Emotional Intelligence (EI) is often seen as a critical management skill, with 70% of managers acknowledging its importance.

I was recently facilitated a Management Development programme, and the first session starts us off to look at what are the key skills needed for Leadership in 2024 and 2025. When listing the capabilities—listening, coaching, trust and delegation were in the top five. We spent a lot of time discuss the skills around being able to develop others and specifically around managers being able to develop self reliant problem solving within their teams. In essence, being able to delegate more and not stepping in and doing the work for others. However, Emotional Intelligence didn’t make it in to the top five. Even though recent research tells us that 72% of managers value traits like empathy and self-awareness.

By the end of this session Self-Awareness and Awareness of others had moved up into the top list. We had to have a top seven as we decided we couldn’t move any of the original five out. We spent a large part of the day looking at Insights Discovery and linking this back to Emotional Intelligence, Communication, Self Awareness and Awareness of others.

 

Build Better Managers, Develop Emotional Intelligence

A recent survey by MindTools, Build Better Managers,  involving 2,001 managers from 12 different industries aimed to identify the key skills necessary for effective management in today’s business landscape. While managers acknowledge the importance of Emotional Intelligence, they still prioritize other capabilities. Which was evident in the group of managers on the workshop I was facilitating.

The ‘Building Better Managers’ report highlights that while EI plays a crucial role in boosting innovation and engagement, many managers still struggle with these people skills. Interestingly, 80% of managers are promoted for their technical expertise rather than their desire or capability to manage people. Coupled with this half of all managers’ report receiving no support when transitioning into their roles, revealing a significant gap in developing people skills.

The conversation on the management programme moved on to look at what is happening right now in their respective businesses. It was clear that empathy and social sensitivity are vital. Managers with high Emotional Intelligence are better equipped to manage their emotions, make balanced decisions, and recognise the emotional dynamics within their teams, leading to more effective decision-making, even under pressure.

However, all of the 12 managers on this Step into Management Programme admitted that they face challenges when it comes to having difficult conversations. We discussed that they hadn’t had strong role models in this area and looked at the ripple effect that this has had on them and would have on their teams.

Traditional management focuses on tasks, objectives, and outputs, but the modern approach is about leadership—aligning teams, shaping culture, and coaching while still delivering results. While some managers are naturally inclined toward Emotional Intelligence, we discussed on the workshop that these skills are also teachable and developable.

Managers who have access to early-career training, including learning resources, formal courses, and development opportunities, tend to excel in coaching, goal setting, and active listening, which in turn builds trust and fosters team growth. This highlights the importance of prioritising effective management training from the start. Creating Management role models to support teams now and develop the managers of the future.

More than half the people on the development programme said that had they not had access to this programme they would have looked for this elsewhere. Investing in management development not only builds stronger leaders but also retains talent.

Talk to our team about how our Step Into Management Programme, can be bespoke to your business and its specific needs.