Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ability to recognise, understand, and manage your own emotions, as well as the emotions of those around you. In professional settings, EQ significantly influences how individuals lead, collaborate, and navigate difficult situations.

High EQ: What It Looks Like

Leaders and employees that demonstrate high EQ:

• Navigate not just motivating and empowering employees and team members, but also navigate complex and challenging decision making with the mastery of emotional response.
• Are realistic but not negative and overcome with their emotions.
• Are enthusiastic and confident in themselves and the team.
• Demonstrate trust and respect.
• Are communicative and cooperative.
• Volunteer for assignments and decisions.
• Include and engage others as much as possible.
• Share openly with the team.
• Demonstrate empathy.
• Actively listen.
• Are flexible.
• Develop their teams.

Low EQ: Warning Signs

Low EQ may show up as:

• Emotional outbursts, typically out of proportion to the situation at hand.
• Not listening to others.
• Becoming argumentative.
• Blaming others.
• Believing that others are overly sensitive, because the person with low EQ cannot understand how others feel.
• Difficulty maintaining friendships and other relationships.
• Stonewalling, or refusing to see other points of view.

Why It Matters

High EQ is not about suppressing emotion -- it is about channelling emotion constructively. Teams led by high-EQ individuals tend to communicate more openly, recover from setbacks more quickly, and make better collective decisions. Recognising low EQ behaviours early, in yourself and others, is the first step toward building a healthier team culture.