give your company a competitive edge.
What Is Emotional Intelligence? The 4 Key Aspects of EI
Emotional intelligence, or EI, is the ability to understand and manage one’s emotions while also grasping other people’s emotional state and motivations.
Specifically, emotional intelligence is represented by a combination of these skills, according to Daniel Goleman, the psychologist and best-selling author of Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ:
- Self-awareness: The ability to identify what emotions you feel and why you feel them, as well as to understand one’s own strengths and weaknesses, values, and motives.
- Self-regulation: The ability to keep your emotions, especially negative ones, in check by demonstrating control over destructive or unproductive impulses.
- Social awareness: The ability to read and understand the emotional state of others. This can also be thought of as empathy.
- Relationship management: The ability to interact with others through the use of social skills which are motivated by a desire to build and manage relationships.
Why Emotional Intelligence is so Important for Leadership
Imagine this: You get into a car accident on the way to work. Luckily, you’ve escaped with no injuries, but the ordeal sets you back two hours. When you walk into the office, you’re tense and frazzled, worried you’ll hear your boss shout, “You’re late!” But instead you hear, “Are you okay?”
Could you feel your anxiety dissipate with those three little words? That’s the power of leading with emotional intelligence and the positive emotions it invokes in employees. And as it turns out, these warm fuzzy feelings are nothing to take lightly.
Today, there’s a growing body of evidence that positive emotions at work are vital for success. Personal and social outcomes of feeling good on the job include positive beliefs, coping abilities, and even better health, while organizational outcomes include teamwork, higher engagement, and better performance. Put them all together and you get these major research-backed benefits of leading with emotional intelligence:
EI Attracts and Retains Talent
Due to the growing demand for purpose-driven work, or jobs that deliver positive emotions rather than just a paycheck, emotional intelligence is becoming increasingly recognized as a competitive advantage for companies. In fact, nearly nine in 10 millennials and Gen Zs say purpose is important to their job satisfaction, and they are increasingly likely to turn down work that doesn’t align with their values, according to Deloitte’s “2024 Gen Z and Millennial Survey.”
EI Boosts Employee Engagement and Productivity
Companies that emphasize emotional intelligence may also experience higher levels of productivity and employee engagement. Why? “Nearly all of the greatest impediments to productivity can be traced back to emotions,” explains Kevin Kruse, founder of LEADx, an EI training company, including perfectionism, self-doubt, and overwhelm. But when leaders are able to replace negative emotions with positive ones by utilizing EI skills, workflow improves.
EI Inspires Creativity and Innovation
Organizations with high levels of EI capabilities tend to have more creative teams which is important in terms of both performance and growth. “This is because team members are comfortable in understanding themselves and each other,” Harvard Business Review reports. “They are also able to be upfront about their beliefs, which brings multiple perspectives to bear on challenges and leads to innovative solutions.”
Examples of Leaders Displaying Emotional Intelligence
When leaders display emotional intelligence, they promote an environment that is safe and inclusive. Here are a few examples and the positive effects it has on employees:
Showing Self-Awareness: Heath, a regional sales director, tends to get stressed out at the end of each quarter. When the end of the quarter is approaching, he makes sure his weekends are restful and restorative.
- The impact: Heath doesn’t let stress get in the way of his productivity.
Being Socially Aware: Every time Jimena meets with an employee, she clears her desk, closes her laptop, and puts her phone in a drawer.
- The impact: This allows Jimena to fully focus on the person in front of her, including their body language so she can respond appropriately.
Managing Relationships: Warren eats lunch with his team members every Friday and makes a point to talk about non-work topics.
- The impact: Warren notices that the more he gets to know someone personally, the more trusting they are of his leadership.
Demonstrating Self-Management: When Molly is in a meeting with her superiors, she feels like her opinions are being dismissed. But instead of yelling to be heard, she chooses to think through next steps after the meeting is over.
- The impact: Rather than blowing up or internalizing her anger, Molly makes a plan to take intentional action to find a solution.
What Happens When Leaders Have Low Emotional Intelligence?
On the flip side, skipping out on the development of emotional intelligence for leadership can have significant consequences, including low productivity among employees, a lack of innovation, and an uninspired workforce.
Worse, leaders lacking highly developed emotional intelligence are more likely to create a toxic work environment which can increase turnover rates.
Here are a few top signs a leader is lacking EI and could be negatively affecting culture:
- Unable to let go of mistakes
- Unwilling or unable to accept and embrace change
- Isolating behavior rather than seeking social connections
- Blaming others for mistakes
- Emotional outbursts in difficult or tense situations
How EVERFI Can Help Increase Your Leadership’s Emotional Intelligence Skills
As with any new skill, practice makes perfect when it comes to learning to lead with emotional intelligence which is why leadership and management training is the best place to start.
EVERFI’s workplace training for leaders goes beyond teaching them management basics by offering EI-driven microlessons, including how to manage conflict and better engage employees. Learn more about the Leadership Microlesson Suite by requesting a demo.