Why Emotional Intelligence is Becoming HR’s Most Valuable Leadership Metric

By Jen Paterno, Senior Behavioral Scientist at CoachHub

Until recently, emotional intelligence (EI) has been considered a “nice-to-have” soft skill, but new research shows it’s actually a strategic capability that now plays a defining role in leadership success. TalentSmartEQ found that emotional intelligence accounts for 58% of professional performance and 90% of top performers score high in it.

The most effective leaders today deliver business results while cultivating environments where people feel motivated, supported and connected. These leaders stay composed under pressure, read the emotional tone of a room and build trust through authenticity. HR leaders are embedding emotional intelligence training into leadership development to improve team performance, reduce burnout and build cultures that can adapt and thrive.

Understanding Emotional Intelligence: Where It Comes From and Why It Matters

Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize and regulate your own emotions while also tuning into the emotions of others in order to guide interactions effectively. It plays a key role in how people communicate, resolve conflict and lead, especially in complex, high-pressure environments.

The concept first emerged in academic circles in the early 1990s, introduced by psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer. It gained widespread attention through Daniel Goleman’s 1995 book Emotional Intelligence, which popularized the idea for business audiences. Goleman outlined five core components that remain central to how we understand the skill today: self-awareness, self-regulation, internal motivation, empathy and social skill.

While IQ and technical proficiency are foundational, Goleman’s research made the case that emotional intelligence is often what sets exceptional leaders apart. That theory has been backed by decades of organizational studies. One example from TalentSmart found that sales professionals at L’Oréal who scored higher in emotional intelligence brought in an average of $90,000 more per year than their peers and stayed with the company longer. Outcomes like these show that emotional intelligence is a business driver with measurable impact on performance and retention.

Emotional Intelligence in Practice

As teams become more dynamic and the workplace more complex, the demands on leaders are shifting. Technical expertise and operational control are still important, but they must now be matched by emotional clarity and interpersonal agility. Leaders are being asked to navigate uncertainty, foster team cohesion and communicate with empathy, especially in high-pressure situations.

Emotional intelligence enables this kind of leadership. It helps leaders stay grounded, listen deeply and respond thoughtfully rather than reactively. When leaders bring emotional awareness to their daily interactions, they build stronger relationships and set the tone for team culture.

This emotional tone matters more than ever. Google’s Project Aristotle, a multi-year study of more than 180 teams, found that psychological safety—the belief that team members can take risks without fear of embarrassment—was the strongest predictor of team effectiveness. And that safety starts at the top. Leaders who model emotional intelligence help create environments where trust can grow, ideas can surface and collaboration can thrive.

For HR leaders, this is where emotional intelligence becomes a lever for organizational resilience and performance.

The Organizational Payoff: Performance, Retention and ROI

When leaders bring emotional awareness into their interactions, teams collaborate more smoothly, adapt more easily and resolve conflict more constructively. These behaviors influence individual performance and the broader organizational culture.

Many organizations are also beginning to assess and quantify emotional intelligence through tools such as self-assessments, peer evaluations and behavioral interviews. These tools make it observable and coachable, so it’s easier to tie to outcomes like team engagement, retention and leadership effectiveness.

For HR leaders focused on measurable impact, this link is key. When emotional intelligence is evaluated consistently and tied to leadership performance, it becomes easier to demonstrate ROI—not just in culture, but in cost savings and business continuity. Leaders with higher emotional intelligence tend to foster more engaged teams and reduce turnover, both of which directly affect the bottom line. In this way, emotional intelligence supports both people outcomes and financial outcomes, helping HR teams connect leadership development to enterprise-wide priorities.

Emotional intelligence also supports well-being at a time when burnout remains a serious challenge. The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence notes that emotionally attuned leaders are more likely to spot signs of stress early, both in themselves and others. They tend to create space for conversations around workload, encourage healthy boundaries and lead with behaviors that promote sustainability. When leaders maintain emotional clarity in high-pressure moments, they’re better able to weigh decisions with care. This helps teams stay focused, reduces reactionary choices and supports more strategic outcomes over time.

How HR Can Scale Emotional Intelligence Across the Organization

Here are some examples of how organizations are weaving emotional intelligence into leadership development:

Self-awareness training – including journaling, 360-degree feedback and emotional self-assessments
Emotional regulation practices – such as mindfulness, cognitive reframing and stress management resources
Relationship skill-building – using empathy exercises, active listening sessions and communication coaching to strengthen trust
Ongoing emotional feedback – making regular emotional check-ins part of performance conversations and leadership coaching

Executive coaching, in particular, helps leaders internalize and apply emotional intelligence skills in context. It provides space to reflect, receive feedback and build emotional insight in ways that are directly tied to their day-to-day responsibilities.

Integrating emotional intelligence into leadership development also means embedding these competencies into how leaders are selected, trained and promoted. Without emotional readiness, even high-potential leaders can struggle to navigate conflict, change or people dynamics at scale. By assessing emotional intelligence early in the promotion pipeline, HR can identify those who are not only skilled, but also equipped to lead with resilience, empathy and emotional clarity.

Organizations that include emotional intelligence in performance reviews, promotion criteria and succession planning are more likely to develop leaders who can adapt, inspire and retain talent in today’s fluid work environment.

What This Means for HR Leaders

Emotional intelligence is becoming a central force in how strong organizations grow. It shapes how leaders respond to challenges, how teams engage with their work and how companies navigate change.

For HR professionals, this is the moment to act. Whether through coaching, feedback or training, there are clear pathways to embed emotional intelligence into every level of leadership. Start small—pilot a feedback loop, introduce reflective tools or run a short empathy workshop—and build from there.

Every step toward emotionally intelligent leadership moves your organization closer to a culture where people perform at their best, stay engaged longer and grow with purpose.

[To share your insights with us, please write to psen@itechseries.com ]

The post Why Emotional Intelligence is Becoming HR’s Most Valuable Leadership Metric appeared first on TecHR.

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