The launch of the latest Superman movie this summer got me thinking about superpowers. What is your superpower? Is it emotional intelligence?
What does it mean to be a great leader?
You might think of someone with exceptional technical skills or strategic vision—someone who’s sharp, decisive, and results-oriented. Those things matter. But more and more, research and real-world experience point to another essential leadership trait: emotional intelligence.
At OMNI, we’ve had the privilege of partnering with leaders across industries and sectors. And over the years, I’ve seen a consistent truth: the most successful leaders aren’t just intellectually smart—they’re emotionally wise. They know how to read the room, manage themselves, and motivate others in ways that build trust, drive performance, and create cultures where people thrive.
Emotional Intelligence: Not Just “Nice to Have”
Emotional intelligence—sometimes called EQ—isn’t about being emotional. It’s about being aware.
It’s the ability to understand your own emotions, recognize the emotions of others, and use that insight to guide behavior, relationships, and decision-making. It’s what allows a leader to remain calm in crisis, resolve conflicts with grace, and inspire their teams to go further than they thought possible.
While the term has been around for decades, the concept of emotionally informed leadership is now front and center. And for good reason. The challenges today’s leaders face—remote teams, change fatigue, intergenerational dynamics, economic uncertainty—require more than technical expertise. They require people skills grounded in self-awareness, empathy, and adaptability.
For more on why soft skills like emotional intelligence—and not just technical expertise—are essential in today’s workforce, see our blog Beyond Hard Skills: Why Soft Skills Win.
The Four Building Blocks of EQ
During a recent OMNI workshop, we took a deep dive into the practical components of emotional intelligence. We explored four interconnected areas where leaders can grow their capacity to lead with influence and integrity.
1. Self-Awareness: Start With You
Self-awareness is the foundation. It’s about being tuned in to your emotions, understanding your triggers, and recognizing how your mood, tone, or stress level affects those around you.
Leaders with high self-awareness don’t just know what they’re feeling—they know why. That knowledge allows them to respond thoughtfully, not react impulsively. It also builds trust with others, who see them as grounded and consistent.
2. Self-Management: Leading From the Inside Out
If self-awareness is knowing what you’re feeling, self-management is choosing what to do with those feelings.
This includes the ability to manage impulses, stay focused under stress, adapt to change, and maintain integrity even when it’s inconvenient. Leaders with strong self-management don’t avoid tough conversations—they approach them with clarity and control. They model resilience and lead by example, even in times of uncertainty.
3. Social Awareness: Paying Attention to the People Around You
Social awareness is the ability to read the room—to pick up on the emotional cues, spoken and unspoken, that shape your team’s culture and cohesion.
It’s not just empathy (though empathy is a big part of it). It’s understanding team dynamics, recognizing how decisions will land with different stakeholders, and knowing when someone needs support—even if they’re not saying it out loud.
4. Relationship Management: Turning Awareness Into Impact
The final domain is relationship management: the ability to use emotional insight to lead others effectively. It includes communication, collaboration, conflict resolution, and influence.
This is where emotional intelligence meets execution. It’s how leaders earn buy-in, build trust, coach others toward growth, and unify diverse personalities into high-performing teams.
The Cost of Poor Emotional Intelligence
It’s easy to think of emotional intelligence as a “soft skill,” but the consequences of not having it are very real—and very measurable.
When leaders lack emotional intelligence, organizations often experience:
- High turnover: Employees leave managers, not companies. When leaders are reactive, dismissive, or emotionally volatile, retention suffers—and the cost of replacing talent can quickly add up.
- Low engagement: A lack of empathy and connection from leadership leads to disengaged teams. Disengaged employees are less productive, less innovative, and more likely to burn out.
- More conflict, less collaboration: Poor EQ often results in unresolved tensions, finger-pointing, and departmental silos that slow down decision-making and erode trust.
- Missed opportunities: Leaders who can’t read the emotional temperature of a situation—or who bulldoze through sensitive conversations—risk alienating key stakeholders or failing to rally support for critical initiatives.
- Decline in productivity and performance: Emotional volatility and inconsistent leadership can create confusion, fear, and distraction—none of which are conducive to high performance.
The bottom line? A leader’s emotional intelligence directly affects their team’s psychological safety, communication, and performance—and that, in turn, affects the organization’s financial health. More importantly, the higher one goes in the organization, the more EQ matters. Daniel Goleman (the modern founder of EQ) suggests that 90% of performance differences between senior leaders is directly tied to their level of emotional intelligence.
Companies with emotionally intelligent leadership often see increased retention, stronger engagement, faster innovation, and better decision-making. That’s not just good culture—it’s good business.
For practical strategies on cultivating collaboration, trust, and high‑impact team performance in emotionally intelligent cultures, see our blog Stronger Together: Building High‑Impact Teams Through Collaboration.
Building EQ: It’s a Practice, Not a Trait
One of the most powerful truths about emotional intelligence is that it’s not fixed. It can be developed.
You don’t need to be a natural empath or a born communicator. You need a willingness to reflect, to grow, and to take ownership of how you show up for yourself and others.
Simple practices that support EQ development:
- Ask for feedback regularly. And listen openly—even when it’s hard to hear.
- Observe your emotional patterns. What triggers stress, joy, or impatience in you?
- Practice the pause. Before reacting, take a breath. A moment of reflection often leads to a better response.
- Invest in relationships. Get to know your team. Understand what motivates them and what support looks like for them.
- Lead with curiosity. Especially when conflict arises, ask questions before making assumptions.
A great development resource is the book, The New Emotional Intelligence by Travis Bradberry. This book provides a link to take an assessment of your emotional intelligence, and then a series of exercises to help you improve you EQ skills.
Want to take a broader look at how your organization identifies and nurtures future leaders? Read our post on Developing Tomorrow’s Leaders: Building Leadership from Within for practical strategies on talent assessments, coaching, and building leadership pipelines.
Leadership That Leaves a Legacy
When we talk about developing leaders at OMNI, emotional intelligence is never an afterthought—it’s foundational. Because in the end, great leadership is about more than what you know or what you do. It’s about who you are, how you show up every day, and how you make people feel.
Emotionally intelligent leaders don’t just get results. They elevate people. They foster environments of trust, accountability, and shared success. And they leave behind something even more valuable than a strategic plan: a team that’s empowered to keep growing.
Is your leadership team equipped with the emotional intelligence skills to lead through today’s challenges—and tomorrow’s opportunities? OMNI’s Leadership and Professional Development offerings include interactive workshops and tailored coaching that help leaders build the mindset and behaviors that drive real impact.
Let’s talk about how we can support your team.
Contact OMNI Human Resource Solutions for a free consultation
Authored by: Dr. Roger Dusing, Senior Consultant & Education Practice Leader, OMNI Human Resource Solutions
