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Social Intelligence, Leadership, and Problem Solving

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In this volume, M. Afzalur Rahim gathers ten contributions covering a diverse range of topics. These include Type III error in medical decision making, a theoretical model of social intelligence, a structural equations model of social intelligence, servant theory of leadership, entrepreneurial motives and orientations, stress and strain among self-employed and organizationally employed employees, a theory of communication nexus, foreign direct investment from emerging markets, operations and strategy of healthcare management, and knowledge recipients and knowledge transfer.international perspectives.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter | 14  pages, medical decision-making as argument: the role of the probability of implication, chapter | 24  pages, foundations of social intelligence: a conceptual model with implications for business performance, a model of leaders’ social intelligence, interpersonal justice, and creative performance, chapter 4 | 34  pages, servant leadership and psychological climate as moderators of job satisfaction–organizational citizenship behavior relationship, chapter 5 | 12  pages, entrepreneurship motives, entrepreneurial orientation, and duration of new french firms, chapter 6 | 16  pages, relationship between job-related stressors and job burnout: differences between self-employed and organization-employed professionals, chapter 7 | 20  pages, communicating in the 21st-century workplace, outward foreign direct investment activities and strategies by firms from emerging markets: management literature review from 2005 to 2010, healthcare management: operations and strategy, the relationships of knowledge recipients and knowledge transfer at japanese mncs based in china, chapter | 11  pages, book reviews.

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Social Intelligence, Leadership, and Problem Solving

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In this volume, M. Afzalur Rahim gathers ten contributions covering a diverse range of topics. These include Type III error in medical decision making, a theoretical model of social intelligence, a structural equations model of social intelligence, servant theory of leadership, entrepreneurial motives and orientations, stress and strain among self-employed and organizationally employed employees, a theory of communication nexus, foreign direct investment from emerging markets, operations and strategy of healthcare management, and knowledge recipients and knowledge transfer.international perspectives.

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M. Afzalur Rahim

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Social Intelligence, Leadership, and Problem Solving: 16 (Current Topics in Management) Hardcover – 15 Jan. 2013

In this volume, M. Afzalur Rahim gathers ten contributions covering a diverse range of topics. These include Type III error in medical decision making, a theoretical model of social intelligence, a structural equations model of social intelligence, servant theory of leadership, entrepreneurial motives and orientations, stress and strain among self-employed and organizationally employed employees, a theory of communication nexus, foreign direct investment from emerging markets, operations and strategy of healthcare management, and knowledge recipients and knowledge transfer.international perspectives.

• ISBN-10 1412851734
• ISBN-13 978-1412851732
• Edition 1st
• Publisher Transaction Publishers
• Publication date 15 Jan. 2013
• Language English
• Dimensions 15.88 x 1.91 x 23.5 cm
• Print length 212 pages
• See all details

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-Ten papers explore topics in social intelligence, leadership, and problem solving. Papers discuss medical decision making as argument--the role of the probability of implication; foundations of social intelligence--a conceptual model with implications for business performance; a model of leaders' social intelligence, interpersonal justice, and creative performance; servant leadership and psychological climate as moderators of job satisfaction-organizational citizenship behavior relationship; entrepreneurship motives, entrepreneurial orientation, and duration of new French firms; relationship between job-related stressors and job burnout--differences between self-employed and organization-employed professionals; communication in the twenty-first-century workplace--a theory of communication nexus; outward foreign direct investment activities and strategies by firms from emerging markets--management literature review from 2005 to 2010; health care management--operations and strategy; and the relationships of knowledge recipients and knowledge transfer at Japanese multinational corporations based in China.-

-- Journal of Economic Literature

"Ten papers explore topics in social intelligence, leadership, and problem solving. Papers discuss medical decision making as argument--the role of the probability of implication; foundations of social intelligence--a conceptual model with implications for business performance; a model of leaders' social intelligence, interpersonal justice, and creative performance; servant leadership and psychological climate as moderators of job satisfaction-organizational citizenship behavior relationship; entrepreneurship motives, entrepreneurial orientation, and duration of new French firms; relationship between job-related stressors and job burnout--differences between self-employed and organization-employed professionals; communication in the twenty-first-century workplace--a theory of communication nexus; outward foreign direct investment activities and strategies by firms from emerging markets--management literature review from 2005 to 2010; health care management--operations and strategy; and the relationships of knowledge recipients and knowledge transfer at Japanese multinational corporations based in China."

--Journal of Economic Literature

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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Transaction Publishers; 1st edition (15 Jan. 2013)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 212 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1412851734
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1412851732
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.88 x 1.91 x 23.5 cm

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Social Intelligence: Building Strong Workplace Relationships as a Leader

What is social intelligence, and why it matters in the workplace, understanding the characteristics of socially intelligent leaders, the link between social intelligence and effective leadership, developing social intelligence in the workplace, improving social intelligence as a leader or manager, empathy and understanding team members, clear communication skills, positive attitude and outlook.

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Cultural awareness and sensitivity, encouraging open communication and feedback, identifying personal biases and blind spots, seeking feedback and self-reflection, investing in training and coaching, take a free active listening assessment to become a socially intelligent leader..

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Social Intelligence, Leadership, and Problem Solving (Current Topics in Management) 1st Edition

In this volume, M. Afzalur Rahim gathers ten contributions covering a diverse range of topics. These include Type III error in medical decision making, a theoretical model of social intelligence, a structural equations model of social intelligence, servant theory of leadership, entrepreneurial motives and orientations, stress and strain among self-employed and organizationally employed employees, a theory of communication nexus, foreign direct investment from emerging markets, operations and strategy of healthcare management, and knowledge recipients and knowledge transfer.international perspectives.

• ISBN-10 1138514683
• ISBN-13 978-1138514683
• Edition 1st
• Publication date July 26, 2017
• Language English
• Dimensions 5.98 x 0.48 x 9.02 inches
• Print length 212 pages
• See all details

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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Routledge; 1st edition (July 26, 2017)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 212 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1138514683
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1138514683
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 16 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.98 x 0.48 x 9.02 inches

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Social Intelligence: What It Is and Why We Need It More than Ever Before

• First Online: 26 January 2020

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• Avery Siying Li 3  

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In this chapter, we discuss social intelligence and why it is of crucial importance to the world today. We open by defining social intelligence. Then we discuss whether social intelligence should be separated from general intelligence. Then we discuss the role of nonverbal communication in social intelligence. Finally, we discuss how social intelligence fits into a broader notion of adaptive intelligence. We conclude that, in the twenty-first century, the major problems the world is facing will be solved not merely by exercise of cognitive intelligence but by exercise of social intelligence and related constructs.

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Sternberg, R.J., Li, A.S. (2020). Social Intelligence: What It Is and Why We Need It More than Ever Before. In: Sternberg, R.J., Kostić, A. (eds) Social Intelligence and Nonverbal Communication. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34964-6_1

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Please note you do not have access to teaching notes, a process model of social intelligence and problem-solving style for conflict management.

International Journal of Conflict Management

ISSN : 1044-4068

Article publication date: 17 May 2018

Issue publication date: 13 August 2018

This study aims to explore the relationship between social intelligence (SI) and problem-solving (PS) style of handling conflict.

Design/methodology/approach

Data on SI and PS were collected with questionnaires from 406 faculty members, and the data were averaged by departments. This resulted in a sample of 43 departments, and all the data analyses were performed with this sample of 43. SI is defined as the ability to be aware of relevant social situations, to handle situational challenges effectively, to understand others’ concerns and feelings and to build and maintain positive relationships in social settings.

Data analyses with LISREL at the department level suggest that SI is positively associated with PS.

Research limitations/implications

Data were collected from only one public university in the USA, which might limit the generalizability of the results. The department chairs need to acquire the four components of SI to improve faculty members’ PS. This will hopefully lead to constructive management of many faculty–department chair conflicts.

Originality/value

One of the strengths of this study is that the measures of endogenous and exogenous variables were analyzed at the department level, not individual level. This study contributed to our understanding of the relationships of situational awareness, situational response, cognitive empathy and social skills with each other and to PS.

• Problem solving
• Intelligence
• Social intelligence

Rahim, A. , Civelek, I. and Liang, F.H. (2018), "A process model of social intelligence and problem-solving style for conflict management", International Journal of Conflict Management , Vol. 29 No. 4, pp. 487-499. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCMA-06-2017-0055

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Seven Ways to Be an Emotionally Intelligent Leader

David, a school counselor, took a deep breath when he saw a missed call from his principal. As he touched the screen to call back, he braced for the “bark and the bite” he was accustomed to hearing from Principal Carrie.

This time was different.

In fact, he told us he was stunned when the voice that picked up sounded kind, even cheerful. He couldn’t believe it. After years of working together, he had grown to dread interactions with Principal Carrie, as had most of his colleagues. But this was clearly a different version of her. Who was this new principal, and what had she done with Carrie?

Carrie was finishing up a year of engagement in emotionally intelligent leadership coaching—a program designed to enhance leaders’ well-being through education and training in social and emotional skills.

Recent research from the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence supports the notion that emotionally intelligent school leadership predicts educator well-being, and we know that well-being and emotional intelligence skills are necessary for effective leadership, especially in times of crisis—from higher job satisfaction to lower emotional exhaustion and turnover intentions. Indeed, even when leaders, especially in education, have little to no control over their environment, they have control over their own behavior and can still cultivate a culture of healthy relationships and emotionally intelligent responses to uncontrollable circumstances. School leaders who have decided to invest in their own emotional intelligence and well-being consistently report interactions like the one between David and Carrie.

But doing so is no easy feat. Carrie came to us as many school leaders have in recent years: chronically stressed, overwhelmed, and exhausted. The job she loved was feeling increasingly unsustainable. Her distress was also affecting her colleagues, to the detriment of teachers and students alike. Carrie had been in education for nearly 25 years, but it was the last four years that had shaken the sustainability of her career. And who could blame her?

Ever-shifting rules, regulations, and ripple effects of the pandemic brought demands on school staff and leadership to a peak, straining an already turbulent educational landscape. Monitoring COVID-19 absences, distributing laptops in bulk, adapting curriculum for uncharted virtual territory, and consoling frightened, grieving students and families suddenly became daily tasks for which school leaders were held accountable.

Those new responsibilities added to pre-existing pressures and crises that they were already navigating daily, such as teacher turnover, inequitable funding, politicization of learning material, mental health, school safety, standardized testing, and, of course, the overwhelming influence of social media, artificial intelligence, and technology. Altogether, these factors created a web of uncertainties and challenges so great for even the most effective, seasoned leader to sustain.

So, where does that leave school leaders like Carrie?

While she could not fix, on a day-to-day basis, the systemic problems that made her job so stressful, Carrie could invest in her well-being by regularly practicing emotion regulation techniques and modeling these behaviors for others, like practicing reframing and turning moments of harsh criticism to compassion. While she could not eliminate the stress, she could be more committed to getting more sleep, cutting down on sugar, and walking 10 minutes a day—activities that will positively affect mental and physical well-being. It is crucial that school leaders have the tools to realistically assess what they can and can’t do to create greater well-being and leader effectiveness.

And this is just what Carrie did—and all school leaders can do—using strategies provided in our new book, Emotional Intelligence for School Leaders . We offer tips for harnessing a healthier you and, in turn, healthier relationships. It’s this emotionally intelligent leadership that will help you to not just survive but thrive in the ever-demanding landscape of education.

Check in with your emotions regularly—and honor them. Before rushing into the hectic schedule of each day, pencil in time to sit and reflect on how you feel. Your emotions give you important information . They are not something to simply ignore or push away. Your emotions will inevitably influence your conversations, behaviors, and relationships whether you notice it or not (recall David’s long-held impression of Carrie). Prior to a meeting, event, or other obligation, prioritize a few minutes to honor and assess your own well-being. This could be through silent reflection, journaling, or even apps on your phone like How We Feel , a handheld journal that helps you name, track, and better understand your emotions.

Regulate your emotions. Checking in with your emotions is one crucial piece of the emotional intelligence puzzle; you have to be able to name it to tame it. Regulating, or managing, those emotions is another. While feeling joyful or proud may not require strategies to help you stay grounded, feeling angry or burned out certainly do—and you may experience all of these emotions on any given school day. Identify strategies that are sustainable and beneficial for managing your big emotions in challenging moments, such as mindful breathing, meditation, or pausing your schedule to take a walk outside before a demanding situation overwhelms you. Such practices don’t actually take up much time—just a few minutes—but the benefits are evergreen.

Establish clear boundaries and stick to them. We know how hard this one can be. In an environment that constantly asks you to say “yes,” we challenge you to say “no” more often . This can look like rescheduling a meeting (or canceling it if it “could’ve been an email”) or extending a deadline for your colleagues so everyone has some breathing room. Leaning on emotion regulation techniques above, identify circumstances that are most emotionally taxing for you, which tasks you can delegate to others (don’t be afraid to ask for help!), and where you can reallocate your energy for better use.

