Emotional Intelligence in Work

These 8 behaviours separate the good from the great: Most leaders get emotional intelligence wrong. I did too, for years. I confused it for: ❌ Never showing frustration ❌ Always keeping the peace ❌ Being everyone's best friend It's about: ✅ Creating space for tough convos (but having them) ✅ Being in control of how you react ✅ Being open (but not oversharing) Here are 8 ways the best show their emotional intelligence: 1/ They ask for the hard truth. ↳ "What's one thing I could have done better?" after every project. ↳ Track feedback patterns, fix them. 2/ They make small promises count. ↳ Follow through, especially on tiny commitments. ↳ Can't deliver? Flag it before they chase you. 3/ They absorb pressure (without spreading it). ↳ Take deep breaths before responding under pressure. ↳ If you're overwhelmed, say, "Let’s regroup in 5 minutes.” 4/ They set boundaries with grace. ↳ Replace "no" with "I can help tomorrow at 2". ↳ Exit overrun meetings with a short apology. 5/ They listen like a detective. ↳ Listen to understand first. Respond after reflecting. ↳ Assume good intent even if the delivery is bad. 6/ They show their human side. ↳ Share lessons from recent mistakes in team meetings. ↳ Admit when you don't know something. 7/ They choose their responses carefully. ↳ People’s reactions are about them, not you. ↳ Separate the message from the tone, focus on what’s useful. 8/ They chase growth relentlessly. ↳ Say, “That’s on me. Here’s how I’ll fix it.” No excuses. ↳ If you misread a situation, admit it and adjust quickly. The truth is: Emotional intelligence isn’t talking about your feelings all day. It’s using them to move forward. P.S. What’s the most common sign of high emotional intelligence to you? — Visual Inspo: Justin Wright — ♻ Repost to help your network lead the right way. ➕ Follow me (Will McTighe) for more like this.

People with high EQ earn up to $29K more per year. Why? Because emotional intelligence drives trust, leadership, and results. Technical skills might land you the job. Emotional intelligence gets you promoted. Most people think strong performance is enough. But here’s the truth: Promotions and raises don’t just go to the most skilled. They go to those who: ✅ Navigate conflict with calm ✅ Communicate clearly under pressure ✅ Make others feel seen and supported That’s emotional intelligence. And it’s one of the most overlooked leadership skills. What does EQ look like at work? 8 powerful ways to show it: 1/ Make space for emotions (even if you disagree). Validating emotions builds connection and trust. ➟ “I can see how that would be frustrating.” 2/ Set boundaries without apologizing. Clear limits show self-respect and strength. ➟ “I’m at capacity. Let’s find a better time to discuss.” 3/ Stay calm when others get defensive. Your steadiness helps de-escalate tension. ➟ “Let’s slow down and take one step at a time.” 4/ Admit when you’re wrong and adjust quickly. Owning mistakes builds trust and momentum. ➟ “That’s a good point. Let’s rethink this.” 5/ Pause to reset before emotions take over. A short pause prevents long-term damage. ➟ “I need a moment to clear my head. I’ll be back.” 6/ Express disagreement without creating conflict. Disagreeing respectfully keeps dialogue productive. ➟ “Here’s how I’m thinking about it…” 7/ Give feedback that helps people grow. Clarity with kindness inspires improvement. ➟ “Here’s what worked. One thing to try next…” 8/ Choose connection when it’s easier to shut down. Staying present shows maturity and care. ➟ “Let’s talk when you’re ready. I want to help.” These aren't “soft skills.” They’re the hardest (and most human) skills you’ll ever master. The results speak for themselves: Leaders with high EQ see: • 34% higher team engagement • 20% better productivity • 63% lower turnover But the real ROI? You become the kind of leader people don’t just follow. They fight to work with. Reshare ♻️ to help someone in your network. And give me a follow for more posts like this.

