Emotional intelligence training for leaders

As AI automates routine cognitive tasks, the skills that set great leaders apart are becoming deeply personal. Harvard Business Review research identifies three capabilities AI cannot replace in leaders: awareness, compassion and wisdom.

The WEF Future of Jobs Report 2025 confirms that 39% of existing skill sets will be transformed by 2030, with resilience, leadership, social influence and curiosity among the fastest-growing skills demanded by employers globally. The World Economic Forum ranks leadership, social influence and emotional intelligence among the top skills for 2025 to 2030.

Meanwhile, research from Six Seconds reveals that employee-AI collaboration is increasing loneliness and emotional fatigue, making emotionally intelligent leadership not just a competitive advantage, but a necessity for organisational wellbeing.

AI handles: data analysis, pattern recognition, routine decisions, process automation. Humans lead with: empathy, trust-building, ethical judgement, conflict resolution, psychological safety, inspiring performance.

"The rise of AI makes emotional intelligence more important... develop the skills machines can't replicate." (Harvard Business Review)

Emotional intelligence involves a set of skills that define how effectively we perceive, understand, reason with and manage our own and others' emotions. In an AI-augmented workplace, these are the skills that differentiate exceptional leaders from those who merely manage.

In high-performing organisations, people feel significantly more engaged, cared for, valued, proud, and motivated. In low-performing organisations, people feel significantly more fearful, stressed, disempowered and uncertain. As EY research confirms, emotionally intelligent leadership is the critical factor in navigating AI-driven change successfully.

The use of emotional intelligence skills is equally as important as intellectual skills (IQ) for achieving success, and this gap is only widening as AI augments our cognitive capabilities while leaving our emotional capabilities untouched.

Increasing EI leadership skills will enable your leaders to:

• Cultivate empathy and trust in diverse teams
• Navigate complex interpersonal dynamics with skill
• Mentor and coach effectively for peak performance
• Build lasting client relationships through nuanced communication
• Resolve conflicts with finesse and emotional awareness
• Create engaged, high-performing organisational cultures

The model explores how frequently leaders demonstrate emotionally intelligent workplace behaviours across six core competencies: precisely the skills that McKinsey identifies as essential for unlocking AI's full potential.

• Self-Awareness

  Being aware of your own emotions and the impact they have on your thinking, behaviour, decision-making and how you engage with others.

• Awareness of Others

  Noticing and acknowledging the emotions of others. Understanding what people need and adapting your approach to get the best from each individual.

• Authenticity

  Openly and effectively expressing yourself, honouring commitments and encouraging this behaviour in others. Building trust through genuine interaction.

• Emotional Reasoning

  Using emotional information from yourself and others as part of the decision-making process. Combining what you think with how you and others feel.

• Self-Management

  Managing your own mood and emotions, time and behaviour. Continuously improving yourself by setting stretching goals and striving towards them.

• Inspiring Performance

  Facilitating high performance in others through coaching, feedback and recognition. Creating a positive, engaging environment where people deliver their best.

Our EI leadership assessments explore how well leaders demonstrate emotionally intelligent leadership competencies in comparison to global leadership benchmarks.

• Genos EI Self Assessment. Designed for emerging or front-line leaders. Perfect for use in development workshops, conferences and other group development settings. Contains: Self-Assessment Results with benchmarking against global leadership norms.
• Genos 180° Assessment & Feedback. Designed for front-line to supervisor development. Includes feedback from direct reports alongside your own self-assessment, providing powerful insights into how your leadership is experienced by others. Contains: Feedback from Direct Reports with optional Self-Assessment comparison.
• Genos 360° Assessment & Report. The most comprehensive assessment, designed for front-line to senior leadership development. Customisable rater categories provide a complete picture of your emotional intelligence from every angle. Contains: Self-Assessment plus Feedback from Manager, Peers, Direct Reports & Others.

• Measure & Accelerate Progress. Use assessment and coaching together to accelerate progress. Measure the emotional culture of your organisation before and after assessment roll-out.
• Safe, Easy & Convenient. Delivered through a secure, convenient online survey experience. Raters can complete on any device, anywhere, any time.
• Actionable Results. Engaging and accessible reports with custom advice, tips, additional reading and resource guides to accelerate and support development.
• Deep, Accessible Insights. Dual benchmarks for comparison internally and externally. Traffic light methodology highlights strengths and development areas instantly.

We deliver EI leadership assessments combined with expert coaching and facilitation.

Each assessment is followed by a personalised coaching session where we debrief the report, explore your results in depth, and co-create a practical development plan tailored to your leadership context.

Whether you're developing emerging leaders or strengthening your senior team, we'll design a programme that integrates EI leadership assessment with ongoing development to create lasting behavioural change.

In a world where AI handles the data, your leaders need the human skills to inspire, connect and drive performance. Call us on (+44) 0207 205 2532, or see executive coaching and leadership development programmes.