Listen with empathy and without judgment. School leaders cannot afford to be “too busy” to listen to each other and elicit feedback in school settings. Active listening builds trust. The moment we are too overbooked to engage in authentic conversation with colleagues, we can quickly lose our emotional regulation, our boundaries, and our purpose. It’s a slippery slope to devolving into unhealthy, transactional relationships. Even in the most strenuous circumstances, aim to be an emotion scientist —curious about your own and others’ emotions—and a learner, not just a responder in times of crisis.

Reflect often. It is critical that school leaders create safe spaces or practices dedicated to self-care through self-reflection. Some leaders pipe in music to create a meditative environment throughout school hallways, others close their doors to give themselves space when needed. Some take a five-minute walking meditation outside the school. We have seen more and more leaders embrace personal/professional coaching to create regular time to reflect on actions taken, decisions to be made, and emotional responses. Because leadership entails co-regulation, reflection leads to opportunities for strengthening your own emotion regulation muscles as well as co-regulating with others.

Nurture your relationships. The people you work with will enhance your mood or squash it. And you can enhance or squash theirs . Aim to be the enhancer by greeting people with a smile, asking them how they are feeling and taking time to listen to the answer, creating opportunities for everyone’s voice to be heard, giving others a shoutout when they achieve, and remembering to be a curious emotion scientist. Investing time and energy in your relationships will make all the difference in building trust and motivation needed for others to wholeheartedly join you in making your vision a reality.

Model for others. Emotions are social and contagious components of life. When you prioritize your own emotional well-being, boundaries, and interpersonal relationships, it shows and it rubs off on others. Just as annoyance or frustration from your morning meeting can spill into your afternoon check-in, so can your balance, appreciation, or gratitude. In using the techniques we’ve discussed, you simultaneously model for others what emotional intelligence looks like in practice to the benefit of your students, staff, and self.

About the Authors

Robin Stern

Robin Stern, Ph.D. , is the cofounder and senior advisor to the director, Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, and is a licensed psychoanalyst with 30 years of experience. She is the co-developer of RULER (an acronym for the five key emotion skills of recognizing, understanding, labeling, expressing, and regulating emotions), an evidence-based approach to social and emotional learning that has been adopted by over 4,500 schools across the United States and in 27 other countries.

Janet Patti

Janet Patti, Ed.D. , is the cofounder and chief executive officer of Star Factor Coaching, a leadership development organization grounded in the latest science and practice of emotional intelligence.

Krista Smith

Krista Smith, MAT , is an incoming master of nonprofit leadership student at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice. She has worked at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence as a postgraduate associate and is a former high school special education teacher in South Side Chicago.

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Is Attention the Secret to Emotional Intelligence?

Addressing employee burnout: Are you solving the right problem?

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated and exacerbated long-standing corporate challenges to employee health and well-being , and in particular employee mental health. 1 When used in this article, “mental health” is a term inclusive of positive mental health and the full range of mental, substance use, and neurological conditions. This has resulted in reports of rapidly rising rates of burnout 2 When used in this article, “burnout” and “burnout symptoms” refer to work-driven burnout symptoms (per sidebar “What is burnout?”). around the world (see sidebar “What is burnout?”).

About the authors

This article is a collaborative effort by Jacqueline Brassey , Erica Coe , Martin Dewhurst, Kana Enomoto , Renata Giarola, Brad Herbig, and Barbara Jeffery , representing the views of the McKinsey Health Institute.

Many employers have responded by investing more into mental health and well-being than ever before. Across the globe, four in five HR leaders report that mental health and well-being is a top priority for their organization. 3 McKinsey Health Institute Employee Mental Health and Wellbeing Survey, 2022: n (employee) = 14,509; n (HR decision maker) = 1,389. Many companies offer a host of wellness benefits such as yoga, meditation app subscriptions, well-being days, and trainings on time management and productivity. In fact, it is estimated that nine in ten organizations around the world offer some form of wellness program. 4 Charlotte Lieberman, “What wellness programs don’t do for workers,” Harvard Business Review , August 14, 2019.

As laudable as these efforts are, we have found that many employers focus on individual-level interventions that remediate symptoms, rather than resolve the causes of employee burnout. 5 Anna-Lisa Eilerts et al., “Evidence of workplace interventions—A systematic review of systematic reviews,” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health , 2019, Volume 16, Number 19. Employing these types of interventions may lead employers to overestimate the impact of their wellness programs and benefits 6 Katherine Baicker et al., “Effect of a workplace wellness program on employee health and economic outcomes: A randomized clinical trial,” JAMA , 2019, Volume 321, Number 15; erratum published in JAMA , April 17, 2019. and to underestimate the critical role of the workplace in reducing burnout and supporting employee mental health and well-being. 7 Pascale M. Le Blanc, et al., “Burnout interventions: An overview and illustration,” in Jonathan R. B. Halbesleben’s Handbook of Stress and Burnout in Health Care , New York, NY: Nova Science Publishers, 2008; Peyman Adibi et al., “Interventions for physician burnout: A systematic review of systematic reviews,” International Journal of Preventive Medicine , July 2018, Volume 9, Number 1.

What is burnout?

According to the World Health Organization, burnout is an occupational phenomenon. It is driven by a chronic imbalance between job demands 1 Job demands are physical, social, or organizational aspects of the job that require sustained physical or mental effort and are therefore associated with certain physiological and psychological costs—for example, work overload and expectations, interpersonal conflict, and job insecurity. Job resources are those physical, social, or organizational aspects of the job that may do any of the following: (a) be functional in achieving work goals; (b) reduce job demands and the associated physiological and psychological costs; (c) stimulate personal growth and development such as feedback, job control, social support (Wilmar B. Schaufeli and Toon W. Taris, “A critical review of the job demands-resources model: Implications for improving work and health,” from Georg F. Bauer and Oliver Hämmig’s Bridging Occupational, Organizational and Public Health: A Transdisciplinary Approach , first edition, Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer, 2014). (for example, workload pressure and poor working environment) and job resources (for example, job autonomy and supportive work relationships). It is characterized by extreme tiredness, reduced ability to regulate cognitive and emotional processes, and mental distancing. Burnout has been demonstrated to be correlated with anxiety and depression, a potential predictor of broader mental health challenges. 2 Previous meta-analytic findings demonstrate moderate positive correlations of burnout with anxiety and depression—suggesting that anxiety and depression are related to burnout but represent different constructs (Katerina Georganta et al., “The relationship between burnout, depression, and anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis,” Frontiers in Psychology , March 2019, Volume 10, Article 284). When used in this article, burnout does not imply a clinical condition.

Research shows that, when asked about aspects of their jobs that undermine their mental health and well-being, 8 Paula Davis, Beating Burnout at Work: Why Teams Hold the Secret to Well-Being and Resilience , Philadelphia, PA: Wharton School Press, 2021. employees frequently cite the feeling of always being on call, unfair treatment, unreasonable workload, low autonomy, and lack of social support. 9 Jennifer Moss, The Burnout Epidemic: The Rise of Chronic Stress and How We Can Fix It , Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press, 2021. Those are not challenges likely to be reversed with wellness programs. In fact, decades of research suggest that interventions targeting only individuals are far less likely to have a sustainable impact on employee health than systemic solutions, including organizational-level interventions. 10 Hanno Hoven et al., “Effects of organisational-level interventions at work on employees’ health: A systematic review,” BMC Public Health , 2014, Volume 14, Number 135.

Since many employers aren’t employing a systemic approach, many have weaker improvements in burnout and employee mental health and well-being than they would expect, given their investments.

Organizations pay a high price for failure to address workplace factors 11 Gunnar Aronsson et al., “A systematic review including meta-analysis of work environment and burnout symptoms,” BMC Public Health , 2017, Volume 17, Article 264. that strongly correlate with burnout, 12 Sangeeta Agrawal and Ben Wigert, “Employee burnout, part 1: The 5 main causes,” Gallup, July 12, 2018. such as toxic behavior. 13 The high cost of a toxic workplace culture: How culture impacts the workforce — and the bottom line , Society for Human Resource Management, September 2019. A growing body of evidence, including our research in this report, sheds light on how burnout and its correlates may lead to costly organizational issues such as attrition. 14 Caio Brighenti et al., “Why every leader needs to worry about toxic culture,” MIT Sloan Management Review, March 16, 2022. Unprecedented levels of employee turnover—a global phenomenon we describe as the Great Attrition —make these costs more visible. Hidden costs to employers also include absenteeism, lower engagement, and decreased productivity. 15 Eric Garton, “Employee burnout is a problem with the company, not the person,” Harvard Business Review , April 6, 2017.

The McKinsey Health Institute: Join us!

The McKinsey Health Institute (MHI) is an enduring, non-profit-generating global entity within McKinsey. MHI strives to catalyze actions across continents, sectors, and communities to achieve material improvements in health, empowering people to lead their best possible lives. MHI is fostering a strong network of organizations committed to this aspiration, including employers globally who are committed to supporting the health of their workforce and broader communities.

MHI has a near-term focus on the urgent priority of mental health, with launch of a flagship initiative around employee mental health and well-being. By convening leading employers, MHI aims to collect global data, synthesize insights, and drive innovation at scale. Through collaboration, we can truly make a difference, learn together, and co-create solutions for workplaces to become enablers of health—in a way that is good for business, for employees, and for the communities in which they live.

To stay updated about MHI’s initiative on employee mental health and well-being sign up at McKinsey.com/mhi/contact-us .

In this article, we discuss findings of a recent McKinsey Health Institute (MHI)  (see sidebar “The McKinsey Health Institute: Join us!”) global survey that sheds light on frequently overlooked workplace factors underlying employee mental health and well-being in organizations around the world. We conclude by teeing up eight questions for reflection along with recommendations on how organizations can address employee mental-health and well-being challenges by taking a systemic approach focused on changing the causes rather than the symptoms of poor outcomes. While there is no well-established playbook, we suggest employers can and should respond through interventions focused on prevention rather than remediation.

We are seeing persistent burnout challenges around the world

To better understand the disconnection between employer efforts and rising employee mental-health and well-being challenges (something we have observed  since the start of the pandemic ), between February and April 2022 we conducted a global survey of nearly 15,000 employees and 1,000 HR decision makers in 15 countries. 16 Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The combined population of the selected countries correspond to approximately 70 percent of the global total.

The workplace dimensions assessed in our survey included toxic workplace behavior, sustainable work, inclusivity and belonging, supportive growth environment, freedom from stigma, organizational commitment, leadership accountability, and access to resources. 17 The associations of all these factors with employee health and well-being have been extensively explored in the academic literature. That literature heavily informed the development of our survey instrument. We have psychometrically validated this survey across 15 countries including its cross-cultural factorial equivalence. For certain outcome measures we collaborated with academic experts who kindly offered us their validated scales including the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT), the Distress Screener, and the Adaptability Scale referenced below. Those dimensions were analyzed against four work-related outcomes—intent to leave, work engagement, job satisfaction, and organization advocacy—as well as four employee mental-health outcomes—symptoms of anxiety, burnout, depression, and distress. 18 Instruments used were the Burnout Assessment Tool (Steffie Desart et al., User manual - Burnout assessment tool [BAT ] , - Version 2.0, July 2020) (burnout symptoms); Distress Screener (4DSQ; JR Anema et al., “Validation study of a distress screener,” Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation , 2009, Volume 19) (distress); GAD-2 assessment (Priyanka Bhandari et al., “Using Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 [GAD-2] and GAD-7 in a primary care setting,” Cureus , May 20, 2021, Volume 12, Number 5) (anxiety symptoms); and the PHQ-2 assessment (Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-9 & PHQ-2], American Psychological Association) (depression symptoms). Individual adaptability was also assessed 19 In this article, “adaptability” refers to the “affective adaptability” which is one sub-dimension of The Adaptability Scale instrument (Michel Meulders and Karen van Dam, “The adaptability scale: Development, internal consistency, and initial validity evidence,” European Journal of Psychological Assessment , 2020, Volume 37, Number 2). (see sidebar “What we measured”).

What we measured

Workplace factors assessed in our survey included:

• Toxic workplace behavior: Employees experience interpersonal behavior that leads them to feel unvalued, belittled, or unsafe, such as unfair or demeaning treatment, noninclusive behavior, sabotaging, cutthroat competition, abusive management, and unethical behavior from leaders or coworkers.
• Inclusivity and belonging: Organization systems, leaders, and peers foster a welcoming and fair environment for all employees to be themselves, find connection, and meaningfully contribute.
• Sustainable work: Organization and leaders promote work that enables a healthy balance between work and personal life, including a manageable workload and work schedule.
• Supportive growth environment: Managers care about employee opinions, well-being, and satisfaction and provide support and enable opportunities for growth.
• Freedom from stigma and discrimination: Freedom from the level of shame, prejudice, or discrimination employees perceive toward people with mental-health or substance-use conditions.
• Organizational accountability: Organization gathers feedback, tracks KPIs, aligns incentives, and measures progress against employee health goals.
• Leadership commitment: Leaders consider employee mental health a top priority, publicly committing to a clear strategy to improve employee mental health.
• Access to resources: Organization offers easy-to-use and accessible resources that fit individual employee needs related to mental health. 1 Including adaptability and resilience-related learning and development resources.

