Emotional Intelligence Is More Essential Than Ever in Today's Workplace

Everywhere I turn, leaders are talking about how AI and rapid transformation are reshaping their organizations. The speed of change is staggering. Yet through all this disruption, one truth is clearer than ever: Emotional intelligence isn’t becoming less relevant—it’s becoming indispensable.

Photo by Christina Morillo

In my work with Fortune 500 leaders and through our New Lens® platform, I’ve seen firsthand how our content and design dramatically increase self-awareness and help leaders understand the impact of their actions on others. The platform offers strategies to navigate change and build resilience so leaders can consistently show up in an optimal way—exactly what's needed in today’s challenging environment.

Why Emotional Intelligence Matters More in 2025

Thirty years ago, Daniel Goleman introduced the framework of emotional intelligence (self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills). Those principles remain the foundation. What's changed is the context in which leaders must apply them.

Hybrid work makes reading body language a matter of interpreting someone’s engagement through a screen. Decision-making happens at unprecedented speed, with incomplete information. Teams are coping with relentless change, fatigue and uncertainty. Leaders can’t rely on old playbooks; they need the capacity to stay grounded themselves while supporting others through ambiguity.

The leaders who thrive today aren't the ones with all the answers. They’re the ones who use emotional intelligence to spark collaboration, integrate diverse perspectives and create psychological safety when everything else feels unstable.

The Hidden Cost of Leading Through Change

But here’s the challenge: Even the most capable leaders are stretched thin. Change fatigue wears down energy levels and erodes emotional intelligence. When you’re exhausted, you’re more likely to miss cues, snap in conversations or slip into command-and-control behaviors that undermine trust.

This is why being intentional about developing emotional intelligence matters. It’s the anchor that helps leaders show up with steadiness when the ground beneath them keeps shifting.

Building Emotional Intelligence in Daily Practice

The good news? Building emotional intelligence doesn't require hours at a retreat or a meditation practice you can’t realistically maintain. You can grow it in small, deliberate ways that fit into the rhythm of your day:

• Take five minutes daily to reflect on how you showed up in key interactions.

• Ask yourself: What impact am I having on my team's energy and focus?

• Check in regularly on your team's workload and well-being.

• Give feedback in the moment, with growth in mind.

These practices become even more powerful when supported by the right tools. New Lens® makes this development practical and sustainable by providing quick, actionable insights that help leaders increase their self-awareness and understand how their actions affect others—all while building the resilience needed to navigate constant change.

Moving Forward with Confidence

The leaders who are succeeding aren’t those who have figured everything out—they're the ones intentionally working on staying emotionally grounded while helping their teams do the same. If you're feeling stretched thin, you're not alone. But by investing in your emotional intelligence, even in small ways, you’ll navigate today's changes with more confidence and build the foundation for whatever comes next.

Ready to explore how New Lens® can help develop leaders at your organization? Learn more about our platform or contact us to start a conversation about your leadership development needs.

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Don’t wait for performance to drop before taking action. Discover how the New Lens® platform helps organizations support managers with bite-sized, actionable learning—built for today’s fast-paced, high-stress environments.

How to Develop Leaders for the AI Age

Recently, MIT Sloan Management Review published one of the most important articles I’ve read on AI and leadership. In “Why AI Demands a New Breed of Leaders,” authors Faisal Hoque, Thomas H. Davenport and Erik Nelson propose that while most organizations think of AI implementation as a technical challenge, they also need leaders who can manage the “profound cultural and organizational changes” that AI brings.

Photo by Tara Winstead

They make a compelling case—one that should spark conversations for executives, HR and L&D professionals, and all of us who develop leaders. As creator of a learning platform and a longtime coach for Fortune 50 companies, I’ve identified some key priorities for organizations to keep in mind as they cultivate leaders who can bridge technical expertise and change management.

Raise Your ‘Unicorns’ In-House

The MIT article envisions a role that might be called the “chief innovation and transformation officer.” A “CITO” would combine technical knowledge with strategic vision and deep understanding of organizational psychology and culture.

That’s a rare combination of skills. But before you craft a job posting seeking a “unicorn,” I recommend a different strategy: Develop these capacities in-house. Start by identifying potential leaders who excel at big-picture thinking. Who is able to “connect the dots” between technology initiatives and broader organizational goals? They could become your most valuable asset in these times of transformational change, so it pays to invest in their learning and growth.

Break Down Silos

The most challenging part of AI transformation isn’t usually the technology itself. It’s creating an adaptable, resilient culture where innovation can flourish. More than nine out of 10 large-company data leaders feel this way, according to the MIT article.

AI is a big, complex challenge. No single leader, or single department, is going to have all the answers. In these situations, I’ve seen the power of bringing together cross-functional leadership teams who represent a variety of perspectives.

Consider building this approach into your leadership development programs. Cohorts of emerging leaders from different departments could come together both for learning and to talk about your organization’s AI goals. This kind of collaboration increases understanding and buy-in, and it helps head off resistance to change.

Big Results from Micro-learning

As we all know by now, the AI landscape changes fast. That means development for AI leaders has to be ongoing. Traditional once-a-year training programs won't cut it.

Amid rapid disruption and transformation, our clients are embracing “growth in the flow of work”: integrating learning directly into daily work processes rather than separate training events. They like the fact that their leaders can access relevant guidance anytime through micro-learning — “bite-size” lessons two to seven minutes long.

There’s a growing body of evidence about how this approach drives business results. Research from Josh Bersin, for example, shows that organizations that embed learning into everyday work are 37% more likely to be first to market with innovative products and services.

Lift Up Different Voices

I was fascinated to read in the MIT article that Zillow and Air Canada experienced significant failures in their AI implementations because leaders didn't think through strategic and organizational consequences.

This is another reason why it’s so important to break down silos, especially through leadership development programs. I believe it’s also a powerful motivation to make leadership training available to more employees. All too often, organizations that reserve leadership development for high potentials end up focusing on employees who fit the mold of their current leaders. That creates an echo chamber. Expanding access to leadership development brings more voices to the table—voices that can raise valuable concerns that others may overlook.

The Future of AI Leadership

Reimagining leadership for the age of AI doesn’t mean we’re throwing out the fundamentals: strategic thinking, relationship building, ongoing growth, weighing different viewpoints. It just means we’re using them in new contexts. Success moving forward won’t solely be a matter of which organization has the most advanced AI tools. It will also hinge on leaders who create cultures where tech capability and human wisdom work hand in hand.

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Don’t wait for performance to drop before taking action. Discover how the New Lens® platform helps organizations support managers with bite-sized, actionable learning—built for today’s fast-paced, high-stress environments.