3 Signs Your Leadership Development Programmes Need to Prioritise Emotional Intelligence

We may think that our workplaces are spheres where only our most professional selves show up. In reality, organisations are full of emotional complexity.

As we navigate uncertain, volatile market conditions, leaders and teams must make decisions with incomplete information and forge ahead, knowing that external shifts may undo their forward momentum. That can easily cause stress and scratchiness.

Additionally, with diverse generations in the workforce and increasingly global operations, we’re often partnering with colleagues who have differing expectations and work styles. These variations can positively impact performance so long as we take the time to understand new perspectives. If we do not, frustrations and unproductive conflict may arise.

In these environments, it’s essential that leaders have strong emotional intelligence (EQ), or the capacity to recognise, understand and effectively manage the emotions of themselves and others.

Companies that prioritise emotional intelligence in their culture and leadership also have 21% higher profitability. Among 34 important workplace skills, EQ is the strongest predictor of performance, explaining 58% of success in all types of jobs.

Although we may acknowledge the value of EQ, I find that gaps are often widespread in leadership, revealing themselves in patterns that become normalised over time.

How to Spot EQ Gaps

When I’m working with a group of leaders, I often look for three behaviours.

#1 – Listening Skills

I first pay attention to how well the leaders seem to be listening to one another. Are multiple conversations happening at once? Do they reframe what they’ve heard, showing that they are trying to listen to understand, or do they simply listen to respond?

#2 – Speaking Practices

Next, I assess how they speak to one another. Do they pause to ask questions, or are they constantly giving answers? Are they curious or simply happy to direct? While some business contexts will require more telling than asking, these practices are generally balanced in high-EQ environments.

#3 – Non-verbal Cues

The body language of individuals often reveals what words will not. Do leaders convey openness or defensiveness in the way they carry themselves? Do they lean in or seem to check out as they are communicating? I pay attention to closed-off posture or a lack of eye contact as signals.

How to Spot EQ Gaps in Your Culture

When emotional intelligence is unpractised in leadership, it shapes middle management behaviour and eventually how frontline staff experience work each day. Common signs include:

Senior leadership

• Telling and directing statements far outnumber questions for staff and the crowdsourcing of ideas
• Executives are actively ‘doing’ rather than making themselves available for dialogue
• Common phrases include: ‘My staff don’t understand me… they’re not competent… they don’t work well as a team…’
• Heavy use of ‘I’ and ‘they’ rather than ‘we’ and ‘us’

Middle management

• Overworked and stretched thin, with little recognition or autonomy
• Supervisors often serve as order takers who execute decisions, rather than thought partners contributing to the direction
• Common phrases include: ‘That’s what the boss wants… no point pushing back, the decision’s already been made… this is beyond my pay grade…’
• A clear ‘them vs. us’ language split, with leadership being ‘them’ and their team being ‘us’

Frontline staff

• Little to no autonomy, leaving their ideas and contributions unwelcome or unactioned
• Employees avoid raising concerns, challenging decisions or admitting to mistakes due to low psychological safety
• Common phrases include: ‘They’ll never listen to my idea…I can’t tell them that…That won’t work, but why argue…’
• High power distance often contributes to a reluctance to communicate with anyone two or more levels above them, increasing manager overload

What Can L&D Do to Boost Emotional Intelligence

Elevating EQ requires a system-wide approach. I recommend that L&D professionals start by engaging with executives as well as their colleagues in HR and OD. Connect with this group to explore your hiring and promotion practices. What types of behaviours or attitudes are being rewarded? What types of behaviours or attitudes do you wish to elevate?

This starting point will shape multiple aspects of your organisational system, including the competencies that are measured in performance reviews, the hiring rubrics for new teammates and of course the training delivered to leaders at all levels.

I invite L&D teams specifically to focus on 4 steps to close EQ gaps:

1) Start with diagnosis, not prescription.

Before redesigning any programme, explore the nature of the gap in emotional intelligence. What are some of the underlying challenges that contribute to this disparity? EQ includes elements like self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. Identifying the core challenges will then help you shape what elements you bring to life in training.

2) Explore the shadow self.

One area of leadership that is often overlooked is the shadow, or the unconscious influence leaders cast on their team and culture through what they say, do, prioritise and measure. These actions shape how employees act and operate for better or worse. When leaders analyse their effect on others, their EQ increases as does their capacity to use their influence for good.

3) Turn insight into action with team norms.

I find that team norms are transformative for so many leadership capacities. These rules of engagement outline a pathway for staff to raise ideas, surface mistakes, share unpopular opinions and be authentic in times of challenge. L&D professionals can facilitate the conversation, helping the executives identify 3-5 norms that leaders can then model with consistency and accountability.

4) Embed EQ into the flow of work.

A leadership retreat or kick-off session is a powerful way to introduce concepts like the shadow side of leadership or other underlying EQ gaps. You can then build on these insights with a team norms workshop. However, one-time events are not magic pills. Change requires sustained practise. Cultivate EQ development in day-to-day actions using tools like 1:1 and small group coaching, mentorship, on-the-job learning, just-in-time resources or peer pair-and-share sessions.

Becoming an EQ Agent

Emotional intelligence is a transformative skill that has a significant ripple effect. Individuals with higher EQ are better equipped to manage stress and maintain resilience. Their capacity to hold space for others generates more trusting and connected teams, which stimulates higher performing cultures.

While it may seem like a very Social (or relational) trait, the truth is that every person can operate with high EQ, no matter their Emergenetics Profile. When they do, the results will magnify through a more resilient, engaged workplace and higher profits.

What other skills are necessary for future-ready leaders? Explore our guide: Leading Forward!

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most common signs of poor emotional intelligence in leaders?

Common signals include talking more than listening, over-directing without asking questions, using language that positions the leader as separate from their team (‘they’ vs. ‘we’) and framing workplace challenges as someone else’s fault rather than a shared challenge to solve.

Can emotional intelligence be developed, or is it fixed?

EQ is highly trainable, and it requires self-awareness first. Leaders who are willing to honestly examine their gifts, blind spots and shadows tend to see real, lasting change.

What’s the ROI of investing in leadership EQ?

Organizations with high-EQ leadership consistently report lower voluntary turnover, higher engagement scores and better cross-functional collaboration. The financial impact comes primarily through engagement and retention, and through productivity gains when teams feel psychologically safe.

Should EQ development be part of onboarding for new managers?

Yes, and ideally before people move into leadership roles. Employees can begin developing self-awareness, emotional regulation, active listening and feedback skills well before they manage others.

 Print This Post