Health outcomes assessed in our survey included:

• Burnout symptoms: An employee’s experience of extreme tiredness, reduced ability to regulate cognitive and emotional processes, and mental distancing (Burnout Assessment Tool). 2 Burnout Assessment Tool, Steffie Desart et al., “User manual - Burnout assessment tool (BAT), - Version 2.0,” July 2020.
• Distress: An employee experiencing a negative stress response, often involving negative affect and physiological reactivity (4DSQ Distress Screener). 3 Distress screener, 4DSQ; JR Anema et al., “Validation study of a distress screener,” Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation , 2009, Volume 19.
• Depression symptoms: An employee having little interest or pleasure in doing things, and feeling down, depressed, or hopeless (PHQ-2 Screener). 4 Kurt Kroenke et al., “The patient health questionnaire-2: Validity of a two-item depression screener,” Medical Care , November 2003, Volume 41, Issue 11.
• Anxiety symptoms: An employee’s feelings of nervousness, anxiousness, or being on edge, and not being able to stop or control worrying (GAD-2 Screener). 5 Kurt Kroenke et al., “Anxiety disorders in primary care: Prevalence, impairment, comorbidity, and detection,” Annals of Internal Medicine , March 6, 2007, Volume 146, Issue 5.

Work-related outcomes assessed in our survey included:

• Intent to leave: An employee’s desire to leave the organization in which they are currently employed in the next three to six months.
• Work engagement: An employee’s positive motivational state of high energy combined with high levels of dedication and a strong focus on work.
• Organizational advocacy: An employee’s willingness to recommend or endorse their organization as a place to work to friends and relatives.
• Work satisfaction: An employee’s level of contentment or satisfaction with their current job.

Our survey pointed to a persistent disconnection between how employees and employers perceive mental health and well-being in organizations. We see an average 22 percent gap between employer and employee perceptions—with employers consistently rating workplace dimensions associated with mental health and well-being more favorably than employees. 20 Our survey did not link employers and employees’ responses. Therefore, these numbers are indicative of a potential gap that could be found within companies.

In this report—the first of a broader series on employee mental health from the McKinsey Health Institute—we will focus on burnout, its workplace correlates, and implications for leaders. On average, one in four employees surveyed report experiencing burnout symptoms. 21 Represents global average of respondents experiencing burnout symptoms (per items from Burnout Assessment Tool) sometimes, often, or always. These high rates were observed around the world and among various demographics (Exhibit 1), 22 Our survey findings demonstrate small but statistically significant differences between men and women, with women reporting higher rates of burnout symptoms (along with symptoms of distress, depression, and anxiety). Differences between demographic variables across countries will be discussed in our future publications. and are consistent with global trends. 23 Ashley Abramson, “Burnout and stress are everywhere,” Monitor on Psychology , January 1, 2022, Volume 53, Number 1.

So, what is behind pervasive burnout challenges worldwide? Our research suggests that employers are overlooking the role of the workplace in burnout and underinvesting in systemic solutions.

Employers tend to overlook the role of the workplace in driving employee mental health and well-being, engagement, and performance

In all 15 countries and across all dimensions assessed, toxic workplace behavior was the biggest predictor of burnout symptoms and intent to leave by a large margin 24 Measured as a function of predictive power of the dimensions assessed; predictive power was estimated based on share of outcome variability associated with each dimension; based on regression models applied to cross-sectional data (that is, measured at one point in time), rather than longitudinal data (that is, measured over time); causal relationships have not been established. —predicting more than 60 percent of the total global variance. For positive outcomes (including work engagement, job satisfaction, and organization advocacy), the impact of factors assessed was more distributed—with inclusivity and belonging, supportive growth environment, sustainable work, and freedom from stigma predicting most outcomes (Exhibit 2).

In all 15 countries and across all dimensions assessed, toxic workplace behavior had the biggest impact predicting burnout symptoms and intent to leave by a large margin.

The danger of toxic workplace behavior—and its impact on burnout and attrition

Across the 15 countries in the survey, toxic workplace behavior is the single largest predictor of negative employee outcomes, including burnout symptoms (see sidebar “What is toxic workplace behavior?”). One in four employees report experiencing high rates of toxic behavior at work. At a global level, high rates were observed across countries, demographic groups—including gender, organizational tenure, age, virtual/in-person work, manager and nonmanager roles—and industries. 25 Differences between demographic variables across countries will be discussed in our future articles.

What is toxic workplace behavior?

Toxic workplace behavior is interpersonal behavior that leads to employees feeling unvalued, belittled, or unsafe, such as unfair or demeaning treatment, non-inclusive behavior, sabotaging, cutthroat competition, abusive management, and unethical behavior from leaders or coworkers. Selected questions from this dimension include agreement with the statements “My manager ridicules me,” “I work with people who belittle my ideas,” and “My manager puts me down in front of others.”

Toxic workplace behaviors are a major cost for employers—they are heavily implicated in burnout, which correlates with intent to leave and ultimately drives attrition. In our survey, employees who report experiencing high levels of toxic behavior 26 “High” represents individuals in the top quartile of responses and “low” represents individuals in the bottom quartile of responses. at work are eight times more likely to experience burnout symptoms (Exhibit 3). In turn, respondents experiencing burnout symptoms were six times more likely to report they intend to leave their employers in the next three to six months (consistent with recent data pointing to toxic culture as the single largest predictor of resignation during the Great Attrition, ten times more predictive than compensation alone 27 Charles Sull et al., “Toxic culture is driving the Great Resignation,” MIT Sloan Management Review, January 11, 2022. and associated with meaningful organizational costs 28 Rasmus Hougaard, “To stop the Great Resignation, we must fight dehumanization at work,” Potential Project, 2022. ). The opportunity for employers is clear. Studies show that intent to leave may correlate with two- to three-times higher 29 Bryan Bohman et al., “Estimating institutional physician turnover attributable to self-reported burnout and associated financial burden: A case study,” BMC Health Services Research , November 27, 2018, Volume 18, Number 1. rates of attrition; conservative estimates of the cost of replacing employees range from one-half to two times their annual salary. Even without accounting for costs associated with burnout—including organizational commitment 30 Michael Leiter and Christina Maslach, “The impact of interpersonal environment on burnout and organizational commitment,” Journal of Organizational Behavior , October 1988, Volume 9, Number 4. and higher rates of sick leave and absenteeism 31 Arnold B. Bakker et al., “Present but sick: A three-wave study on job demands, presenteeism and burnout,” Career Development International , 2009, Volume 14, Number 1. —the business case for addressing it is compelling. The alternative—not addressing it—can lead to a downward spiral in individual and organizational performance. 32 Arnold B. Bakker et al., “Present but sick: A three-wave study on job demands, presenteeism and burnout,” Career Development International , 2009, Volume 14, Number 1.

Individuals’ resilience and adaptability skills may help but do not compensate for the impact of a toxic workplace

Toxic behavior is not an easy challenge to address. Some employers may believe the solution is simply training people to become more resilient.

There is merit in investing in adaptability and resiliency skill building . Research indicates that employees who are more adaptable tend to have an edge in managing change and adversity. 33 Karen van Dam, “Employee adaptability to change at work: A multidimensional, resource-based framework,” from The Psychology of Organizational Change: Viewing Change from the Employee’s Perspective , Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2013; Jacqueline Brassey et al., Advancing Authentic Confidence Through Emotional Flexibility: An Evidence-Based Playbook of Insights, Practices and Tools to Shape Your Future , second edition, Morrisville, NC: Lulu Press, 2019; B+B Vakmedianet B.V. Zeist, Netherlands (to be published Q3 2022). We see that edge reflected in our survey findings: adaptability acts as a buffer 34 Estimated buffering effect illustrated in Exhibit 4. to the impact of damaging workplace factors (such as toxic behaviors), while magnifying the benefit of supportive workplace factors (such as a supportive growth environment) (Exhibit 4). In a recent study, employees engaging in adaptability training experienced three times more improvement in leadership dimensions and seven times more improvement in self-reported well-being than those in the control group. 35 McKinsey’s People and Organization Performance - Adaptability Learning Program; multirater surveys showed improvements in adaptability outcomes, including performance in role, sustainment of well-being, successfully adapting to unplanned circumstances and change, optimism, development of new knowledge and skills; well-being results were based on self-reported progress as a result of the program.

However, employers who see building resilience and adaptability skills in individuals as the sole solution to toxic behavior and burnout challenges are misguided. Here is why.

Individual skills cannot compensate for unsupportive workplace factors. When it comes to the effect of individual skills, leaders should be particularly cautious not to misinterpret “favorable” outcomes (for example, buffered impact of toxic behaviors across more adaptable employees) as absence of underlying workplace issues that should be addressed. 36 Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, “To prevent burnout, hire better bosses,” Harvard Business Review , August 23, 2019.

Also, while more adaptable employees are better equipped to work in poor environments, they are less likely to tolerate them. In our survey, employees with high adaptability were 60 percent more likely to report intent to leave their organization if they experienced high levels of toxic behavior at work than those with low adaptability (which may possibly relate to a higher level of self-confidence 37 Brassey et al. found that as a result of a learning program, employees who developed emotional flexibility skills, a concept related to affective adaptability but also strongly linked to connecting with purpose, developed a higher self-confidence over time; Jacqueline Brassey et al., “Emotional flexibility and general self-efficacy: A pilot training intervention study with knowledge workers,” PLOS ONE , October 14, 2020, Volume 15, Number 10. ). Therefore, relying on improving employee adaptability without addressing broader workplace factors puts employers at an even higher risk of losing some of its most resilient, adaptable employees.

Employees with high adaptability were 60 percent more likely to report intent to leave their organization if they experienced high levels of toxic behavior at work than those with low adaptability.

What this means for employers: Why organizations should take a systemic approach to improving employee mental health and well-being

We often think of employee mental health, well-being, and burnout as a personal problem. That’s why most companies have responded to symptoms by offering resources focused on individuals such as wellness programs.

However, the findings in our global survey and research are clear. Burnout is experienced by individuals, but the most powerful drivers of burnout are systemic organizational imbalances across job demands and job resources. So, employers can and should view high rates of burnout as a powerful warning sign that the organization—not the individuals in the workforce—needs to undergo meaningful systematic change.

Employers can and should view high rates of burnout as a powerful warning sign that the organization—not the individuals in the workforce—needs to undergo meaningful systematic change.

Taking a systemic approach means addressing both toxic workplace behavior and redesigning work to be inclusive, sustainable, and supportive of individual learning and growth, including leader and employee adaptability skills. It means rethinking organizational systems, processes, and incentives to redesign work, job expectations, and team environments.

As an employer, you can’t “yoga” your way out of these challenges. Employers who try to improve burnout without addressing toxic behavior are likely to fail. Our survey shows that improving all other organization factors assessed (without addressing toxic behavior) does not meaningfully improve reported levels of burnout symptoms. Yet, when toxic behavior levels are low, each additional intervention contributes to reducing negative outcomes and increasing positive ones.

The interactive graphic shows the estimated interplay between the drivers and outcomes, based on our survey data (Exhibit 5).

Taking a preventative, systemic approach—focused on addressing the roots of the problem (as opposed to remediating symptoms)—is hard. But the upside for employers is a far greater ability to attract and retain valuable talent over time.

The good news: Although there are no silver bullets, there are opportunities for leaders to drive material change

We see a parallel between the evolution of global supply chains and talent. Many companies optimized supply chains for “just in time” delivery, and talent was optimized to drive operational efficiency and effectiveness. As supply chains come under increasing pressure, many companies recognize the need to redesign and optimize supply chains for resilience and sustainability, and the need to take an end-to-end approach to the solutions. The same principles apply to talent.

We acknowledge that the factors associated with improving employee mental health and well-being (including organizational-, team-, and individual-level factors) are numerous and complex. And taking a whole-systems approach is not easy.

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Despite the growing momentum toward better employee mental health and well-being (across business and academic communities), we’re still early on the journey. We don’t yet have sufficient evidence to conclude which interventions work most effectively—or a complete understanding of why they work and how they affect return on investment.

That said, efforts to mobilize the organization to rethink work—in ways that are compatible with both employee and employer goals—are likely to pay off in the long term. To help spark that conversation in your organization, we offer eight targeted questions and example strategies with the potential to address some of the burnout-related challenges discussed in this article.

Do we treat employee mental health and well-being as a strategic priority?

This is fundamental to success. When a large organization achieved a 7 percent reduction in employee burnout rates (compared with an 11 percent increase in the national average within the industry over the same period), the CEO believed that leadership and sustained attention from the highest level of the organization were the “key to making progress.” 38 John H. Noseworthy and Tait D Shanafelt, “Executive leadership and physician well‐being: Nine organizational strategies to promote engagement and reduce burnout,” Mayo Clinic Proceedings , January 2017, Volume 92, Number 1. Senior executives recognized employee mental health and well-being as a strategic priority. Executives publicly acknowledged the issues and listened to employee needs through a wide range of formats—including town halls, workshops, and employee interviews (our research suggests that leaders are not listening to their people  nearly enough). They prioritized issues and defined clear, time-bound measurable goals around them—with a standardized measure of burnout being given equal importance to other key performance metrics (financial metrics, safety/quality, employee turnover, and customer satisfaction). Although anonymous at the level of the individual, results were aggregated at division/department level to allow executive leadership to focus attention and resources where they were most needed. 39 Liselotte Dyrbye et al., “Physician burnout: Contributors, consequences and solutions,” Journal of Internal Medicine , 2018, Volume 283, Number 6. This example highlights how CEOs have the ability to create meaningful change through listening to employees and prioritizing strategies to reduce burnout.

