When you think of professional skills, do you think of emotional intelligence? In the workplace, it’s much more common to think of soft skills like communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and initiative.
Emotional intelligence, or EI, may seem like a vague term that wouldn’t have much impact on work, but it is a crucial part of leadership, teamwork, communication, and self-improvement.
A Niagara Institute study found that emotional intelligence was the strongest predictor of performance out of 34 workplace skills. The study also found that employees with emotionally intelligent managers are four times less likely to leave the job.
In this article, we’ll explore how to develop emotional intelligence in the workplace. I’ll also touch on why it’s such a crucial skill—especially in our AI-driven future—and how it can help your team unlock what so many organizations are searching for.
What Is Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace?
Put simply, emotional intelligence is being aware of your emotions and able to express them. It’s also the ability to manage interpersonal relationships fairly and empathetically.
This includes things like:
- Dealing with frustration
- Interacting with coworkers
- Expressing thoughts to managers and colleagues.
- Setting healthy boundaries and respecting those of others
With this in mind, it’s easy to see why emotional intelligence in the workplace is so important—it impacts and influences nearly everything you do.
Whether you’re talking to a coworker about an upcoming collaboration, talking to your boss about an issue you’re having, or helping to resolve a conflict, you’re using emotional intelligence.
Studies and research back this up, too. A 2022 survey from Statista found that over 60% of executives surveyed said emotional intelligence would be a must-have skill within one to five years.
With work increasingly moving to remote and hybrid environments, emotional intelligence is becoming even more important since maintaining relationships digitally can be even more difficult than in person.
Why Is Emotional Intelligence Important in the Workplace?
Emotions are involved in the entirety of the human experience. They influence every interaction and even every thought that we have. It’s how the human brain is wired, whether we like it or not.
The good news is that there are tons of benefits of emotional intelligence in the workplace. For example, it can help with:
- Creativity
- Innovation
- Psychological safety
- Work-life balance
- Resilience
- Leadership skills
- Trust
- Conflict resolution
I always say that the most emotionally intelligent people—those who remain calm under pressure and make thoughtful decisions despite challenges—are often the smartest in the room, regardless of their IQ or technical knowledge.
Understanding Emotions in the Workplace
Let’s look at common emotions in the workplace that can impact employees, how to understand emotional dynamics in teams, and how to identify potential emotional triggers.
Common Emotions Experienced by Employees
Emotions like anxiety, stress, frustration, and confusion are all commonly experienced by employees in the workplace. It should be no shock that these emotions can have a negative impact on things like morale, productivity, and turnover rate.
These feelings can lead to employee burnout, imposter syndrome, and disengagement, all of which can decrease productivity and satisfaction. Being able to manage these emotions and use them positively is an essential part of success at work.
Understanding Emotional Dynamics in Teams
Emotional dynamics become a little bit more complicated when we’re talking about teams. Most managers and leaders know that emotions and feelings spread.
If most employees are happy and motivated, that will rub off on the rest and bring the whole team up. Conversely, employees who are negative and disinterested can negatively affect other employees and bring your team down.
This means you have to understand and address the collective emotions of your team, not just the emotions of each team member. Managing an entire team’s collective emotions is much more difficult than a single person’s, but it is possible with the right tools, knowledge, and approach.
Identifying Emotional Triggers
Emotional triggers are stimuli that cause automatic responses, and they’re a key part of emotional intelligence in the workplace. Triggers can be anything from people or places to particular phrases, tones of voice, sounds, and situations.
As a manager or leader, you need to identify the triggers that may emotionally hijack you and your employees. There are many different ways to approach this.
A good start is taking a careful look at how your team members respond to certain stimuli, such as how they react to finding out a big deal didn’t work out or being partnered with certain people.
Another approach is to communicate directly with employees. If you have a strong relationship with your team, ask them about their emotions and mental health as it relates to work. Find out what upsets them, what motivates them, etc.
If your employees are comfortable enough with you to be honest, this can be a great way to find out their emotional triggers.
