Why leaders are looking for ‘emotional intelligence’

 Workers are trained to trumpet technical skills and personal achievements on their resumés, and talk them up in job interviews. However, to succeed at work, either personally or as part of a team, an entirely different skill set is coming to the fore.

Leaders are increasingly looking for ‘emotional intelligence’, also known as ‘EQ’. This range of competencies encompasses our ability to understand and manage our own and others’ feelings, then use this knowledge to build positive, productive connections.

In general, working in an emotionally intelligent way may mean taking a different approach — instead of putting your head down and prioritising to-do lists or productivity goals, it means putting human relationships and our own and others’ feelings first. It may be a challenging mindset transition, yet the benefits can be profound, increasing morale, productivity, wellbeing and personal influence — all traits employers are demanding now, more than ever.