Do we effectively address toxic behaviors?

Eliminating toxic workplace behavior is not an easy task. Organizations that tackle toxic behavior effectively deploy a set of integrated work practices  to confront the problem, 40 Robert I. Sutton, The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t , first edition, New York, NY: Business Plus, 2010. and see treatment of others as an integral part of assessing an employee’s performance. Manifestations of toxic behavior 41 “Why every leader,” 2022. are flagged, repeat offenders either change or leave, and leaders take time  to become aware of the impact their behavior has on others. If you lead part of an organization, looking at your own behaviors, and what you tolerate in your own organization, is a good place to start. 42 “ Author Talks: How to handle your work jerk ,” March 29, 2022.

Leaders with higher self-regulation may be better, less toxic leaders

Research shows that leaders’ development of self-regulation increases followers’ ratings of their effectiveness and is associated with higher team financial performance as well as a higher final team grade compared with a control group. The benefits of self-regulation also improved leaders’ development of task-relevant competencies. 1 Robin Martin and JooBee Yeow, “The role of self-regulation in developing leaders: A longitudinal field experiment,” Leadership Quarterly , October 2013, Volume 24, Number 5. Furthermore, building employees’ resilience and adaptability  skills leads to a higher sense of agency and self-efficacy, 2 Jacqueline Brassey et al., “Emotional flexibility and general self-efficacy: A pilot training intervention study with knowledge workers,” PLOS ONE , October 14, 2020, Volume 15, Number 10; and Jacqueline Brassey et al., Advancing Authentic Confidence Through Emotional Flexibility: An Evidence-Based Playbook of Insights, Practices and Tools to Shape Your Future , second edition, Morrisville, NC: Lulu Press, 2019; B+B Vakmedianet B.V. Zeist, Netherlands (to be published Q3 2022). which is related to reduced burnout and improved performance. 3 Charles Benight et al., “Associations between job burnout and self-efficacy: A meta-analysis,” Anxiety, Stress, & Coping , 2016, Volume 29, Issue 4; and Alex Stajkovic, “Self-efficacy and work-related performance: A meta-analysis,” Psychological Bulletin , 1998, Volume 124, Number 2.

Another component of eliminating toxic behavior is cultivating supportive, psychologically safe work environments , where toxic behaviors are less likely to spread  across the organization. 43 Annie McKee, “Neutralize your toxic boss,” Harvard Business Review , September 24, 2008. Effective leaders know that emotional contagion 44 John T. Cacioppo et al., Emotional Contagion , Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1994. may go both ways: displaying vulnerability and compassion  fuels more compassionate teams; displaying toxic behavior fuels more toxic teams. 45 Michael Housman and Dylan Minor, Toxic workers , Harvard Business School working paper, No. 16-057, October 2015 (revised November 2015). There are two caveats: toxic behavior may not be intentional—particularly if individuals are not equipped to respond with calm  and compassion under pressure—and regardless of intent, toxic behavior spreads faster and wider than good behavior. 46 “To prevent burnout,” 2019. To prevent unintentional dissemination of toxic behaviors, role modeling from adaptable , self-regulating, compassionate leaders may help (see sidebar “Leaders with higher self-regulation may be better, less toxic leaders”).

Do we create inclusive work environments?

Most leaders recognize the established associations between performance and inclusion , but inclusion does not happen by accident . Inclusion is a multifaceted construct that must be addressed comprehensively and proactively. Most companies define inclusion too narrowly and thus address it too narrowly as well. Over the past three years, we’ve broadened our perspective  on how to create truly inclusive workplaces and developed a modern inclusion model . The model includes 17 practices (based on frequency of desired behaviors) and six outcomes (based on perceptions of effectiveness). Each practice falls into one of three relationships that shape workplace inclusion: organizational systems, leaders, and peers/teammates.

The 17 inclusive-workplace practices , when done consistently well, drive workplace inclusion and equity for all employees by providing clarity into actions that matter. For example, among employees working in hybrid models , work–life support was the top practice employees desired improvements on—with nearly half of employees recommending prioritizing policies that support flexibility—including extended parental leave, flexible hours, and work-from-home policies.

A truly inclusive workplace implements systems that minimize conscious and unconscious bias , allowing employees to express themselves and connect with each other. It also features leaders who not only advocate for team members and treat them impartially but also uphold and support all organizational systems and practices . For example, one employer defined data-driven targets for the representation and advancement of diverse talent across dimensions (beyond gender and ethnicity) and role types (executive, management, technical, board)—leveraging powerful analytics to track progress and foster transparency along the way.

Do we enable individual growth?

Evidence suggests that individual growth, learning, and development programs are effective 47 Arnold B. Bakker and Evangelia Demerouti, “Towards a model of work engagement,” Career Development International , 2008, Volume 13, Issue 3. ways to combat burnout and to retain and engage employees, and therefore are important for addressing growing talent and skills shortages within organizations. Employers who “double down” on talent redeployment, mobility, reskilling, and upskilling tend to see improvement across a range of financial, organizational, and employee experience metrics. In a recent study of extensive employee data, offering lateral career opportunities was two-and-half times more predictive of employee retention than compensation, and 12 times more predictive than promotions 48 “Why every leader,” 2022. —signaling an opportunity for leaders to support employee desires to learn, explore, and grow way beyond traditional career progression.

Investing in your employees’ capabilities can drive financial returns, is often cheaper than hiring, and signals to employees that they are valued and have an important role in the organization.

Do we promote sustainable work?

Promoting sustainable work goes beyond managing workload. It’s about enabling employees to have a sense of control and predictability, flexibility, and sufficient time for daily recovery. It’s also about leading with compassion and empathy 49 “It’s time to eliminate bad bosses. They are harmful and expensive,” Potential Project, The Human Leader, April 2022. —tailoring interventions based on where, when, and how work can be done , and how different groups are more likely to (re)establish socio-emotional ties  after a long period of isolation and loss of social cohesion .

One technology company is using real-time data on employee preferences to rapidly test and iterate solutions that work for specific groups around return-to-office options. To find solutions that work for your employees, consider adopting a test-and-learn  mindset. This approach can help the organization make progress while adapting as context evolves (a hallmark of more productive  organizations).

Are we holding leaders accountable?

Many organizations consider people leadership criteria in their performance management. Yet, there is substantial room to grow when it comes to employers providing transparency around employee mental-health and well-being objectives and metrics. 50 Workplace Mental Health Blogs , One Mind, “Fix performance management by aligning it with employee mental health,” blog entry by Daryl Tol, March 2, 2022; Garett Slettebak, “Measuring progress on workplace mental health”, One Mind at Work, March 24, 2022.

Organizations that are doing this well have set clear expectations for managers to lead in a way that is supportive of employee mental health and well-being. 51 Taylor Adams et al., Mind the workplace: Work health survey 2021 , Mental Health America, 2021. They offer training to help managers identify, proactively ask about, and listen to employees’ mental-health and well-being needs. They also introduce mental-health “pulse” checks and incorporate relevant questions into the broader employee satisfaction surveys, to establish a baseline and track trends in how employees are feeling. Discussion on employee mental health and well-being can be incorporated into regular leadership meetings, including concerns, risks, and potential actions.

To encourage leaders to lead by example and increase their accountability, some employers embed employee mental-health support into leaders’ reviews based on anonymous upward feedback from their teams. Finally, some companies are exploring if they can go even further and tie incentives to short- and long-term employee mental-health and well-being objectives.

Are we effectively tackling stigma?

As noted in a previous McKinsey article , the majority of employers and employees acknowledge the presence of stigma 52 In the context of employee mental health, stigma is defined as a level of shame, prejudice, or discrimination toward people with mental-health or substance-use conditions. in their workplaces. Stigma has been shown to have real costs to workforce productivity, often exacerbating underlying conditions because of people being afraid to seek help for mental-health needs and driving down an employee’s self-worth and engagement.

We see several actions that organizations are taking to eliminate stigma. 53 Erica Coe, Jenny Cordina, Kana Enomoto, and Nikhil Seshan, “ Overcoming stigma: Three strategies toward better mental health in the workplace ,” July 23, 2021. Leading by example can make a difference, with senior leaders stepping forward to describe personal struggles with mental health, using nonstigmatizing language. 54 Evelien Brouwers et al., “To disclose or not to disclose: A multi-stakeholder focus group study on mental health issues in the work environment. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation , 2020, Volume 30, Number 1. Leaders showing vulnerability helps to remove shame and promote a psychologically safe culture. 55 Global thriving at work framework , MindForward Alliance, 2020.

Stigma can also be reduced by companies prioritizing mental wellness as critical for peak performance instead of rewarding overwork at the expense of rest and renewal—rewarding an “athlete” mindset instead of overemphasizing a “hero.” This can begin to shift perception of signs of burnout or other mental-health needs as being indicative of a moral failing. Finally, creating a dedicated role to support employee mental health and well-being and appointing a senior leader, such as chief wellness officer, will increase awareness and show commitment.

Do our resources serve employee needs?

Leaders should evaluate whether mental-health and well-being resources are at parity with physical-health benefits and how frequently they are being used by employees. An increasing number of employers have expanded access to mental-health services 56 Charles Ingoglia, “Now more than ever, employers must provide mental health support for employees,” National Council for Mental Wellbeing, May 4, 2022. ; however, research  shows that almost 70 percent of employees find it challenging to access those services.

In a previous survey , 45 percent of respondents who had left their jobs cited the need to take care of family as an influential factor in their decision (with a similar proportion of respondents who are considering quitting also citing the demands of family care). Expanding childcare, nursing services, or other home- and family-focused benefits could help keep such employees from leaving and show that you value them. Patagonia, long the standard-bearer for progressive workplace policies, retains nearly 100 percent of its new mothers with on-site childcare and other benefits for parents.

Never in history have organizations around the world devoted so much attention and capital to improving employee mental health and well-being. It is lamentable that these investments are not always providing a good return regarding improved outcomes. Employers that take the time to understand the problem at hand—and pursue a preventative, systemic approach focused on causes instead of symptoms—should see material improvements in outcomes and succeed in attracting and retaining valuable talent. More broadly, employers globally have an opportunity to play a pivotal role in helping people achieve material improvements in health. With collaboration and shared commitment, employers can make a meaningful difference in the lives of their employees and the communities they live in.

The McKinsey Health Institute (MHI) is collaborating with leading organizations around the world to achieve material improvements in health—adding years to life and life to years. As part of that, MHI is focused on improving employee mental health and well-being at scale—in a way that is good for business, for employees, and for the communities they live in.

To stay updated about MHI’s initiative on employee mental health and well-being, sign up at McKinsey.com/mhi/contact-us .

Jacqueline Brassey is a director of research science in McKinsey’s Luxemburg office, Erica Coe is a partner in the Atlanta office, Martin Dewhurst is a senior partner in the London office, Kana Enomoto is a senior expert in the Washington, DC, office, and Barbara Jeffery is a partner in the London office; they are all leaders with McKinsey Health Institute (MHI). Renata Giarola , in the Southern California office, and Brad Herbig , in the Philadelphia office, are consultants with MHI.

The authors wish to thank Yueyang Chen, Elena Chit, Aaron de Smet, Soheil Eshghi, Lars Hartenstein, Tom Latkovic, David Mendelsohn, Roxy Merkand, Isidora Mitic, Bill Schaninger, Wilmar Schaufeli, Jeris Stueland, Berend Terluin, Karen van Dam, and Marieke van Hoffen for their contributions to this article.

This article was edited by Allan Gold, a senior editorial advisor in Washington, DC, and Elizabeth Newman, an executive editor in the Chicago office.

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Social Intelligence, Leadership, and Problem Solving 1st Edition

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What is Emotional Intelligence? +23 Ways To Improve It

But although emotionality has historically been portrayed as the fiery and foolish nemesis of reason and rationality, emotions are fundamental to our ability to function. They motivate us to act, are essential to social interactions, and form the bedrock of our felt sense of morality.

Emotional intelligence can provide a significant advantage for mastering our emotions. In this post, we’ll get up close with emotional intelligence to find out what it is, why it’s valuable, and how you can cultivate more of it.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Emotional Intelligence Exercises for free . These science-based exercises will not only enhance your ability to understand and work with your emotions, but also give you the tools to foster the emotional intelligence of your clients, students, or employees.

This Article Contains:

What is emotional intelligence 3 examples, 3 fascinating components and theories of eq, why is emotional intelligence important, training and fostering ei skills, how to measure eq: 3 reliable tests, 3 best books on the topic, resources from positivepsychology.com, a take-home message.

