Emotional Intelligence: A Competitive Edge
If 90% of top performers have high Emotional Intelligence (EQ) [1] and if it predicts 67% of a leader’s effectiveness [2], why do most leaders and professionals continue to instead chase technical skills, strategies, and credentials?
The answer lies in 85% of leaders lacking EQ [3], yet these same leaders do not recognise it and overwhelmingly rate themselves highly. That's called a blind spot, and a massive one.
It explains why so many double down on skills and strategies rather than making space for their emotions, their childhood, and their inner world. This blind spot limits careers, damages teams, and causes unnecessary suffering for the individual. Frequently when I speak to somebody experiencing frustration or blockage in their career, the path traces back to something emotional that has gone unrecognised. And that's ok, we were not shown how. Once we know however, we have a choice. With awareness comes responsibility, and opportunity.
The limited EQ statistics are so high that we are essentially talking about everyone, so as you read this article, include yourself (especially if you just thought 'nah, not me'). For those who might be in the 15% who are emotionally aware, well, you know enough to know this path never ends and only expands with richer and richer rewards. So, regardless of your position, EQ is one of the most valuable investments you can make in your own life experience, success and happiness.
Emotions drive decisions, shape relationships, and set the tone in every interaction. The quality of your emotions is directly equal to the quality of your life. Without connection to your emotions, you become split, separated from yourself, cut off from your own intelligence, and divorced from your life experience. For those who are disconnected, there is always a reason, and we must be respectful of it. It is often a protective pattern. I can relate. I divorced my emotions so completely that a decade ago I was unable to even identify what they were, let alone know how to live, work, and weave with them.
In business, the difference is clear. Those who are connected with their emotions connect better with others, think more clearly under pressure, and lead in a way that inspires trust.
🎯 Takeaway: Most professionals overinvest in skills and credentials while ignoring emotional intelligence, creating blind spots that stall careers, damage teams, and make life harder than it needs to be.
Part 2. Emotional Intelligence and a Better Life
Emotional intelligence (EQ) is one of the strongest predictors of life satisfaction and wellbeing [4]. People with higher EQ report stronger relationships, lower stress, and greater resilience.
Yet so many of us experience anxiety, strained connections, and burnout because our emotional lives remain untrained or ignored. Without inner tools, life feels like reacting than creating.
Blindspots are fascinating things, how can we come to know what we don't know we don't know? Honestly, the answer is usually through a crisis. Even a minor Monday morning crisis can be enough, so long as action follows. If you think you squeaked through this one, then I promise it's going to come back around harder next time.
So, what exactly is EQ?
Psychology researchers Mayer, Salovey and Caruso (1997) define it as “the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions to facilitate thinking and guide behaviour.”
Daniel Goleman, who popularised EQ in the business world, describes it as “the capacity for recognising our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships.”
I say that EQ is a natural part of being human, yet one that is often starved or injured through childhood and culture, leaving many to re-learn it now as adults. At its core it is about connection to our emotions.
When I ask clients to name what feelings they are experiencing in the moment, the silence that follows is itself a barometer of how disconnected we can become. People with higher EQ report stronger wellbeing, handle stress more effectively, and recover from setbacks faster. Emotional clarity, mood regulation, and awareness are the levers that separate those who drift through life from those who live with purpose.
EQ is the skill for navigating our world beneath the surface.
In my Depth Model this is described as the Human Experience layer, a place of emotions and energy. This place is parent of action because emotions drive behaviour, and behaviours produce results.
Here, emotions, thoughts, and body sensations interact to shape how we live and respond. When we are disconnected from it, life can feel mechanical, flat, or reactive because we are cut off from the signals that provide meaning and alignment. When we are connected but don't like what we feel, or how we feel, it leaks out in our behaviour. Developing EQ is about building fluency in this human experience layer, learning to notice, interpret, soothe, and work with what arises within us so that the inner world becomes a resource rather than a barrier.
🎯 Takeaway: Disconnection from our emotions leaves us anxious, burnt out, and reactive, and weak. Our emotional world is the parent of action because emotions drive behaviour, and behaviours produce results.
Part 3. EQ Fuels Creativity, Productivity, and Flow
Organizations with emotionally intelligent (EQ) leaders see up to 40% higher productivity [5].
In workplaces driven by urgency, multitasking, and constant pressure, creativity and meaningful productivity too often get buried. People get stuck in firefighting mode, unable or unwilling to think clearly or collaborate well. Ideas are shot-down, flow becomes rare, and innovation stalls.
With EQ in leadership, clarity rises. Stress is managed more effectively, conflict is reduced, and communication is sharpened. This frees cognitive bandwidth for creative problem solving and collaboration. Productivity does not just increase, it becomes more sustainable, consistent, and innovative. Teams with emotionally intelligent leaders also report higher retention and stronger engagement, because people feel safer, more understood, and more willing to take risks that lead to breakthroughs.
