Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace: Why it Matters and How to Improve

From exams to essays, standardized tests and admissions criteria, there are myriad ways to assess your IQ. But when it comes to succeeding in the workforce, book smarts aren’t the only mark of your intelligence. It’s also crucial to have emotional intelligence, an underrated skill in the workplace that can have a significant impact on your career path. 

The good news is that emotional intelligence—sometimes known as EI or EQ—like all skills, can be learned, practiced, improved and even mastered. 

You might already be familiar with the core skills in demand for the future workforce, as well as the value employers place on both hard and soft skills. So, if you’re looking for another way to differentiate your skill set, demonstrating emotional intelligence is a key tool to add to your kit. 

Read on to find out how.

What is Emotional Intelligence?

You might have heard the term emotional intelligence mentioned before and thought it just another corporate buzzword or piece of coaching lingo. But it’s a significant concept both inside and outside the workplace.

“Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize, understand, and manage how your own emotions influence your conduct as a leader—and to recognize, influence, and navigate the emotions of others,” explains Dr Dimitrios Spyridonidis, associate professor and MBA and executive education course director at Warwick Business School.

“It includes self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. It also refers to the ability to regulate how your emotions influence the self. In short, it’s about being emotionally attuned and socially effective,” he adds.

It can be easy to think of having emotional intelligence as being a natural people person—but it’s important to acknowledge that it’s a skill, and therefore a tool you can use to your advantage. “At its core, emotional intelligence is about being skillful with people, including yourself,” says Heather Elkington, author, TEDX speaker, and founder of Fresh Leadership World.

“Emotional Intelligence means being attuned, strategic, and emotionally steady enough to lead when things get messy—which they always do,” she adds.

Why Emotional Intelligence is Important

Although you might not list emotional intelligence in the skills section of your CV, it’s important in order to build and progress at every stage of your career.

“For early professionals, emotional intelligence helps you collaborate effectively, receive feedback without defensiveness, and build strong working relationships. For mid-level and senior professionals, it enables you to manage teams, resolve conflict, influence stakeholders, and adapt during change. Across industries—from tech to finance to healthcare—emotional intelligence contributes to better communication, more empathy, reduced burnout, more inclusive teams, and stronger leadership pipelines,” explains Dr Dimitrios.

Particularly for leaders and managers, emotional intelligence is vital to lead teams to strong outcomes.

“Leadership today is less about commanding and more about connecting. Senior roles involve navigating ambiguity, motivating diverse teams, managing complex stakeholder dynamics, and making decisions that impact not just performance, but culture. Leaders with high emotional intelligence are more trusted, more agile, and better able to lead through change. Without it, technical skills alone rarely translate into long term leadership success,” says Dr Dimitios.

Emotional intelligence also translates into maturity, something that can help leaders navigate uncertain circumstances and set an example others can follow. 

“Emotionally intelligent managers recognize when they’re emotionally charged, then they pause before acting,” says Heather.  

“They know that just because they feel something urgently doesn’t mean it needs to be said or acted on urgently. That’s where leadership maturity lives: in the gap between stimulus and response.”

Use our Business Education Planner to find the best program to meet your personal needs and goals

How to Work on Your Emotional Intelligence

For students and professionals looking to bolster your emotional intelligence, here are five key strategies experts suggest. 

1. Practice self-awareness and reflection

Use tools like journaling or 360-degree feedback to understand how your behavior affects others. Leadership development modules taught within relevant degree programs such as MBAs are perfect spaces for this, and structured coaching or mentoring can also help build self-awareness and empathy. Make a habit to stop, think and reflect on how you can become a better peer, colleague, and employee to those around you. 

2. Study leadership conflicts like a case study

When tensions arise in your work or while undertaking a project, zoom out. Ask yourself: “What emotional needs were driving those behaviours?” Train yourself to see beneath the surface, because that’s what the best leaders do instinctively. 

3. Seek diverse group work and take emotional risks

Interacting with others from diverse backgrounds can help you develop your emotional intelligence. Business schools are a safe lab for teamwork, where you can work alongside cohorts from a variety of geographic and professional backgrounds. Here, you can lean into discomfort, practice active listening, and notice emotional dynamics in high-pressure settings. This can help you push yourself to speak authentically, express disagreement constructively, or admit uncertainty. 

4. Ask for feedback and stay open when you hear it

Emotional intelligence isn’t built in a vacuum. Ask your colleagues, managers, or teammates: “What’s one thing I could do differently in how I communicate or show up?” Then sit with it. Don’t justify yourself—just take it on board.

5. Use role-plays and simulations

Immersing yourself in a practical experience that involves working with others and tackling a specific problem can help you develop your ability to read emotional cues, manage conflict, and influence others. Consulting projects, internships, and business simulators are woven within business school curriculums in order to help students develop their emotional intelligence, before then applying their learnings in real life settings.

Wondering if it's time for a career change? Take our quiz to find out if now is the right moment to make your next move