Many people have an intuitive grasp of what emotional intelligence is, but for academics, emotional intelligence (EQ or EI) has been a notoriously tricky construct to agree on.

Peter Salovey and John Mayer (1990, p. 185) were the first to develop a psychological theory of emotional intelligence and introduced EQ as a:

“set of skills hypothesized to contribute to the accurate appraisal and expression of emotion in oneself and others, the effective regulation of emotion in self and others, and the use of feelings to motivate, plan, and achieve in one’s life.”

From this perspective, emotional intelligence could be useful in almost all areas of life. Let’s look at some examples of emotional intelligence in action.

Self-awareness and leadership

Our awareness of emotions is centrally important to our relationships (Schutte et al., 2001) and ability to lead others (Rosete & Ciarrochi, 2005).

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been praised globally for her ability to listen, show empathy, and connect with people in a crisis. CEO Today Magazine says we can learn a lot from Ardern’s ability to manage her own emotions effectively, as “ self-awareness is the foundation on which all else is built” and “allows us to engage others on their terms ” (Lothian, 2020).

Decision making

Psychologist and EQ expert Daniel Goleman (2019) recommends listening to your gut, as bodily intuitions reveal “ decision rules that the mind gathers unconsciously. ” In this way, emotional signals from our bodies provide a sort of intangible wisdom guiding us toward the “right” decisions.

To support this, Seo and Barrett (2007) found that stock investors who were experiencing more intense emotions and better at discriminating between emotions showed better decision-making performance. The researchers suggested that a greater awareness of emotions boosted the investors’ ability to manage emotional biases, which ultimately led to better decisions.

Stress management and mental wellbeing

Having an awareness of and ability to manage emotions can make us feel more equipped to deal with difficult feelings and situations (Gohm, Corser, & Dalsky, 2005), and support greater mental wellbeing (Fernandez-Berrocal, Alcaide, Extremera, & Pizarro, 2006).

Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has spoken publicly about his struggles with mental health that ultimately led him to seek therapy. CNN Health highlighted how Prince Harry’s openness to talk about and express his emotions is helping others too, by making mental wellbeing a more acceptable topic to talk about, particularly for men (Duffy, 2021).

Emotional intelligence and personality

There’s been some controversy around using the term emotional ‘ intelligence ’ in models of EQ that include constructs resembling personality and broader social skills. Where do these attributes end and EQ begin (Neubauer & Freudenthaler, 2005)?

While more objective performance measures of EQ (Mayer & Salovey, 1997) have shown to be distinct from the Big Five personality traits of extraversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism, some self-report measures of EQ have shown greater crossover with personality measures (Brackett & Mayer, 2003).

Ability measures and self-report measures have shown a weak correlation with each other, suggesting that they may capture different aspects of EQ (Brackett & Mayer, 2003).

Mayer and Salovey’s integrative emotional intelligence model

Mayer and Salovey’s (1997) integrative model comprises four interconnected emotional abilities:

• Perception and expression of emotion Noticing your own emotions and picking up on the emotions of others as well as the ability to distinguish between discrete emotions.
• Using emotion to facilitate thought How you incorporate emotions into your thinking processes and an understanding of when and how emotions can be helpful for reasoning processes.
• Understanding and analyzing emotions The capacity to decode emotions, make sense of their meaning, and understand how they relate to each other and change over time.
• Reflective regulation of emotion An openness to all emotions and the ability to regulate your own emotions and the emotions of others to facilitate growth and insight.

Bar-On’s model of social and emotional intelligence

Bar-On’s (1997, 2006) mixed model claims that EQ is a combination of competencies, skills, and “facilitators” that contribute to how people express themselves, respond to challenges in their environment, and connect with others.

Bar-On (2006) suggests that 10 distinct components provide the scaffolding of emotionally and socially intelligent behaviors:

• Self-regard
• Emotional awareness
• Assertiveness
• Interpersonal relationships
• Stress tolerance
• Impulse control
• Reality testing
• Flexibility
• Problem solving

Self-actualization, independence, social responsibility, optimism, and happiness were originally considered to be components of EQ but were later reframed as “facilitators” of EQ (Bar-On, 2006).

Daniel Goleman’s theory of EQ

Daniel Goleman (1995) popularized the concept of emotional intelligence in his widely acclaimed book Emotional Intelligence . Check out his TED talk on the art of managing emotions.

Goleman (1995, p. xii) offers a broad conceptualization of EQ abilities, including “ self-control, zeal and persistence, and the ability to motivate oneself .” Goleman (2001) proposed that EQ provides a sign of an individual’s “potential” for developing emotional competencies (i.e., practical skills) that can help them thrive at work.

His original theory mapped emotional intelligence into five key domains:

• Knowing your emotions
• Managing emotions
• Motivating oneself
• Recognizing emotions in others
• Handling relationships

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Emotional intelligence is widely celebrated as a valuable commodity because it can predict life outcomes we care about, such as academic performance (MacCann et al., 2020), psychological adjustment (Fernandez-Berrocal et al., 2006), and workplace success (Lopes, Grewal, Kadis, Gall, & Salovey, 2006b).

Is EQ important in the workplace?

Lopes, Côté, and Salovey (2006a) suggest that a greater ability to manage emotions can benefit work performance in many ways. Using emotional intelligence in the workplace can improve decision making, help social interactions run smoothly, and enhance employees’ ability to deal with stressful times.

EQ has been linked to better task performance, organizational citizenship behaviors of employees (Côté & Miners, 2006), higher company rank, and higher scores of stress tolerance and interpersonal facilitation (e.g., positive interaction) as rated by peers and/or supervisors (Lopes et al., 2006b).

A meta-analysis involving 43 EQ studies concluded that ability measures, mixed models, and self-report and peer measures of EQ were all equally good at predicting job performance (O’Boyle, Humphrey, Pollack, Hawver, & Story 2011).

The importance of EI in leadership

Being a leader is a tough job that is likely to be harder if you have trouble managing your own emotions or the emotions of those you lead.

EQ has been found to predict leadership effectiveness even when accounting for IQ and personality (Rosete & Ciarrochi, 2005). In addition, Gardner and Stough (2002) found that emotional intelligence, particularly understanding and managing emotions, was strongly related to (positive) transformational leadership behaviors of senior managers.

Can EI be taught and learned?

Considering the many advantages EQ can bring, it’s not surprising that the popularity of EQ training has boomed over the last decade.

Remarkably, one study found that only 10 hours of group EQ training (lectures, role-play, group discussions, partner work, readings, and journaling) significantly improved people’s ability to identify and manage their emotions, and these benefits were sustained six months later (Nelis, Quoidbach, Mikolajczak, & Hansenne, 2009).

It’s clear that putting EQ skills into practice plays an important role in developing emotional intelligence. So, if you’re looking to teach EQ skills , Cherniss, Goleman, Emmerling, Cowan, and Adler (1988) suggest distinguishing between:

• Cognitive learning — Intellectually grasping the concept of how to improve emotional abilities. In other words, you may know that you need to bring your awareness to your emotions more often, but this doesn’t mean you’ll be able to.
• Emotional learning — Unlearning old habits and relearning more adaptive ones. To grow emotionally, we need to cut ties with our default ways of responding. If your old habit is withdrawing from your loved ones when you’re overwhelmed, a new habit could be reaching out to others when you’re stressed rather than closing off.

• Recognize and name your emotions. Taking the time to notice and label your feelings can help you choose the best way to respond to situations.
• Ask for feedback. Even though it might make you cringe, it’s helpful to get others’ viewpoints on your emotional intelligence. Ask people how they think you handle tricky situations and respond to the emotions of others.
• Read literature. Reading books from someone else’s perspective could deepen your understanding of their inner worlds and boost social awareness in the process.

MindTools (n.d.) has also helpfully laid out six ways you can enhance emotional intelligence with a little self-reflection and honesty:

• Notice how you respond to people — Are you being judgmental or biased in your assessments of others?
• Practice humility — Being humble about your achievements means you can acknowledge your successes without needing to shout about them.
• Be honest with yourself about your strengths and vulnerabilities and consider development opportunities.
• Think about how you deal with stressful events — Do you seek to blame others? Can you keep your emotions in check?
• Take responsibility for your actions and apologize when you need to.
• Consider how your choices can affect others — Try to imagine how they might feel before you do something that could affect them.

World-renowned personal coach, entrepreneur, and business strategist Tony Robbins (n.d.) has outlined his six tips for growing emotional intelligence:

• Identify what you’re feeling. Use mindfulness to routinely check in on your feelings from a more neutral perspective.
• Acknowledge and appreciate your emotions for what they are. Robbins (n.d.) emphasizes that “ emotions are never wrong. They are there to support you. ”
• Be curious about what an emotion is trying to tell you.
• Tap into your inner confidence to deal with emotions by remembering when you’ve done this effectively in the past.
• Mentally think through how you would deal with difficult feelings in the future to feel more equipped when the time comes.
• With a renewed confidence in your EQ, Robbins suggests getting excited to use these skills to achieve your goals and enhance your relationships with others.

Want more tips on how to foster EQ? Ramona Hacker gives a rundown of her six steps to improve emotional intelligence in this TED talk , which she developed through her personal EQ journey.

If you’re serious about EQ training to help clients or organizations, check out our in-depth article on How to Improve Emotional Intelligence Through Training .

Below we’ve listed three of the most well-known and reliable EQ tests available.

Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) 2.0

The MSCEIT 2.0 (Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2002; Mayer, Caruso, Salovey, & Sitarenios, 2003) is a 141-item test capturing abilities across their four core domains of EI:

• Perceiving emotion Tasks ask people to rate how much a specific emotion is expressed on someone’s facial expression, in a design, or a landscape.
• Using emotions in thought People are asked to rate which emotions would be useful in certain situations and to identify different sensations that match specific feelings.
• Understanding emotion Tasks evaluate emotional understanding, such as knowing how different emotions can be combined to make other emotions and how emotions can evolve with time.
• Managing emotion In hypothetical scenarios, people are tasked with rating the best way to achieve a particular emotional outcome and also to decide the actions that would be most effective to manage someone else’s feelings.

You can order copies of the MSCEIT from the publisher, Multi-Health Systems Inc .

The Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i)

The EQ-i is a 133-item self-report scale developed alongside Bar-On’s (1997) model of emotional and social intelligence .

People rate the extent to which a short description is very seldom true of them (1) or very often true of them (5), and higher scores are associated with more effective emotional and social functioning (Bar-On, 1997).

Sub-scales of the EQ-i are grouped within these five scales:

• Self-actualization
• Independence
• Social responsibility

A total EQ score can be calculated as well as composite scores for each of the five scales. The EQ-i 2.0 is a more recently released version of the EQ-i you can purchase.

Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SREIT)

This 33-item scale developed by Schutte et al. (1998) was based on Salovey and Mayer’s (1990) EQ model, with the aim of creating an empirically sound self-report measure of people’s current level of emotional intelligence.

The scale captures self-reported EQ across three categories:

• Appraisal and expression of emotion (self and others)
• Regulation of emotion (self and others)
• Using emotions to solve problems

The SREIT asks people to rate how much they agree that items are characteristic of them, such as “ Other people find it easy to confide in me ” or “ I like to share my emotions with others. ” The good news is, the authors of the SREIT have made their scale freely available for clinical and research purposes, and it can be found in their original paper (Schutte et al., 1998).

If you’d like to explore a larger range of assessments and tests, we listed 17 different types of emotional intelligence tests here.

Want to learn even more about EQ assessment? Then read our article on Assessing Emotional Intelligence Scales .

To enhance your EQ prowess even further, here are three more great reads, which could help you understand and harness your emotions for the betterment of yourself and others:

• Dare to Lead  by Brené Brown
• How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain  by Lisa Feldman Barrett
• Permission to Feel: Unlocking the Power of Emotions to Help Our Kids, Ourselves, and Our Society Thrive by Marc Brackett

World’s Largest Positive Psychology Resource

The Positive Psychology Toolkit© is a groundbreaking practitioner resource containing over 500 science-based exercises , activities, interventions, questionnaires, and assessments created by experts using the latest positive psychology research.

Updated monthly. 100% Science-based.

“The best positive psychology resource out there!” — Emiliya Zhivotovskaya , Flourishing Center CEO

If you want to apply what you know about emotional intelligence, we’ve got you covered. In our Positive Psychology Toolkit© we have over 400 tools. Many of these are useful for the development of EQ, for example:

• Building Emotional Awareness: This is a 10- to 40-minute meditation exercise. Meditation exercises can be helpful for EQ because being mindful of emotions facilitates understanding and insight into emotional experiences.
• Reading Facial Expressions of Emotions: This is a fun 15-minute group task to develop an awareness of facial expressions.
• Self-Reflecting on Emotional Intelligence:  This short exercise considers the four components of EQ.
• Telling an Empathy Story: This free resource – Telling an Empathy Story – is a group exercise encouraging the development of empathy, which is a integral part of emotional development.
• Emotional Intelligence Masterclass©: This Masterclass is the ultimate resource for enhancing your clients’ or your own emotional intelligence. Highly recommended with several five-star reviews, this is a thoroughly researched and practical approach to enhancing EQ.
• 17 Emotional Intelligence Exercises If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others develop emotional intelligence, this collection contains 17 validated EI tools for practitioners . Use them to help others understand and use their emotions to their advantage.

