Dedicating to my Gen Z daughter Ella Nalbandyan
Emotional intelligence is making a comeback, or maybe it never really left.
For years, leadership conversations were dominated by buzzwords like agility, knowledge economy, and purpose-driven leadership. Emotional intelligence, once the buzzword of the late 1990s and early 2000s, slowly faded into the background, overshadowed by metrics, dashboards, and the rise of AI-driven decision-making.
But here is the turn: as Gen Z steps into leadership roles: now making 27% of the workforce, emotional intelligence is quietly re-emerging as the superpower every leader needs. And in a world of constant change, it might just be the most future-proof skill of them all.
Leading in today’s world is chaotic in multiple crises: economic, environmental, and technological. In this context, leadership is not about control anymore. It is about connection. And that’s where emotional intelligence steps in.
Psychologist Daniel Goleman, who popularized the concept of emotional intelligence, outlined five key components: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. Self-awareness is knowing what you feel and why. Self-regulation is managing your emotions, especially under stress. Motivation is staying driven by purpose, not just external rewards. Empathy is understanding others’ feelings, even unspoken ones. Social skills are about building trust, resolving conflicts, and influencing effectively. Source: Goleman’s Framework
These are not “nice-to-haves”. These are core leadership values. In my book The Business Caring Formula, I explain how seven leadership values establish the foundation for emotional intelligence and impactful leadership. Leaders who embrace and live by their values create confidence, they come into any situation with “trust”, inspire teams, and drive ongoing success. In an age where artificial intelligence can crunch data faster than any human, emotional intelligence guided by strong values is what keeps and will keep leadership human.
Gen Z is already known for being tech-savvy, values-driven, and bold enough to challenge outdated systems. But there’s something else quietly powerful about this generation: their demand for authenticity and emotional transparency. They openly discuss mental health and burnout, prioritize psychological safety at work, and expect leaders to feel as well as think. Now that Gen Z is moving into leadership roles: whether as startup founders, team leaders, or community organizers, emotional intelligence is not optional. It is part of the job description. “If you want to lead humans, you have to understand humans.”
Let’s picture two leaders facing the same situation: a critical project fails. The leader with low emotional intelligence reacts impulsively, blames others, and retreats into frustration. Trust breaks down. The team disengages. The leader with high emotional intelligence pauses, names the emotion, listens to the team, and reframes the setback as learning. Tension transforms into renewed commitment.
There are clear examples of failure due to a lack of emotional intelligence among top management at some of the world’s most high-profile companies.
At WeWork, top management’s charismatic yet erratic behavior cultivated a toxic corporate culture. Employees were reportedly fired for having “bad energy,” and company resources were used to fund lavish personal lifestyles. This lack of self-awareness and empathy contributed to a failed IPO, a $47 billion valuation plummeting to near bankruptcy, and significant job losses. Sources: vanityfair.com, time.com, newyorker.com
At Uber, top management fostered a cutthroat environment where aggressive tactics and unethical behavior were normalized. Allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination, and regulatory evasion led to public scandals and internal unrest. The company’s board eventually intervened to remove top management and mandate leadership training to address the toxic culture. Sources: rethinkleadershipnow.com, vanityfair.com
At Facebook, top management was accused of prioritizing growth over ethical considerations, leading to amplification of harmful content and failure to prevent election interference. These actions, driven by a lack of empathy and ethical foresight, contributed to societal polarization and undermined public trust. Source: thetimes.co.uk
In contrast, Airbnb provides a compelling example of emotional intelligence driving positive external impact. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company faced unprecedented cancellations and uncertainty, threatening both its business and the livelihoods of hosts. CEO Brian Chesky demonstrated exceptional emotional intelligence by openly communicating with hosts and guests, acknowledging their fears, and showing genuine empathy. He implemented a $250 million fund to cover cancellation fees, protecting hosts and preserving trust in the platform. Chesky’s emotionally intelligent leadership reinforced a company-wide culture of empathy and ethical decision-making, producing tangible external impact: safeguarding stakeholders, maintaining brand loyalty, and ensuring market resilience post-pandemic. Source: Harvard Business Review, Forbes.
These cases illustrate that leadership decisions lacking emotional intelligence and ethical consideration can lead to significant harm, not only to organizations but also to individuals and society at large. Leadership without emotional intelligence isn’t just uncomfortable: it can be destructive. Emotional intelligence in team dynamics looks like giving feedback that motivates instead of demotivates, recognizing when to push hard and when to pause, and creating an environment where people feel safe enough to take risks. When emotional intelligence is present and guided by strong values, teams don’t just survive change: they succeed with it.
Today everyone talks about resilience. One of the definitions of resilience is: it is a capacity to revive with wisdom. Leaders with emotional intelligence spot a problem before it becomes a downfall, and lead from care instead of chaos. Resilience is deeply emotional. And when leaders build it with core values, they nurture collective resilience across the entire team and organization.
While emotional intelligence may sound “soft,” the evidence says otherwise. Research from Harvard Business Review and McKinsey consistently links emotional intelligence to higher team performance, increased employee engagement, better retention and lower turnover, and stronger organizational culture. According to a TalentSmart study, 90% of top performers across industries score high in emotional intelligence. In contrast, only 20% of low performers have strong emotional intelligence. Numbers do not lie: emotional intelligence drives results. Source: Harvard Business Review, McKinsey, TalentSmart.
Yes, emotional intelligence is back. But this time, it’s not a momentary management trend. It is a survival strategy for leaders navigating an increasingly complex world. In an era of automation, being human is a competitive advantage. As Gen Z embraces leadership, emotional intelligence is evolving. It’s more inclusive: recognizing diverse experiences and voices. It’s more self-aware: blending mindfulness with modern psychology. It’s more systemic: integrated into organizational culture, not left to chance. Emotional intelligence isn’t about being nice. It’s about being effective in human systems, anchored by strong leadership values with seven ingredients, described in my book The Business Caring Formula.
What is your action?
Whether you are already leading or just starting your journey, here is how to exercise and promote emotional intelligence: practice self-awareness by reflecting daily on how your emotions and values shape your actions and decisions; build empathy by listening not just to words, but to tone, situation, and what’s left unsaid; foster psychological safety by making it safe to speak up, fail, and grow; and invest in resilience by leading with well communicated clarity, especially when uncertainty is high.
Because in the future of leadership, the real superpower won’t be how fast you code, how sharp your strategy is, or how many degrees you’ve collected. It will be the ability to lead with both head and heart.
In Conclusion
Emotional intelligence is not just back! It is redefining leadership in the 21st century.
For Gen Z and beyond, it is not optional. It is essential. It is here to stay and drive society forward. To truly implant emotional intelligence in leadership, it’s not enough to simply understand its components and ingredients: it should become your lifestyle, you must live it every day through your values and decisions.
In my book The Business Caring Formula, I provide practical guidance for building values-driven leadership that inspires trust, strengthens teams, and drives ongoing success. As I write in the book, “A caring leader should be action driven. You can be the change engine that is needed by making fast, considerate and informed decisions”. By embracing emotional intelligence as a core superpower, caring leaders can transform not only their organizations but their families, society and the world.