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 Are you hiding your true feelings to maintain that perfect leader façade? 🤔 It's tough, constantly acting like nothing bothers you. It's not only exhausting but can make you feel like you're losing a bit of yourself every day. But this constant suppression of emotions isn’t just draining; it’s dangerous. It leads to severe internal stress, potential burnout, and a leadership style that feels disconnected. Over time, your team might start looking for authenticity elsewhere, and top talent could slip through your fingers. What’s the fix? Mindfulness training—more than just a buzzword, it's a lifeline for leaders swamped by their hidden emotions. Here's how to get started with Mindfulness for Emotional Management: ✅ Breathing Exercises: Take a moment to focus on your breathing. Feel each breath as you inhale and exhale, grounding yourself. ✅ Mindful Observation: Dedicate time each day to simply observe your environment without judgment. Note the details around you—the sights, sounds, and smells. ✅ Identify Emotions: Regularly check in with yourself. What are you feeling? Name your emotions to better understand them. ✅ Journaling: Keep a daily log of your emotions and reactions. Reflect on what triggered your feelings and how you dealt with them. ✅ Safe Sharing: Begin to share your feelings in trusted circles. This could be with a mentor, coach, or peers. ✅ Workshops and Retreats: Invest time in mindfulness workshops or retreats to strengthen your skills and connect with like-minded leaders. Start using these steps, and you'll find your stress levels dropping and your connection with your team strengthening. Have you experimented with mindfulness in your leadership? What changes have you noticed? I’d love to hear your stories! 📣 ➖➖➖ Over the past two decades, I have dedicated myself to leadership and employee development, guiding individuals and teams for multiple Fortune 200 companies in multiple industries, as well as government and non-profits, on a transformative journey toward enhancing their leadership skills and realizing their fullest potential. Using my proprietary "𝐋.𝐎.𝐕.𝐄. 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦", we take a journey together to understand your unique strengths that we can capitalize on, and see if there are any behaviors that may have once served you well, but no longer do. We then define a plan to improve your strengths and mitigate those behaviors that may be inhibiting your growth and effectiveness. When leaders are highly effective, employees thrive and want to stay with the company, and also recruit others to join the company! ***** 👉 Type "𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄" in the COMMENTS below to receive the FREE PDF and start your journey towards raising your consciousness. #leadership #personaldevelopment #management #mindfulness #culture #organizationaldevelopment

Have you ever let your emotions drive your decision-making in your business, and later regret the decision you made? I am sure we can all relate at some point. Well, I have a solution to prevent emotional decision-making from happening in the future. When I work with my executive clients, one of the first skills we work on is self-awareness of one's emotions. On a scale from 0-10, with 10 feeling that emotion the strongest, when your emotional state is a 7 or above, your logic drops. This is when you don’t want to make any major business decisions or have important interactions. And guess what, this also applies to feeling happy! Imagine a huge deal goes through and you’re a 10 out of 10. You are probably likely to give everyone raises, which you might quickly regret. So, when you are a 7 or above, you need to apply skills to get to a 6 or below. Then you are ready to jump back into the business world. Here are 5 skills you can apply to lower your emotional state: 1. Practice circular breathing for 5-10 min. 4 sec in, 4 sec hold, 4 sec out, 4 sec hold. 2. Take a cold shower for 5 minutes. 3. Go for a 10-20 min non-judgmental walk. Just state facts of what you see on your walk. 4. Do 5-10 min of light exercise. 5. Find a quiet space and meditate. Close your eyes and visualize your thoughts as leafs floating by you. Let go of those judgmental thoughts to clear your mind. Pro-tip: Practice mindfulness daily to help reduce the peak in emotions and gain a higher level of self-awareness. Also, this concept can be utilized if you are struggling with burnout or mental challenges. It can help you improve your emotional state and relationships at times of adversity. Ready to become a master of self-awareness and decision-making? → 📌 comment Follow Alex Wisch for more content on #leadership, #mindset, and achieving #PeakPerformance.