Plato was definitely onto something when he said “ Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge ” (BrainyQuote, n.d.).

Emotions can be a valuable source of knowledge. As we’ve seen in this post, emotional intelligence could facilitate positive decisions and behaviors that help us realize success in our relationships, mental wellbeing, and work aspirations.

If you want to develop your EQ, there’s an abundance of simple ways you can begin building your emotional awareness today. If you’re supporting others to cultivate their EQ, both cognitive and emotional forms of learning are likely to be important (Cherniss et al., 1988). In addition to knowing what emotional intelligence is and how to get more of it “in theory,” EQ needs to be put into practice to grow.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Emotional Intelligence Exercises for free .

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• Goleman, D. (2001). An EI-based theory of performance. In C. Cherniss & D. Goleman (Eds.), The emotionally intelligent workplace: How to select for, measure, and improve emotional intelligence in individuals, groups, and organizations (pp. 27–44). Jossey-Bass.
• Goleman, D. (2019). Go with your gut: Emotional intelligence and decision making . Retrieved May 30, 2021, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/go-your-gut-emotional-intelligence-decision-making-daniel-goleman/
• Harvard Division of Continuing Education. (2019, August 26). How to improve your emotional intelligence. Harvard Professional Development. Retrieved May 30, 2021, from https://professional.dce.harvard.edu/blog/how-to-improve-your-emotional-intelligence/
• Lopes, P. N., Côté, S., & Salovey, P. (2006a). An ability model of emotional intelligence: Implications for assessment and training. In V. U. Druskat, G. Mount, & F. Sala (Eds.), Linking emotional intelligence and performance at work: Current research evidence with individuals and groups (pp. 53–80). Lawrence Erlbaum.
• Lopes, P. N., Grewal, D., Kadis, J., Gall, M., & Salovey, P. (2006b). Evidence that emotional intelligence is related to job performance and affect and attitudes at work. Psicothema , 18 , 132–138.
• Lothian, A. (2020, June 9). Jacinda Ardern: How great leaders manage a crisis. CEOToday Magazine . Retrieved May 30, 2021, from https://www.ceotodaymagazine.com/2020/06/jacinda-ardern-how-great-leaders-manage-a-crisis/
• MacCann, C., Jiang, Y., Brown, L. E., Double, K. S., Bucich, M., & Minbashian, A. (2020). Emotional intelligence predicts academic performance: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin , 146 , 150–186.
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3 Emotional Intelligence Exercises (PDF)

Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

Mia Belle Frothingham

Author, Researcher, Science Communicator

BA with minors in Psychology and Biology, MRes University of Edinburgh

Mia Belle Frothingham is a Harvard University graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Sciences with minors in biology and psychology

Learn about our Editorial Process

Saul Mcleod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul Mcleod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc

Associate Editor for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education

Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.

Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to perceive, understand, and manage one’s own emotions and relationships. It involves being aware of emotions in oneself and others and using this awareness to guide thinking and behavior. Emotionally intelligent individuals can motivate themselves, read social cues, and build strong relationships

Some researchers propose that emotional intelligence can be learned and strengthened, while others argue it is an inborn characteristic.

The ability to express and manage emotions is essential, but so is the ability to understand, diagnose, and react to the emotions of others. Imagine a world in which one could not understand when a friend felt sad or a classmate was angry.

Why is Emotional Intelligence Critical?

Emotional Intelligence is the “ability to monitor one’s own and other people’s emotions, to discriminate between different emotions and label them appropriately, and to use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior” (Salovey and Mayer, 1990).

Having a higher level of emotional intelligence allows one to empathize with others, communicate effectively, and be both self and socially aware. How people respond to themselves and others impacts all types of environments.

Living in this world signifies interacting with many diverse kinds of individuals and constant change with life-changing surprises.

Being emotionally intelligent is key to how one reacts to what life throws. It is furthermore a fundamental element of compassion and comprehending the deeper reasons behind other people’s actions.

It is not the most intelligent people who are the most prosperous or the most fulfilled in life. Many people are academically genius and yet are socially incompetent and unsuccessful in their careers or their intimate relationships.

Intellectual ability or intelligence quotient (IQ) is not enough on its own to achieve success in life. Undoubtedly, IQ can help one get into university, but your Emotional Intelligence (EI) will help one manage stress and emotions when facing final exams.

IQ and EI exist in tandem and are most influential when they build off one another.

Emotional intelligence is also valuable for leaders who set the tone of their organization. If leaders lack emotional intelligence , it could have more far-reaching consequences, resulting in lower worker engagement and a higher turnover rate.

While one might excel at one’s job technically, if one cannot effectively communicate with one’s team or collaborate with others, those specialized skills will get neglected.

By mastering emotional intelligence, one can positively impact anywhere and continue to advance one’s position and career in life. EI is vital when dealing with stressful situations like confrontation, change, and obstacles.

Emotional intelligence helps one build stronger relationships, succeed at work or school, and achieve one’s career and personal goals, as well as reduce group stress, defuse conflict, and enhance job satisfaction.

It can also help connect with one’s inner feelings, turn purpose into action, and make informed decisions about what matters most to oneself.

During these times, it is essential to remember to practice kindness, and being in touch with our emotions can help us do just that.

Examples of Emotional Intelligence

How does one become emotionally intelligent? Below we will discuss what one can do to learn to improve the skills that are behind emotional intelligence (EI).

Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to recognize the meanings of emotions and to reason and problem-solve based on them (Mayer, Caruso, & Salovey, 1999).

By working on and improving these skills, one can become more emotionally intelligent and, therefore, more successful!

Emotional Awareness and Understanding

Self-awareness, or the ability to recognize and comprehend one’s own emotions, is a vital emotional intelligence skill. Beyond acknowledging one’s feelings, however, is being conscious of the effect of one’s actions, moods, and emotions on other people.

According to research by Tasha Eurich, an organizational psychologist, 95% of individuals believe they are self-aware. Still, only 10 to 15 percent genuinely are, which can cause problems for the people one interacts with.

Being with people who are not self-aware can be frustrating and lead to increased stress and decreased encouragement.

To become self-aware, one must be capable of monitoring one’s emotions while recognizing different emotional reactions and correctly identifying each distinct emotion.

Self-aware individuals also can recognize the connections between the things they feel and how they act.

These individuals also acknowledge their strengths and weaknesses, are open to new data and experiences, and learn from their exchanges with others.

Furthermore, people who maintain self-awareness have a fine sense of humor, are confident in themselves and their capabilities, and know how others perceive them.

Here are some tips on improving one’s self-awareness:

Ask for constructive feedback from others.

Keep a journal of one’s thoughts and feelings.

Practice mindfulness – try meditating.

Pay careful attention to one’s thoughts and emotions.

Pursue one’s passions and do what makes one happy.

Learn new skills and set goals for oneself.

Reflect on one’s experiences and be grateful.

Use positive self-talk daily.

Work on building a growth mindset.

Emotional Self Regulation (Managing Emotions)

In addition to being aware of one’s own emotions and the impact one has on others, emotional intelligence requires one to regulate and manage one’s emotions .

This does not mean taking emotions out of sight and essentially “locking” them away, hence hiding one’s true feelings. It just means waiting for the right time and place to express them. Self-regulation is all about communicating one’s emotions appropriately in context. A reaction tends to be involuntary.

The more in tune one is with one’s emotional intelligence, the easier one can transition from an instant reaction to a well-thought-out response. It is crucial to remember to pause, breathe, compose oneself, and do what it takes to manage one’s emotions.

This could mean anything to oneself, like taking a walk or talking to a friend, so that one can more appropriately and intentionally respond to tension and adversity.

Those proficient in self-regulation tend to be flexible and acclimate well to change. They are also suitable for handling conflict and diffusing uncomfortable or difficult situations.

People with healthy self-regulation skills also tend to have heightened conscientiousness. They reflect on how they influence others and take accountability for their actions.

Here are some tips on improving one’s self-regulation:

Look at challenges as opportunities.

Be mindful of thoughts and feelings.

Build distress and anxiety tolerance skills.

Work on accepting reflections and emotions.

Find ways to manage difficult emotions.

Practice communication and social skills.

Recognize that one has a choice in how one responds.

Use cognitive reframing to change emotional responses and thought patterns.

Social Empathy (Perceiving Emotions)

Empathy , or the capability to comprehend how other people are feeling, is crucial to perfecting emotional intelligence.

However, it involves more than just being able to identify the emotional states of others. It also affects one’s responses to people based on this knowledge.

How does one respond when one senses someone is feeling sad or hopeless? One might treat them with extra care and consideration, or one might make a push to lift their mood.

Being empathetic also allows one to understand the authority dynamics that frequently influence social relationships, especially in the workplace.

This is essential for guiding one’s daily interactions with various people. In fact, it is found that empathy ranks as the number one leadership skill.

Leaders proficient in empathy perform more than 40% higher in coaching, engaging others, and decision-making. In a different study, researchers found that leaders who show more empathy toward their co-workers and constructive criticism are viewed as better performers by their supervisors.

Those competent in this element can recognize who maintains power in different relationships. They also understand how these forces impact feelings and behaviors. Because of this, they can accurately analyze different situations that hinge on such power dynamics.

Here are some tips on improving social empathy:

Be willing to share emotions.

Listen to other people.

Practice meditation.

Engage in a purpose like a community project.

Meet and talk to new people.

Try to imagine yourself in someone else’s place.

Social Skills (Using Emotions)

The ability to interact well with others is another vital aspect of emotional intelligence. Solid social skills allow people to build meaningful relationships with others and develop a more robust understanding of themselves and others.

Proper emotional understanding involves more than just understanding one’s own emotions and those of others. One also needs to put this information to work in one’s daily interactions and communications.

In the workplace or professional settings, managers benefit by being able to build relationships and connections with employees.

Workers benefit from developing a solid rapport with leaders and co-workers. Some prefer to avoid conflict, but it is crucial to address issues as they arise correctly.

Research shows that every unaddressed conflict can waste almost eight hours of company time on unproductive activities, damaging resources and morale. Essential social skills include active listening , verbal communication, nonverbal communication, leadership , and persuasiveness.

Here are some tips on improving social skills:

Ask open-ended questions.

Find icebreakers that will help start conversations.

Practice good eye contact.

Practice active listening with the entire body.

Notice other people’s social skills.

Show interest in others and ask them personal questions.

Watch one’s body language and that of others.

In The Workplace

Emotional intelligence includes showing genuine compassion, empathizing with the needs of individuals, and encouraging the ongoing personal growth of individuals.

When a leader takes into account the emotions of their followers, they then learn how to best engage with them.

1. Lending a Compassionate Ear to a Frustrated Co-Worker

Employees will inevitably get upset, have bad moods, argue, and just generally have bad days. In practice, compassion, understanding, and awareness are definite signs of emotional intelligence.

Awareness of and reacting to other people’s emotional states shows an understanding that all humans experience intense emotions and says that a person’s feelings matter.

2. Listening to Others Respectfully

Ever been to a conference when it seems like everyone is speaking over each other, trying to get the last word?

This is not only an indication of egos taking over and a lack of consideration for others; these are also indications of there being a lack of emotional intelligence.

When individuals are allowed to speak, and others listen without persistent interruptions, it is a good sign of EI. It shows reciprocal respect between parties and is more likely to lead to a productive conclusion in meetings.

3. Being Flexible

Flexibility is a critical term in organizations today. Building flexibility into how people function can be the difference between keeping the best workers and drifting out the door.

Emotionally intelligent leaders comprehend the changing needs of others and are ready to work with them rather than attempting to impose rigid restrictions on how people go about their work.

They do not expect everyone to work the hours they do, hold the same priorities, or live by precisely the same values.

In Healthcare

1. being patient with hurting individuals.

When in healthcare, it is expected that doctors and nurses will have to manage people in pain. Emotional intelligence not only allows for better patient care but also for better self-care.

For instance, if a patient is lashing out, and one can see that they are in pain, one will be far less likely to take their combativeness personally and treat them better.

2. Acting as the Effective Leader

In healthcare, there is a necessity to have influential leaders, a trusting environment with a helpful team, critical thinking, and quality patient and family-centered care.

A higher emotional intelligence will allow healthcare professionals to respond and react better to patients. Studies have shown a correlation between emotional intelligence and positive patient outcomes.

3. Responding Better to Stressful Situations

Multiple occasions in healthcare involve an urgent situation involving a life or death scenario. Doctors and nurses must check their own emotions.

Being in healthcare is a highly emotional career, and being aware of your feelings when they come up is key to effective self-care.

Interacting with patients can cause overwhelming joy or deep sadness, and these fluctuations can be utterly exhausting.

The ability to deal with these feelings, take breaks, and ask for help when you need it is another example of good emotional intelligence that nurses should practice.

Tips for Improving EI

Be more self-aware.

