Artificial intelligence is getting faster, smarter and more embedded in our work lives.
While it can be a helpful tool, it still can’t build trust, navigate tension, or make people feel seen and valued.
Over the course of my career, I’ve been a professor, an employment attorney, an HR executive, an executive coach and a CEO. And in an increasingly AI-driven world, I’ve found that emotional intelligence is becoming a rare superpower, especially at work.
Here are four signs that you have it.
Emotionally intelligent leaders create a sense of psychological safety at work. Their colleagues know that they are free to raise their concerns before they become problems.
If your team members only speak up when things are already off track, that’s troubling.
But if they feel comfortable telling you the truth early on, and they don’t edit or censor themselves around you, that is a true sign that you are emotionally intelligent.
Emotionally intelligent people don’t let stress drive their behavior, nor do they rush to fix things before understanding the full picture.
This can be as simple as taking what I call a “professional pause”: Wait five seconds. Allow your brain to override your emotions. This way, your next move is driven by intention rather than impulse.
Then ask these three questions to help you solve problems with a sense of calm and purpose:
“What have you already considered?””Can you help me understand what’s behind that?””What do you need from me right now?”3. You can handle tension with ease
During conflict, people often swing between extremes. They will either avoid it and try to make everyone happy, or they will escalate it.
People with high emotional intelligence stay steady, address the concern directly, and know how to move forward without damaging anyone’s trust.
4. You are a great critical thinker
This is especially valuable now. AI can quickly analyze data, identify patterns, and generate recommendations. But emotionally intelligent people don’t accept the first answer an algorithm gives them.
Instead, they will ask three key questions:
“What’s missing here?””Whose perspective isn’t in this data?””Does this actually make sense for the people involved?”
Critical thinking in the AI era is having the awareness and judgment to know when to push back on the answers that are fed to you.
My advice is to ask yourself at the end of each day: Where did I lead well today, and where did I get in my own way? It can also help to ask someone you trust: “When have you seen me struggle as a leader, and when have you seen me at my best?”
Carol Parker Walsh, JD, PhD, is an award-winning human development expert and organizational strategist, and founder of Carol Parker Walsh Consulting Group. She’s a TEDx speaker, a professional fellow with the Harvard Institute of Coaching, a recognized CNBC Leadership Expert, and an instructor for the CNBC Make It Smarter course How To Be A Standout Leader. Follow her on Instagram and LinkedIn.
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