5 Ways Mindfulness Helped Me in Leadership 1. Enhanced Decision-Making Mindfulness has improved my ability to stay present and analyze with clarity In my role as an executive career coach, mindfulness has allowed me to stay attuned to the needs and aspirations of my clients, guiding them with a personalized approach and empathy. 2. Improved Emotional Intelligence Mindfulness has heightened my emotional awareness and regulation. As a former executive recruiter, my enhanced emotional intelligence has helped me to better match candidates with roles, understanding both their professional skills and emotional needs. 3. Increased Resilience Mindfulness has built my resilience, helping me to manage stress and adapt. In my consulting senior executives, this resilience has been vital in navigating complex organizational changes and guiding leaders through transformational leadership, helping them improve their learning systems. 4. Boosted Creativity and Innovation Mindfulness encourages a state of open-mindedness around ideas. At the state university where I serve as a mid-level manager, mindfulness has been key in developing innovative programs and initiatives. 5. Strengthened Focus and Productivity Mindfulness sharpened my focus and productivity; more efficient with tasks. As a former facilitator with the U.S. Department of State, I helped international leaders remain focused in their deliberations during a simulation similar to the pandemic predating the pandemic by 5 years. Mindfulness is part of mental wellness, managing emotions and mindset! Let me know in the comments which # is your favorite and why? Join me this Friday at 1pm to discuss this topic in more detail! â™» Share this post with your connections #mentalhealthawarenessmonth #mindfulness #linkedin #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #selfleadership #claritywithcharity

In healthcare—and in life—good intentions aren’t enough. A group of seminary students prepares to give talks on compassion—some on the Good Samaritan. On their way to the lecture hall, they pass someone in visible distress. Surely, their moral training would guide them to stop. Right? The study found something unsettling: If they were in a hurry, they were far less likely to help—regardless of how much they valued compassion. This reveals something profound. Context shapes behavior—not in a rigid way, but enough to influence whether we respond with empathy or walk by. Now think about healthcare. Most clinicians enter the field with a deep desire to care. But like the students, our ability to act on that intention is shaped by their environment: 🚨 Long shifts 📋 Endless documentation 🏥 Understaffing 💔 Emotional overload Over time, many experience empathic distress—the toll of witnessing suffering without adequate support. Some detach to cope. Others find compassion satisfaction—a sense of meaning that sustains them. Here’s the heart of it: Clinicians don’t burn out because they lack compassion. They struggle when systems make it nearly impossible to live it out. Even the most empathic hearts falter in environments that reward speed over presence, output over connection. And yet, people vary—strengths and coping styles make a difference. What helps? To preserve empathy, we must create spaces where care can breathe: • Time to Care – Like the students in the low-hurry group, clinicians need room to connect. • Psychological Safety – A culture where emotions can be shared without fear. • Better Systems – Workflows that reduce burden and protect humanity. • Individual Support – Because no two people handle stress the same way. Compassion isn’t simply a personal trait. It’s a shared resource—one that systems can either nourish or deplete. If we truly value empathy in healthcare, we must design for it—while honoring the diverse ways providers stay connected to their purpose. What combination of systemic and individual support do you believe makes the biggest difference? I’d love to hear from those on the front lines—and those shaping the future of care. #JustOneHeart #Healthcare #Compassion #BurnoutPrevention #PsychologicalSafety #Empathy #PatientExperience

Emotional Intelligence: A Core Leadership Skill Emotional intelligence (EI) is more than a skill—it is a leadership superpower. Leaders with high EI understand their emotions and those of others, using that knowledge to inspire trust, resolve conflicts, and strengthen team dynamics. I remember leading a team through a challenging operational turnaround. Stress levels were high, and morale was low. Instead of pushing harder, I paused to focus on self-awareness and empathy. I began meeting with team members individually to listen to their concerns and better understand their perspectives. We rebuilt trust and collaboration by acknowledging their challenges and aligning my communication with their needs. Within months, turnover dropped by 25%, and engagement soared. That experience solidified that emotional intelligence is not optional; it is essential! Teams thrive when they feel understood and valued, creating a ripple effect of trust and high performance. What EI practices have helped you the most in your leadership journey? Let’s learn together! #CRAVELeadership #LeadershipTips #DrAmin #NeuroLeadership