Awareness of one’s emotions and emotional responses to others can significantly improve one’s emotional intelligence. Knowing when one is feeling anxious or angry can help process and communicate those feelings in a way that promotes healthy results.

Recognize how others feel

Emotional intelligence could start with self-reflection, but measuring how others perceive one’s behavior and communication is essential. Adjusting one’s message based on how one is being received is an integral part of being emotionally intelligent.

Practice active listening

People communicate verbally and nonverbally, so listening and monitoring for potentially positive and negative reactions is essential. Taking the time to hear others also demonstrates a level of respect that can form the basis for healthy relationships.

Communicate clearly

Solid communication skills are critical for emotional intelligence. Knowing what to express or write and when to offer information is crucial for building strong relationships.

For instance, as a manager in a work environment, communicating expectations and goals is required to keep everyone on the same page.

Stay positive

A positive attitude is incredibly infectious. Emotionally intelligent people comprehend the power of positive words, encouraging emails, and friendly gestures. When one can also remain positive in a stressful situation, one can help others stay calm. It can also encourage further problem-solving and collaboration.

Thinking about how others might be feeling is an essential quality of emotional intelligence. It means you can empathize with feelings that one may not be feeling oneself and respond in a way that is respectful and relaxing to others.

Be open-minded

Emotionally intelligent people are comfortable to approach because they are good listeners and can consider and understand other viewpoints. They are also receptive to learning new things and embracing novel ideas.

Listen to feedback

It is essential to be the type of person who can hear feedback, whether it is positive on a recent presentation or more critical advice on how you should commission tasks more efficiently.

Being receptive to feedback means taking responsibility for one’s actions and being willing to improve how one communicates with others.

Stay calm under pressure

It is essential to approach stressful situations with a calm and positive attitude. Pressures can quickly escalate, primarily when people are operating under deadlines, so keeping steady and concentrating on finding a solution will help everyone complete their goals.

History of Emotional Intelligence

In the 1930s, psychologist Edward Thorndike explained the concept of “social intelligence” as the ability to get along with other individuals.

During the 1940s, psychologist David Wechsler suggested that different practical elements of intelligence could play a critical role in how successful people are in life.

In the 1950s, the school of thought was known as humanistic psychology, and scholars such as Abraham Maslow concentrated attention on how people could build emotional strength.

Another critical concept to arise in the development of emotional intelligence was the concept of multiple intelligences . This idea was put forth in the mid-1970s by Howard Gardner, presenting the idea that intelligence was more than just a single, broad capacity.

Emotional intelligence did not come into our vernacular until around 1990. The term “emotional intelligence” was first utilized in 1985 as it was presented in a doctoral dissertation by Wayne Payne.

In 1987, there was an article written by Keith Beasley and published in Mensa Magazine that used the term emotional quotient or EQ.

Then in 1990, psychologists John Mayer and Peter Salovey published their milestone article, Emotional Intelligence , in the journal Imagination, Cognition, and Personality .

They described emotional intelligence as the capability to monitor one’s and others’ feelings and emotions, discriminate among them, and use this knowledge to guide one’s thinking and actions.

Salovey and Mayer also initiated a research study to develop accurate measures of emotional intelligence and explore its significance. For example, they found in one investigation that when a group of people saw an upsetting film, those who ranked high on emotional clarity, or the ability to recognize and label a mood that is being experienced, recovered more quickly.

In a different study, people who scored higher in the ability to perceive accurately, understand and appraise others’ emotions were sufficiently capable of responding flexibly to changes in their social environments and building supportive social networks.

But despite it being a relatively new term, attraction to the concept has grown tremendously. In 1995, the concept of emotional intelligence was popularized after the publication of Daniel Goleman’s book  Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is emotional intelligence important in the workplace.

Researchers have indicated that emotional intelligence influences how excellently employees interact with their colleagues, and EI is also considered to play a role in how employees manage stress and conflict.

It also affects overall performance on the job. Other studies have connected emotional intelligence with job satisfaction.

Studies have shown that workers with higher scores on measures of EI also tend to be ranked higher on criteria of interpersonal functioning, leadership abilities, and stress management.

While standard intelligence was associated with leadership success, it alone was not enough. People who are prosperous at work are not just brilliant; they also have a high EI.

But emotional intelligence is not simply for CEOs and senior executives.

It is a quality that is essential at every level of a person’s career, from university students looking for internships to seasoned workers hoping to take on a leadership role.

Emotional intelligence is critical to success if one wants to succeed in the workplace and move up the career ladder.

Can emotional intelligence be taught?

As it turns out, the question whether emotional intelligence can be learned is not a straightforward one to answer.

Some psychologists and researchers claim that emotional intelligence is a skill that is not quickly learned or improved. Other psychologists and researchers, though, believe it can be improved with practice.

One key to improving EI is sustained practice – especially in high-stakes situations. Referring back to the above tips, one could read them and say those guidelines are pretty straightforward.

But, the challenging task is to do these practices in real-time and consistently. It takes practice to develop these skills. Then as you acquire them, you have to rehearse them under stress.

Can emotional intelligence be measured?

Several different assessments have arisen to gauge levels of emotional intelligence. These trials typically fall into one of two types: self-report tests and ability tests.

Self-report tests are the most abundant because they are the quickest to administer and score. Respondents respond to questions or statements on such tests by rating their behaviors.

For example, on a comment such as “I sense that I understand how others are feeling,” a test-taker might describe the statement as strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree.

On the other hand, ability tests involve people responding to situations and assessing their skills. These tests often require people to demonstrate their abilities, which a third party rates.

If one is taking an emotional intelligence trial issued by a mental health professional, here are two measures that could be used: Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) and the Emotional and Social Competency Inventory (ESCI).

What is the dark side of emotional intelligence?

The dark side of emotional intelligence is using one’s understanding of emotions manipulatively, to deceive, control, or exploit others.

High emotional intelligence can mask hidden agendas, enabling insincere charm or feigned empathy, potentially leading to deceitful or self-serving actions.

Boyatzis, R. E., & Goleman, D. (2011). Emotional and social competency inventory (ESCI): A user guide for accredited practitioners.  Retrieved December ,  17 , 2019.

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Gardner, H. E. (2000). Intelligence reframed: Multiple intelligences for the 21st century . Hachette UK.

Goleman, D. (1996).  Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ . Bloomsbury Publishing.

Mayer, J. D., Caruso, D. R., & Salovey, P. (1999). Emotional intelligence meets traditional standards for an intelligence.  Intelligence, 27 (4), 267-298.

Mayer, J. D., & Salovey, P. (1993). The intelligence of emotional intelligence.  Intelligence, 17 (4), 433-442.

Mayer, J. D., & Salovey, P. (2007).  Mayer-Salovery-Caruso emotional intelligence test . Toronto: Multi-Health Systems Incorporated.

Payne, W. L. (1985). A study of emotion: developing emotional intelligence; self-integration; relating to fear, pain and desire.

Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence .  Imagination, cognition and personality ,  9 (3), 185-211.

Thorndike, R. L., & Stein, S. (1937). An evaluation of the attempts to measure social intelligence.  Psychological Bulletin ,  34 (5), 275.

Wechsler, D., & Kodama, H. (1949).  Wechsler intelligence scale for children  (Vol. 1). New York: Psychological corporation.

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6 essential soft skills for k-12 teachers

June 7, 2024

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In addition to honing your classroom instructional skills, soft skills can help drive your professional growth. But do you know what soft skills are, and how you can develop your own as a K-12 teacher?

Soft skills are traits or abilities that support how people work and interact with one another. They’re skills that can help facilitate relationship-building, foster trust and enhance teamwork. Soft skills can often be applied across settings and different experiences – making them transferrable to many aspects of your professional life.

When it comes to the field of education, you need to interact not only with colleagues or administrators, but also with students and families. Developing soft skills can help you build credibility.

Soft skills are important for educators, but they’re equally valuable for those we teach. And demonstrating soft skills can help you model those skills and behaviors for students.

Here are six soft skills that may be beneficial in the field of education.

1. Leadership

Regardless of the grade level of your students, leadership skills can help you work effectively with and garner respect from students, families, administration and the community.

Leadership abilities help ensure that you, your colleagues and your students are working toward clear goals and desired educational outcomes. Educators with strong leadership skills can play an important role in today’s academic environments.

Being able to support faculty and students, both formally and informally, adds to the capacity for an educational setting to improve. Whether as a resource provider, a mentor or an innovative visionary, leadership aptitude may help you improve student outcomes.

You can cultivate this skill by exploring mentorship and coaching opportunities. It will also help you stay engaged by learning new leadership trends from books, articles, workshops and seminars. 

2. Communication

Good communication skills are important for two reasons: they can make you more fluent in conveying lessons and educational materials in ways students can comprehend, and they help you relay feedback so that students can find new tools to make progress.

Students are expected to be effective communicators: you set an example of good communication every time you interact with families and students. Good listening, speaking, reading and writing skills are the signs of a successful educator.

To be sure that everyone understands your expectations, you should present materials with clarity and provide feedback effectively.

Build on your own communication skills by preparing your delivery, practicing active listening and being aware of nonverbal cues like body language and eye contact. Develop your skill set for helping students read and write with confidence with an MS in Education, Reading and Literacy . 

3. Teamwork

With the emphasis on collaborative professional learning communities, finding ways to work as a group has become vital for pushing innovation or resolving challenges. Teamwork in an educational setting involves parties sharing mutual goals and working together to reach them. The ability to work well within and across teams has an impact on your students, families, colleagues, administrators and other key stakeholders.

As you work on your team collaboration skills, make sure to focus on understanding your team’s objectives, embracing feedback and being willing to adapt to meet different situations.

4. Problem Solving

Internal and external issues that arise in the classroom can negatively affect learning outcomes. Whether it’s deescalating a conflict or working through a life problem that’s getting in the way of a student’s learning, be prepared to take on challenges and know how to best approach the situation.

To enhance your ability to solve problems, approach challenges creatively and collaboratively. When you focus on solutions and practice active listening, you grow soft skills for problem solving. 

5. Social and Emotional Intelligence

Social and emotional intelligence, the awareness of emotions and the ability to adapt your behavior based on that awareness, help contribute to a safe and positive learning environment in increasingly multicultural and multilingual education systems. Be prepared to teach and practice social and emotional skills, give your students opportunities to practice these skills and help your students apply these skills in other scenarios.

Grow this skill by recognizing your emotions and learning how to express them in constructive ways. You can demonstrate persistence by setting realistic objectives and taking proactive steps toward goals. Practice empathy by respecting others’ feelings and taking in different viewpoints.

6. Cultural Competence

Cultural competence is the ability to understand, relate to and effectively educate across cultures and demographics.

It’s important for educators to welcome diverse voices into their classrooms. You don’t have to understand and know all cultures – but be willing to let your students teach you. This will help create a space where students can learn about empathy, acceptance and tolerance by experiencing it and celebrating diversity.

Self-reflection and awareness will help you cultivate this skill. Find ways to approach interactions with an open mind and adapt your communication approach to different cultural norms.

As you develop your teaching skill set, be sure to check out our other blog post:  6 key areas of expertise to help become a successful teacher .  

Many soft skills, including communication and teamwork, can be developed through online education degree programs.  Explore MS in Education programs at Capella.

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20 SMART Leadership Development Goals to Set in 2024

June 11, 2024

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Great leaders aren't born—they're made. It's not about having some innate talent or being naturally charismatic. Instead, great leadership comes from a commitment to personal and professional growth, and that starts with setting leadership development goals.

Leadership development goals help you identify the type of leader you want to become. They inspire you to learn from successes and failures, continuously hone your leadership skills, and evolve as a leader.

It involves being open to feedback, adaptable to change, and dedicated to the development of yourself and your team. That's not fluff, either.

Great leaders are all about being open to feedback (accepting you're not perfect), adaptable to change (dynamic and flexible), and dedicated to building yourself and your team (unselfish and empathetic).

Nail that, and you're destined to become one of the all-time greats.

Managers, executives, founders, team leads, parents, coaches, teachers—with the right mindset and goals, anyone can develop the qualities that make truly influential leaders.

And that development starts today.

Below, we'll help you find the right leadership development goals (and actionable next steps) to grow into the type of leader you want to become.

What Is a Leadership Development Goal?

Leadership development goals are specific objectives you set to improve your leadership abilities and, in turn, improve employee engagement . They're your roadmap to becoming the kind of leader you want to be. These goals give you direction, focus, and a clear path for growth.

When you set and achieve leadership goals, you're not just ticking off boxes—you're evolving. You learn more about your strengths, uncover areas for improvement, and build new skills that make you a more effective leader.

And that's not just good for you—it's good for your company, teams, and bottom line.

Better leadership starts with improved skills and personal qualities (skills like communication, emotional intelligence, and strategic thinking). You might aim to improve your active listening skills to better understand and support your team, or you might focus on developing your conflict resolution smarts to maintain a happy work environment.

Tailor your leadership development goals to your individual leadership style. No two leaders are the same, and what works for one person might not work for another. Maybe you're a natural-born cheerleader who thrives on motivating others, or perhaps you're more of a strategic thinker who loves planning and execution.