A Real-World Example of Emotional Hijacking
Being able to identify and avoid triggers can help you support your team emotionally while improving morale in the workplace. It helps prevent emotional hijacking, which happens when our emotional brain takes over and we react in ways we regret later.
When I’m talking to people about this, I often use the example of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars. That’s him being emotionally hijacked in the moment, and if he had these tools, he wouldn’t have to go through the big apology tour and backlash that followed.
Steps to Developing Emotional Intelligence at Work
I’ve spent more than twenty years working on emotional intelligence programs, and I can tell you that information and knowledge about emotional intelligence are important, but they aren’t of much use if you don’t apply them.
In our flagship EI program, Emotional Intelligence for Teams, I walk teams through the process of understanding their own emotions to understand why others act the way they do. It progresses like this:
- Building self-awareness
- Practicing self-management
- Becoming aware of others
- Learning how to manage others
- Emotionally intelligent leadership
Developing emotional intelligence at work is easier said than done, so here are some actionable steps with practical strategies that you can use to develop and implement emotional intelligence in the workplace.
1. Understanding Empathy and Emotional Awareness
Empathy—the ability to recognize, understand, and share the feelings of others—is a key part of emotional intelligence.
Practicing empathy will help you understand the feelings of your employees and team members, allowing you to respond to those feelings effectively.
To practice empathy, I always tell people to try to see things from others’ point of view. It may be hard at first, but you have to try to truly understand the other person’s perspective.
This is especially important when you disagree, as understanding their side can help you resolve the situation amicably.
Another thing you can do is see how you respond to others:
- Do you let colleagues speak their minds?
- Do you cut people off?
- Do you have social awareness?
- Do you acknowledge all input, even if you disagree?
Take a look at your own actions and consider how they make others feel. If you’re struggling with this, consider trying meditation. Research shows that meditation helps increase both emotional intelligence and leadership potential.
2. Building Emotional Regulation and Management Skills
After the self-awareness part, it’s time for some straightforward, actionable tools to help with emotional regulation—another key part of emotional intelligence in the workplace.
It can be defined as the ability to control your emotions. We all know what it’s like to lose control of our emotions, so it shouldn’t be hard to see why that can have a negative impact at work.
Manage Your Stress
Finding a way to release stress is a good start. Whether you like to exercise, garden, cook, play video games, or something else, having a positive way to release stress outside of work is essential.
Think Before You Act
Another tip is to pause and think before you act. Get in the habit of taking a deep breath and thinking about how you want to respond to a difficult situation.
Taking a moment to consider the consequences of your actions can be all it takes to make a better decision. It’s easy to get worked up and say something you’ll regret, so try to slow down and contemplate your decision first.
Take Care Of Yourself
It’s like they say when you get on an airplane: “Put on your own oxygen mask before assisting others.” Take care of yourself to make sure you can be there for your team.
3. Practicing Active Listening and Communication Skills
This one is pretty self-explanatory, but it’s just as important as the others. Active listening and effective communication are two of the most important aspects of emotional intelligence.
It’s impossible to understand how others are feeling if you don’t listen to them, and communication is essential if you want to help uplift your employees.
Here are some essentials to apply when talking to others so you can be a good listener:
- Ask questions
- Provide feedback
- Be attentive
- Don’t talk over others
- Always make sure to consider the input of the other person, even if you don’t agree with it
These steps can go a long way in showing your team that you care about them and are dedicated to their success.
4. Incorporating Emotional Intelligence Into Team Processes
The final step is knowing how to apply emotional intelligence at work. The best way to do this is by incorporating it into team processes, making it a basic part of how your team operates.
Try to find ways you can incorporate emotional intelligence in the workplace by looking at your daily processes.
Having individual and or group meetings to talk about successes and issues at work is a great way to put more of a focus on emotional intelligence.
You can also incorporate emotional intelligence into the basic rules and decorum of your business, such as not allowing people to interrupt others during meetings or encouraging constructive criticism.
