Emotional Intelligence at Work

Emotional intelligence is a core competency of an effective leader. Anyone can become a manager through merit, but to lead people effectively takes a certain level of emotional understanding and empathy. Not every people manager is equipped with these capabilities. 

While the term contains the word ‘intelligence’, you don’t have to have a Masters degree to demonstrate emotional intelligence at work. Yes, these types of skills come more naturally to some people. However, as we’ve discussed in this previous blog on the subject, emotional intelligence can be learned and developed, and that’s what we’re aiming to help with in this post.

We’ll identify eight key characteristics of an emotionally intelligent leader and share what these might look like in a workplace context. We’ll also consider the link between emotional intelligence and mental health in the workplace.  

Managers want to strengthen their people skills

In a joint 2024 study by Mindtools and YouGov, 72% of managers agreed that empathy, self-awareness/self-regulation, or social sensitivity should be amongst the top five most important capabilities for managers. However, not all managers have access to training in these areas. Managers also said they want, but aren’t getting, training and development to enhance their emotional intelligence.

Ask us about accessing training and development to boost emotional intelligence. Call 0161 941 2426 to talk to our learning and development team.

The characteristics of emotional intelligence

• Self-awareness

The ability to recognise and understand different emotions in oneself and choose how to respond to them is one of the main characteristics of an emotionally intelligent individual.

In the workplace they may remove themselves from situations, know when they need to take a holiday, and ask for support from their team.     

• Ability to show emotion

Emotionally intelligent people are never afraid to show their feelings in front of others, but they also know when to tone the emotion down to suit the situation.

 At work, you might find them challenging decisions they believe are wrong, sticking up for their colleagues, and showing their own vulnerability. 

•  Empathy and understanding

Understanding and sharing the feelings of others, caring about their personal wellbeing and mental health are all strong signs of emotional intelligence.

In a team environment, this results in a caring, compassionate, supportive manager who’s always aware what’s going on in their team. They create a fair and inclusive culture, and can spot and resolve emotive issues and challenges before they escalate. 

•  Perception

People with high emotional intelligence are sensitive to verbal and non-verbal signals. They perceptively pick up on body language and actions to understand how someone is feeling.

It’s this intuition that enables them to create a happy, calm and productive work environment and recognise when issues might arise.

• Interpersonal and social skills

Emotionally intelligent people build strong connections with their team based on mutual trust and respect. They build lasting relationships and have a wide pool of friends to call on in time of need.

These people may socialise with their colleagues, but recognise where to draw the professional line. As managers they make a point of recognising strong performance and offer support and encouragement for lower performing team members.

• Strong communicator

Self-awareness and social sensitivity makes for transparent, honest, open conversations. Emotionally intelligent people are good listeners and always find the right words to deliver the message.

In the workplace these strong communication skills make them ideal candidates for coaching, mentoring and leading others. They are adept at handling difficult conversations and excellent at mediation.

• Problem solvers

The ability to see things from other people’s point of view enables the emotionally intelligent individual to resolve issues quickly and effectively.

Within a team setting, this skillset shows its true value when managing conflict, resolving customer complaints, or internal challenges. 

Discuss people issues in confidence with a qualified HR Advisor. Call us on 0161 941 2426 or email p3advice@p3pm.co.uk

The link between emotional intelligence and mental health

Scientists and people professionals widely acknowledge that people with high emotional intelligence are better equipped to manage their own mental health. Their characteristics enable them to regulate their emotions, keep calm in stressful situations and choose their emotional response to a situation. In effect, when you have strong emotional intelligence you are more able to protect yourself against stress and cope with the trials and tribulations of life and work.

Psychological flexibility is key to managing effectively in today’s multi-generational workplace. When you are aware of your own feelings and emotions, you are more able to recognise the signs of emotional distress in others, before their mental wellbeing starts to decline. Encouraging a colleague to take a break, delegate workload or adapt their work routine could be the difference between mental overwhelm and happiness at work.

On the other hand, leaders with low emotional intelligence have low empathy and little awareness of the feelings of others. When a leader is unable to manage their own emotions it can have a negative impact on their team and may create or exacerbate mental health problems in others. This can lead to low psychological safety, stress and anxiety, poor productivity and declining engagement. In fact, when managers lack empathy, employees are 34% less innovative and 43% less engaged at work (Catalyst, 2021).

How to measure emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence is part of our individual makeup. It’s not something that can easily be measured on a numerical scale. Employee surveys are always a great source of information about team dynamics, employee satisfaction and wellbeing at work. Asking specific questions about manager performance, confidence and trust will provide you with qualitative feedback. 

When it comes to performance management and identifying manager training needs, gathering 360 degree feedback may also help to build up a picture of a person’s level of emotional intelligence.

Employee turnover rates provide a quantitative measure of how many people are leaving your business. Conducting an anonymous exit survey may also provide confidential feedback on reason for leaving, which may or may not be linked to the way they have been managed.

How we can help you

If you would like to understand how to implement the measurement tools above or discuss the issues in this post, please get in touch with us on 0161 941 2426. We’re here to help.

Further reading

For more on this subject, read our blogs on Emotional intelligence, How to balance confidence and humility and Cultivating a positive work culture.