Embrace that. Your goals should reflect your unique style and areas where you want to grow.

How to Set SMART Development Goals

Setting goals is great, but your goals need an action plan—and that's where the SMART framework can help. We won't pretend this is your first time hearing about SMART goals, but a quick refresher might get you to actually implement it:

• Specific : Your goal should be clear and specific. Instead of saying, "I want to be a better leader," say, "I want to improve my communication skills by holding weekly one-on-one meetings with my team."
• Measurable : You need a way to measure your progress. This could be through feedback, performance metrics, or self-assessment. For example, you might track employee survey results to see improvement in communication.
• Achievable : Your goal should be realistic and attainable. Setting an unrealistic goal sets you up for failure and frustration. Aim for something challenging yet doable—like improving a specific skill rather than transforming your entire leadership style overnight.
• Relevant : Your goal should matter to you and align with your broader objectives. If building team cohesion is a priority, a relevant goal might be to improve your conflict resolution skills.
• Time-bound : Set a deadline to keep you focused and committed. A timeframe gives you a clear target to aim for and helps prevent procrastination. For example, commit to improving your communication skills within the next three months.

There's another element you should consider adding to your SMART list, but the acronym doesn't look as neat (SMART-A), so let's include it separately:

• Accountable: Share your goals with a mentor, coach, or team. When others know your objectives, they can provide support, encouragement, and positive feedback. This external accountability helps keep you on track and motivated.

Let's take a look at some SMART leadership development goal examples:

1. Team Cohesion: "By the end of the quarter, I will boost moral e by recognizing individual achievements during our weekly meetings."

• Specific: Recognize individual achievements.
• Measurable: Weekly employee recognition during meetings.
• Achievable: Manageable within weekly meetings.
• Relevant: Improves team morale
• Time-bound: By the end of the quarter.

2. Public Speaking: "In the next three months, I will improve my public speaking skills by presenting at least two monthly team meetings."

• Specific: Improve public speaking.
• Measurable: Presenting twice a month.
• Achievable: Two presentations per month.
• Relevant: Improves communication skills.
• Time-bound: In the next three months.

3. Productivity: "Within six months, I will increase team productivity by 15% by setting clear weekly objectives and tracking progress."

• Specific: Increase productivity.
• Measurable: 15% increase.
• Achievable: Weekly objectives and tracking.
• Relevant: Boosts team productivity.
• Time-bound: Within six months.

20 SMART Leadership Development Goals to Consider

Below, we've put together a range of leadership development goals that cover everything from emotional intelligence and team management to networking and better reporting. This list should help you reflect on the type of leader you want to become and identify goals to get you there.

Remember, you don't need to set all 20 goals at once—nor should you. It's about quality, not quantity. Focus on one or two (maybe three) goals at a time and commit to them fully. Once you feel you've accomplished your goal, revisit this list and consider the next step in your leadership evolution.

We've provided an example SMART outline for each to show you how to set leadership development goals. Don't feel obligated to follow that one exactly—it's just there to give you some actionable ideas.

Emotional Intelligence and Self-Awareness

Humans are emotional creatures, and that's not a bad thing. Developing emotional intelligence isn't about overcoming a weakness —it's about recognizing emotional responses in yourself (and others).

Emotional intelligence focuses on understanding and managing your own emotions while also recognizing and influencing the feelings of others. It helps create a positive work environment, improves communication, and strengthens relationships within the team.

1. Build Emotional Intelligence

• Specific : Improve emotional intelligence by identifying and managing personal triggers.
• Measurable : Track instances of emotional reactions and how you managed them in a journal.
• Achievable : Focus on one trigger per month.
• Relevant : Improves self-awareness and team dynamics.
• Time-bound : Noticeable improvement within six months.

2. Practice Active Listening

• Specific : Improve active listening skills by giving full attention during team meetings.
• Measurable : Get feedback from team members on your listening improvements.
• Achievable : Apply active listening techniques in at least two meetings per week.
• Relevant : Strengthens communication and trust within the team.
• Time-bound : Implement this goal over the next three months.

Communication and Feedback

Better communication builds trust, fosters collaboration, and keeps everyone on the same page. It's not just about talking—it's about listening, understanding, and responding in a way that moves the team forward.

However, simply improving your communication is easier said than done—often, this is the quest of a lifetime. But it starts with the steps you start to take now.

3. Provide Constructive Feedback

• Specific : Give constructive criticism to each team member at least once a month.
• Measurable : Track the feedback given and note improvements in performance or behavior.
• Achievable : Focus on one or two key areas for each feedback session.
• Relevant : Helps improve team performance and development.
• Time-bound : Achieve this goal within the next three months.

4. Request Feedback from Others

• Specific : Actively seek feedback from your team after every major project.
• Measurable : Use surveys or one-on-one meetings to gather feedback.
• Achievable : Make it a regular part of your project wrap-up routine.
• Relevant : Improves your own growth and team dynamics.
• Time-bound : Implement this within the next six months.

Personal Development and Growth Mindset

A growth mindset is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication, hard work, and learning. Developing a growth mindset means you see challenges as opportunities rather than obstacles.

Business leaders with a growth mindset aren't afraid to take on challenges and learn from mistakes—and they inspire their teams to do the same.

5. Build a Growth Mindset

• Specific : Incorporate growth mindset principles into your leadership style by encouraging team members to embrace challenges and learn from failures.
• Measurable : Track instances where you and your team turn setbacks into learning opportunities.
• Achievable : Start with small steps, like regular team reflections on what was learned from each project.
• Relevant : Cultivates a company culture of continuous improvement.
• Time-bound : Implement within the next three months.

6. Engage in Ongoing Learning

• Specific : Commit to ongoing personal and professional development by attending workshops, reading leadership books, or taking online courses.
• Measurable : Complete at least one learning activity per month.
• Achievable : Choose manageable activities that fit your schedule.
• Relevant : Improves your leadership skills and knowledge, keeping you updated with leadership trends.
• Time-bound : Maintain this practice for the next six months.

Team Management and Delegation

Good team management keeps everyone aligned, motivated, and working toward common goals. It's your job as the leader to spearhead this initiative. It's not about micro-managing, either—it's about empowering your team with the meetings, resources, and know-how they need to operate with full autonomy.

7. Delegate More

• Specific : Improve delegation by assigning at least one significant project to a team member each month.
• Measurable : Track the projects delegated and their outcomes.
• Achievable : Start with smaller projects and gradually increase complexity.
• Relevant : Frees up your time for strategic tasks and helps develop your team.
• Time-bound : Implement this goal over the next four months.

8. Improve Team Collaboration

• Specific : Foster better collaboration by organizing monthly team-building activities .
• Measurable : Monitor participation and gather feedback on team dynamics.
• Achievable : Plan simple activities that encourage teamwork and communication.
• Relevant : Improves team cohesion and performance.
• Time-bound : Achieve this within the next six months.

Conflict Resolution and Problem-Solving

Conflict is inevitable —it's a matter of when , not if . However, good leaders know how to resolve it quickly and constructively to build teams rather than rip them apart.

9. Develop Conflict Resolution Skills

• Specific : Improve conflict resolution skills by attending at least two conflict management workshops.
• Measurable : Track the number of workshops attended and the techniques learned.
• Achievable : Choose workshops that fit your schedule and offer practical insights.
• Relevant : Improves your ability to manage and resolve conflicts within your team.
• Time-bound : Complete the workshops within the next six months.

10. Upgrade Problem-Solving Know-How

• Specific : Improve problem-solving skills by implementing a structured problem-solving process for team projects.
• Measurable : Use feedback and project outcomes to evaluate the effectiveness of the process.
• Achievable : Start with smaller projects to refine your approach.
• Relevant : Boosts your team's efficiency and innovation.
• Time-bound : Integrate this process within the next three months.

Time Management and Productivity

Better time management helps you prioritize tasks, reduce stress, and maintain a healthy work-life balance, while productivity helps you do more with less (something every team needs right about now).

11. Better Manage Your Team's Time

• Specific : Improve time management by using a digital planner to organize daily tasks and projects.
• Measurable : Track the completion rate of daily tasks and adjustments needed.
• Achievable : Start by planning out tasks for one week at a time.
• Relevant : Improves efficiency and reduces stress.
• Time-bound : Implement this habit within the next month.

12. Increase Productivity

• Specific : Boost productivity by implementing the Pomodoro Technique during work hours.
• Measurable : Track the number of Pomodoro sessions completed each day.
• Achievable : Begin with four Pomodoro sessions per day and gradually increase.
• Relevant : Improves focus and efficiency.
• Time-bound : Establish this practice over the next two months.

Building Relationships and Networking

Relationships built on trust and mutual respect improve collaboration and create a better work environment. You don't need to be best friends with your co-workers or direct reports, but you should have positive relationships with them.

However, these relationships don't develop from weekly Zoom meetings or sitting across from each other at work. You'll need to be a bit more intentional than that.

13. Strengthen Relationships with Team Members

• Specific : Improve relationships with team members by scheduling one-on-one meetings with each person at least once a month.
• Measurable : Track the number of meetings and note improvements in team dynamics.
• Achievable : Schedule meetings during regular work hours to make them manageable.
• Relevant : Builds trust and improves team cohesion.

14. Build Your Professional Network

• Specific : Attend at least one professional networking event per month.
• Measurable : Track the number of events attended and connections made.
• Achievable : Choose local events or online webinars to fit into your schedule.
• Relevant : Expands your professional network and opens up new opportunities.

Strategic Thinking and Business Operations

Strategic thinking involves making decisions that align with your company's goals and anticipating future challenges and opportunities. While that might sound simple enough, it's a skill most leaders still need to develop.

15. Expand Your Strategic Thinking Skills

• Specific : Improve strategic thinking by dedicating one hour each week to reading industry reports and trend analyses.
• Measurable : Track the number of reports read and insights gained.
• Achievable : Allocate time in your schedule specifically for this purpose.
• Relevant : Keeps you informed about industry trends and improves decision-making.
• Time-bound : Implement this practice over the next three months.

16. Improve Business or Team Operations

• Specific : Streamline business operations by implementing a new project management tool.
• Measurable : Monitor project completion times and team productivity.
• Achievable : Choose a tool that integrates with your current systems and train the team on its use.
• Relevant : Increases efficiency and reduces operational bottlenecks.
• Time-bound : Complete the implementation within the next two months.

Adaptability and Flexibility

The world has been moving fast for decades, but things have changed quickly since 2020. Remote work, generative AI, tech—it's a whole new work landscape.

Being adaptable means adjusting to new conditions and challenges, while flexibility allows you to modify your approach as needed. Together, these traits help you survive and thrive in the constantly changing new normal .

17. Become More Adaptable

• Specific : Improve adaptability by taking on a new role or project outside your comfort zone.
• Measurable : Track your progress and document lessons learned from the experience.
• Achievable : Choose a role or project that is challenging yet feasible.
• Relevant : Prepares you for unexpected changes and broadens your skill set.
• Time-bound : Complete this goal within the next six months.

18. Adopt Flexible Leadership Styles

• Specific : Practice flexibility by using different leadership styles (directive, supportive, coaching) depending on the situation and team needs.
• Measurable : Solicit feedback from team members on your leadership style effectiveness.
• Achievable : Implement these styles in various scenarios over time.
• Relevant : Improves your ability to lead diverse teams and handle different situations.
• Time-bound : Integrate this practice over the next three months.

Tracking Progress and Measuring Success

Good team leaders keep progress moving in the right direction. They know what success looks like and the steps necessary to achieve it. And that starts with better tracking and measurements.

19. Better Track Progress

• Specific : Develop a system to regularly track the progress of team projects and individual goals.
• Measurable : Use project management software to monitor task completion and milestones.
• Achievable : Choose a tool that integrates easily with your existing workflows.
• Relevant : Helps keep projects on track and objectives met.
• Time-bound : Set up and start using the system within the next two months.

20. Set Better Goals and Milestones

• Specific : Define clear, measurable milestones for each major project
• Measurable : Track progress against these milestones using project management software
• Achievable : Break down projects into smaller, manageable tasks with deadlines.
• Relevant : Helps maintain momentum and ensures timely project completion.
• Time-bound : Implement this practice for all new projects starting next month.

Develop Stronger Leaders with Terryberry

Becoming a great leader is a journey, not a destination. Whether you're trying to grow yourself as a leader or steer your managers in the right direction, it all starts with your leadership development goals.

And we're here to help.

Our comprehensive suite of solutions—like surveys, recognition tools, and feedback systems—supports your leadership development every step of the way.

• Surveys : Use real-time insights to set targeted SMART goals that address the real needs of your team.
• Recognition : Celebrate your teams and leaders with meaningful feedback and social recognition.
• Rewards : Provide customizable rewards to recognize and appreciate your teams and leaders' efforts.

Whether you're focusing on improving your emotional intelligence, streamlining communication, or boosting productivity, Terryberry has the tools to support your goals. Our tools integrate into your daily routines to make it simpler for you to track progress and measure success.

Together, we can help you develop the skills and confidence you need to lead your team to success.

Explore Terryberry's solutions and take the first step toward becoming a better leader.

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