Do You Have the Emotional Intelligence for the Job? How EQ Gets You Hired, and Gets the Job Done

Ignoring the EQ factor of leadership is like settling
for shadows instead of reality. Photo credit. 

As an operations professional, Charlie (name changed) began his job search with a single organization in mind: a Fortune Best Places to Work company with a sterling reputation for hiring exceptional leaders. He polished his resume to make sure his vast experience was evident; in interviews he stressed his background working in similar roles.

When he got the job offer he was waiting for, Charlie was ecstatic. His future boss, a senior vice president for the organization, explained how they made their decision. They had considered inside candidates, she said, but decided to hire Charlie not just because of his competence, but also because of his emotional intelligence (EQ, for short).


Charlie was brought in as the leader of a high performing team. Most of the team's members were meeting or exceeding goals, and colleagues in other departments had no complaints. But the team's morale was low, and the organization knew they were at risk of losing exceptional talent if something didn't change.

Working with peers across the organization, Charlie invested time in building personal relationships - not just transactional relationships - with the team. A natural encourager, Charlie found ways to recognize and reward each success or notable effort. After realizing the team felt disconnected from the organization's overall purpose, Charlie began to use team retreats and planning to get staff members out into the field, where they could interact with the end users of their organization's service. This made their work feel more meaningful, more purposeful.

Two years later, the team's morale is through the roof.

In many of business's thorniest problems, the issues aren't systems or processes, they're people. Creating a safe, encouraging, inspiring work environment takes more than an MBA; it takes emotional intelligence and an intentional focus on the human aspects of leadership.

Learn More - Senior Executive Roundtable on Emotional Intelligence, Friday, November 8th
This fall, the Center for Values-Driven Leadership offers executives a unique opportunity to build their own emotional intelligence, learn  how to foster it in others, and develop tools for preventing burnout and handling challenging situations.

The CVDL's next Senior Executive Roundtable will feature Richard Boyatzis, a global expert in organizational theory and author of Resonant Leadership and Primal Leadership. This roundtable will draw from decades of research into emotional intelligence to address the following:

• What is a great leader and how do they sustain effectiveness?
• What does resonant leadership look like in an organizational context? How do leaders sustain emotional connections in the midst of stress and change?
• How do we develop resonance and resilience in ourselves and others?
• How can we build connections that develop emotional intelligence, resonant leadership, mindfulness, and hope? How can we coach others to do the same?

Designed for senior executives, the Roundtable features expert teaching combined with spirited conversation to dive deep into the topic of EQ. Learn more at www.cvdl.org/roundtable.

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Amber Johnson is the CVDL's corporate relations advisor and a non-profit and small business communications specialist.