In leadership roles, technical skill and experience are rarely the limiting factor. More often, it is how effectively leaders manage themselves and respond to others that determines their real impact. This is where the importance of emotional intelligence in leadership becomes clear.
Emotional intelligence, or EQ, is the ability to understand, manage, and influence both your own emotions and those of the people around you. Research consistently shows that it is a more reliable predictor of leadership performance than IQ alone: EQ accounts for 58% of job performance, and 90% of top performers across industries score high in emotional intelligence. Yet only 40% of leaders currently prioritise it as a development focus. That gap is where organisations lose ground.
Emotional intelligence broadly splits into personal and social aspects of emotion awareness and management. Professors Victor Dulewicz and Malcolm Higgs developed the Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (EIQ), a validated, workplace-specific tool that measures EQ across seven distinct and measurable dimensions. Understanding these dimensions gives leaders a clear picture of where they are strong and where they have room to grow:
Self-awareness: Recognising and managing your own emotions in professional settings.
Emotional resilience: Staying calm and focused under pressure, even through setbacks.
Motivation: Maintaining drive and energy to achieve results, especially when things are difficult.
Interpersonal sensitivity: Understanding others' perspectives, actively listening, and taking their views on board.
Influence: Adapting your approach to persuade effectively by understanding what matters to others.
Intuitiveness: Making sound decisions when information is incomplete, drawing on both logic and judgment.
Conscientiousness: Acting with integrity, following through on commitments, and solving problems with ethics in mind.
Strong performance across these seven areas is what GFB measures when we work with leaders and organisations on EQ development.
Before exploring what high EQ enables, it is worth being honest about what low EQ costs. Leaders who struggle with emotional intelligence often display recognisable patterns that hold them and their teams back:
Struggling to manage stress or reacting under pressure in ways that undermine trust.
Avoiding difficult conversations, allowing problems to grow rather than addressing them early.
Misreading team dynamics or stakeholder needs, leading to poor decisions and missed signals.
Over-relying on logic and overlooking the people's impact of decisions.
Inconsistent or unclear communication that leaves teams uncertain about expectations or direction.
These are not character flaws. They are development areas, and they are measurable and improvable with the right support.
EQ is not just a personal quality. Its impact is felt across teams and organisations. Leaders who develop strong EQ create a ripple effect that is visible in organisational performance.
For organisations specifically, investing in EQ development delivers:
More consistent leadership behaviour across teams
Leaders with high EQ regulate their own responses under pressure, which means teams experience a more stable, predictable environment in which to perform.
Better quality decision-making
Emotionally intelligent leaders are better at balancing data with an understanding of people impact, resulting in decisions that are more likely to land well and be executed effectively.
Stronger engagement and retention
Employees with empathetic leaders report a 76% increase in engagement and a 61% boost in creativity. Leaders who demonstrate trust and empathy-building behaviours see turnover rates 40% lower than their peers.
More effective collaboration in complex or matrix environments
Leaders who can read the room, manage conflict constructively, and adapt their communication style are significantly more effective in the complex, cross-functional structures most organisations operate in today.
High EQ also benefits leaders as individuals, which in turn strengthens what they bring to their teams. Leaders who manage their emotions well experience lower levels of stress, anxiety, and burnout. They build stronger professional relationships, communicate more clearly, and are better positioned to support the wellbeing of the people around them. The APA's research on stress confirms that its effects extend to physical health, weakening the immune system and increasing susceptibility to illness. Leaders who develop EQ are investing in their own long-term health and effectiveness, not just a set of workplace skills.
Measuring EQ provides a clear starting point for development. By understanding how individuals perform across each of the seven EIQ dimensions, leaders can focus their development where it will have the greatest impact, rather than relying on general feedback or assumptions about where they need to grow.
Unlike IQ, EQ is trainable. With the right measurement tool and the right support, leaders at all levels can develop greater self-awareness, interpersonal sensitivity, and emotional resilience. At GFB, we use the Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire developed by Dulewicz and Higgs. This is a research-backed, workplace-specific instrument that measures EQ across all seven dimensions and provides leaders with a detailed, actionable profile of their strengths and development areas.
Following assessment, our coaches work one-to-one with individuals to interpret their scores and co-create a development plan tailored to their specific context and goals. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Emotional intelligence is often the difference between technically capable leaders and those who consistently deliver through others. Developing it is not optional; it is a key part of effective leadership.
The importance of emotional intelligence in leadership is well evidenced, and the organisations that take it seriously see it reflected in their engagement scores, retention rates, and leadership culture.
If you would like to explore how GFB can help your leaders measure and develop their EQ, please get in touch with our team. You can email us at info@gfbgroup.com or call 0333 038 6354 to learn more about our development programmes and how we work.