One morning last week, I woke up feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and sad...😫 In the past, those emotions would spiral, affect my productivity for the rest of the day; I would even get more frustrated at myself for feeling those emotions But NOW I have created a mental gym to control my emotions rather than allowing them to control me 🙌 Here are the steps I took which completely shifted my state. Try it out next time this happens to you: 1. Accept that I am feeling these emotions, but detach my identity from the emotion. Ie: I am not a sad person, I am just feeling sadness. - There is a difference, and it will pass. 2. Write down why I began to feel these emotions; what caused it? What upset me? 3. When is the appropriate time to take action on the incident that triggered the emotions? Is there anything I can do to solve it? Put a time block on your calendar indicating when you can take action. 4. Write down 5 things I'm grateful for 5. Physically move my body (Crushed my workout with a killer playlist) 6. Write my long term goals, and visualize myself accomplishing them and feeling the emotions I would experience in this process. By the end of my physical and mental gym routine, I felt inspired, joyful, and motivated to take clear action. This approach has been transformational for me. Instead of getting stuck in negative emotions or ignoring them (making them compound). ➡️ Now, I feel empowered to handle them face on, and they actually give me more insight on how to have a more positive, productive, clear plan moving forward. I'm sharing this because I want you to know you don't have to stay stuck either. We all face challenging experiences, but you can truly turn challenges into strengths. Who else has developed strategies for managing difficult emotions? Comment below, I'd love to hear about your experience and tactics! #EmotionalIntelligence #ProfessionalGrowth #Resilience

Would you like a technique to help keep your emotions and communications in check during meetings? In your minds eye, imagine yourself getting ready to present at an important event then your phone rings, you answer it, and you end up hearing some really bad news. What would you do to compose yourself? You’re on in 5 more minutes. That type of scenario is real, I’ve experienced it and so have a lot of other individuals. Bad news BEFORE a presentation is challenging enough, but what about something that triggers your emotions negatively DURING an important meeting, perhaps by a  colleague saying something upsetting or that makes you feel angry. What can you do to keep your emotions in check? First, remove the emotion and instead consider what's being said. Avoid taking it personally and clarify the meaning with a question. And an effective technique is to focus your mind on something in the room that is factual, e.g. look at the wall and silently tell yourself what color it is, or count the number of people in the room. This will reset your brain, giving you a chance to calm down while keeping your emotions, and more importantly, your REPUTATION intact. Whether you feel triggered in a sales call, performance review, interview, or team meeting you only need to “act cool” for a few moments before the feelings will pass. Use the "brain reset" technique and you get to keep your shining reputation! #communicationtraining #leadership #emotionalintelligence

Imagine standing at the pinnacle of your career, having achieved a coveted spot in the MIT Executive MBA program, only to be blindsided by one damaging piece of anonymous feedback in a 360 leadership evaluation: "Angelique needs to stop acting like a petulant child!" 🤬Angry and embarrassed, my first reaction was to ignore it. When my MIT-sponsored executive coach, who was reviewing all of my leadership assessment data, asked if I wanted to address it,  I said, “No. I know who wrote that. He just has it out for me,” 🤔But the more I thought about it, the more I had to admit there might be some truth to his comments.  A few months later, I brought it up. 🙄😤“You know what? I think there might be something to this feedback. Sometimes I get so frustrated at work that I roll my eyes or huff in exasperation.” While I think it is OK to get frustrated at work, I don’t like having these visible reactions that make me seem like I’m not in control of my emotions. And if I’m honest, in those moments, I don’t feel like I’m in control of my emotions, either. “I can see how these reactions leave a negative impression on my colleagues, so I would like to spend some time working on it.” So we did. And it changed everything. With my coach’s help, I was able to hone my ability to regulate my emotions and reclaim control even in the toughest of situations. I took what she taught me, and I put it into a step-by-step process that I call The Poker Face Playbook. ➡️Whether you roll your eyes, yell, slam doors, or burst into tears, uncontrolled displays of emotion can hinder your ability to feel confident and your ability to appear confident. Leaders need both, so if you struggle to keep your composure, you might try this process: 1️⃣Brainstorm Your Tough Situations. 2️⃣Develop an “Enjoy/Dread” List by reflecting on Why these situations impact you. 3️⃣Develop a Rescue Plan of strategies you could use to help you through. 4️⃣Test Out Your Rescue Plan. 5️⃣Debrief. 6️⃣Develop a One-page Summary of Your Plan for Reference. 🌟Get the detailed playbook and my personal examples in the newsletter: How I Learned to Keep My Composure In Tough Situations. 🔗Link in comments. #innovation #entrepreneurship #engineering #leadership #management #personaldevelopment