In my view of the world our True Self comes in here. This is the deepest part of us that holds our original dream, energy and potential. It is the source of inspiration, ideas, and creative flow. What blocks these natural traits from surfacing are unresolved wounds, limiting beliefs, and lack of emotional intelligence. Emotions act as messengers of both, the signals that show us what still needs attention and what can be grown. By developing EQ we learn to read those signals and clear the blocks, allowing creativity and inspiration to flow through more freely.
🎯 Takeaway: Under pressure, teams without EQ fall into firefighting and stagnation, where creativity and flow are buried beneath stress and conflict. Low EQ in a person divorces them from their own inspiration, creativity and joy.
Part 4. The Invisible Career Ceiling
Research shows that emotional intelligence (EQ) is positively related to career satisfaction, even when controlling for personality traits and proactive personality [6].
Yet many professionals plateau despite strong technical performance. They collect credentials and certifications, but leadership remains out of reach. The barriers are not always visible. Missteps in communication, lack of empathy, or difficulties with self-regulation quietly block advancement without a clear reason.
This is especially true of technically minded professionals who are highly logical, linear, and skilled in their craft. These qualities are valuable, but they only represent half of the human equation. At senior levels, businesses are not just looking for technical mastery. They are looking for the whole human, the ability to connect, to inspire, to build trust, to manage complexity, and to lead with presence. A brilliant strategist who cannot handle conflict or navigate emotions will not move people forward. Give me a group of leaders and I will show you a treasure trove of blindspots, there is fantastic opportunity, if organisations or professionals are willing to look.
At the personal level, most people know what it feels like when inspiration is blocked. The ideas are there somewhere but they do not surface. Often it is old beliefs or unresolved emotions standing in the way, there can be beliefs about beliefs which automatically block the way, nobody said it was easy. Emotions are the messengers that point to what is still unfinished. When we learn to listen, creativity flows again.
It hardly requires proof, yet research confirms it... soft skills, including EQ, rank among the foundational skills that help people move into more advanced positions, earn more, and remain resilient amid market changes [7].
🎯 Takeaway: Careers plateau when technical mastery outpaces emotional growth, because organisations want whole humans at the top, not just credentialed professionals.
Part 5. Leadership That Actually Works
Leaders with high emotional intelligence (EQ) have been shown to inspire 50% more employees compared to their low EQ peers [8] . Many leadership programs emphasise strategy and metrics, yet even the most technically skilled leaders can fail when (EQ) is missing.
Teams under such leaders may be competent but disengaged, undervalued, and disconnected.
By contrast, emotionally intelligent leaders build trust, resilience, and loyalty. They inspire followership, foster innovation, and strengthen culture. Research shows that employees who trust their leaders report 74% less stress and 40% less burnout [9] . Servant leadership research also confirms that leaders who prioritise empathy and service achieve stronger engagement, higher innovation, and greater retention.
True leadership is not about projecting authority but about alignment. When leaders have done the inner work to recognise and resolve their own wounds, they lead from clarity rather than reactivity. Their presence communicates safety and trust. Their connection to their own human experience allows them to connect with others at the same depth. In my Depth Model this is leadership flowing from the True Self. These leaders do not just manage tasks, they move people, and in doing so they create cultures where both performance and people thrive.
🎯 Takeaway: Leaders who lack EQ may manage tasks, but they cannot inspire trust, leaving teams disengaged, disconnected, and far less resilient.
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References:
[1] Bradberry, T. (2014). Emotional Intelligence, Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/2014/01/09/emotional-intelligence
[2] ElectroIQ. 50+ Emotional Intelligence Statistics, https://electroiq.com/stats/emotional-intelligence-statistics
[3] Harvard Business Publishing (2025). The Ladder of Inference: Building Self-Awareness to Be a Better Human-Centered Leader, https://www.harvardbusiness.org/insight/the-ladder-of-inference-building-self-awareness-to-be-a-better-human-centered-leader/
[4] Urquijo, I., Extremera, N., & Villa, A. (2016). Emotional Intelligence, Life Satisfaction, and Psychological Well-Being in Graduates: The Mediating Effect of Perceived Stress, Applied Research in Quality of Life, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11482-015-9432-9
[5] Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC). The Science of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and Leadership, https://www.aesc.org/insights/magazine/article/science-emotional-intelligence-eq-and-leadership
[6] Soft Skills Matter Now More Than Ever, According to New Research. Harvard Business Review, August 2025, https://hbr.org/2025/08/soft-skills-matter-now-more-than-ever-according-to-new-research
[7] Urquijo, I., Extremera, N., & Villa, A. (2016). Emotional Intelligence, Life Satisfaction, and Psychological Well-Being in Graduates: The Mediating Effect of Perceived Stress, Applied Research in Quality of Life, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11482-015-9432-9
[8] Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC). The Science of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and Leadership, https://www.aesc.org/insights/magazine/article/science-emotional-intelligence-eq-and-leadership
[9] Zak, P. (2017). The Neuroscience of Trust. Harvard Business Review, https://www.harvardbusiness.org/insight/good-leadership-it-all-starts-with-trust/