The Evolution of Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace
There are too many advantages of emotional intelligence in the workplace to ignore. One of the most fascinating aspects of my work has been witnessing how emotional intelligence has evolved from a novel concept to a core business necessity.
In 20 years of working with emotional intelligence, the demand has changed dramatically. It was a new concept in the 90s, so in the early 2000s, it was cutting edge. People would be like, “Whoa, what’s that?”
The progression has been remarkable. Now, it has moved to universal. Teams have realized that it’s one of the best practices needed for a team and a core necessity. They’ve learned that emotional intelligence and communication are key.
Both organizational needs and advancements in brain science have driven this shift.
Brain research is changing so fast. New research is coming out every week about how our brains work. However, scientists say we only know about 5% of the truth about how our brains work and how we can maximize our understanding.
This continuous evolution means that while the core principles remain consistent, the specifics of emotional intelligence training are constantly being refined and improved.
Overcoming Resistance to Emotional Intelligence Training
There’s still a lot of resistance and skepticism around emotional intelligence in management and leaders.
This resistance is often tied to misconceptions. People who haven’t seen enough examples of emotional intelligence in the workplace frequently misunderstand it.
For instance, I do sometimes get pushback from leaders more focused on technical skills and the bottom line. They often think the event will just be one big therapy session where we talk about our feelings and don’t get much more out of it.
My approach to overcoming this resistance is simple: I ground it in science. It always puts them at ease when they realize, “No, this is just science. This is the law of hardwiring of our brains. We’re all wired this way, and here’s how our brains work.”
By focusing on the neuroscience behind emotional responses rather than abstract concepts, even the most skeptical participants typically see the value of emotional intelligence training.
The comfort and trust come when they realize it’s a science-backed training, not a touchy-feely therapy session.
Real-World Impact: An Emotional Intelligence Success Story
I’ve seen the impact of EI at work time and time again. There was this finance team I worked with for an emotional intelligence team building event. During the event, I watched them go from tolerating each other to genuinely enjoying their colleagues, all because of the principles and coping mechanisms they learned during the program.
The transformation was truly remarkable. After they stopped and asked, “What does it mean to be emotionally intelligent?” They realized they got along. They were also less siloed and able to interact with and understand that change happened because they gained tools to navigate challenging emotional situations.
They understood what was happening in their brains, so they wouldn’t take it personally. They could also stand firm and remain calm when their clients were flying off the handle.
The vibe was completely different when I returned to work with them the following year to conduct another one of our EI programs, Strengths Finder 2.0.
These kinds of transformations aren’t unusual. I’ve witnessed countless teams make similar journeys from dysfunction to cohesion through emotional intelligence development.
Enhancing Emotional Intelligence At Work With Team Building
If you’re trying to improve emotional intelligence at work, don’t forget about the many benefits that team building has to offer. Team building can be a great way to increase emotional intelligence while making other improvements, such as upskilling employees.
Our emotional intelligence team building event provides you with the practical guidance and tools needed to fully develop, optimize, and improve your team’s emotional intelligence so they can unleash their hidden potential.
It can also help boost morale, strengthen bonds, and increase productivity. Consider following it up with a fun team building activity from our catalog to reinforce what your team just learned.
There are also professional development programs that can improve your emotional intelligence in the workplace.
Though these programs may not explicitly focus on EI, they can boost skills like communication, collaboration, and empathy, which are crucial components of emotional intelligence.
Support Your Team by Focusing on Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence may not be the most obvious workplace skill, but it is one of the most important. High emotional intelligence can boost morale, improve teamwork, enhance interpersonal relations, and increase productivity. It is essential if you want a happy, driven, and motivated team.
In today’s complex workplace—and tomorrow’s AI-enhanced environment—it may be your team’s most valuable asset.
It’s time to take the steps you need to make your business as successful as possible by improving your and your team’s emotional intelligence.
Ready to focus on your emotional intelligence? Get in touch with us today. We have a wide selection of professional development events that can help you better your emotional intelligence.
