Soft Skills & Emotional Intelligence

Psychological safety is the foundation of innovation. People don’t share their best ideas, concerns, or insights when they’re afraid of being judged, blamed, or ignored. Safety isn’t just a “nice to have”—it’s what allows creativity, feedback, and accountability to thrive. Without it, people self-censor and performance suffers. 1) Safety fuels speed. It seems counterintuitive, but teams that feel safe to speak up move faster over time. Why? Because problems are flagged early, misunderstandings get clarified quickly, and course-corrections happen before they become costly. Fear slows everything down through silence, second-guessing, and disengagement. 2) Safety ≠ comfort. It’s not about coddling—it’s about trust. People can be challenged and held accountable in high-performing teams because they feel safe. The leader sets the tone. One eye roll, one ignored comment, or one shamed idea can quietly shut down a team's voice. Leaders who model humility and curiosity create a culture where safety spreads. 3) Speak-up culture prevents disaster. From aviation to healthcare to corporate scandals, major failures often trace back to people who saw the problem but didn’t feel safe enough to say something. ---- ♻️ Like, follow, and repost if this resonates. Follow Travis Bradberry and sign up for my weekly newsletter. Thanks to George Stern for the graphic. Do you want more like this? 👇 📖 My new book, "The New Emotional Intelligence" is now 10% off on Amazon and it's already a bestseller.

People don’t stay where they feel unappreciated. Low respect = high turnover. Respect is key. Leaders, pay attention. Every role matters. Here’s the harsh truth: ❌ Trust erodes ↳ Employees lose faith in leadership and each other. ❌ Engagement plummets ↳ People stop giving their best effort when they feel unappreciated. ❌ Collaboration breaks down ↳ Teams struggle to communicate and cooperate effectively. ❌ Innovation suffers ↳ Employees hold back ideas out of fear of being dismissed or belittled. ❌ Turnover skyrockets ↳ Talented individuals seek workplaces where they feel valued. ❌ Reputation declines ↳ Word spreads, making it harder to attract top talent. ❌ Culture becomes toxic ↳ A lack of respect breeds negativity, stress, and burnout. How to change this? ✅ Treat everyone equally ↳ Greet and acknowledge all employees daily, from interns to executives. ✅ Foster open dialogue ↳ Hold monthly town halls or anonymous Q&A sessions where employees can voice concerns without fear. ✅ Model respect from the top ↳ Leaders should publicly recognize contributions from all levels and ensure no one is treated as "less than." ✅ Invest in training on emotional intelligence ↳ Offer regular workshops on active listening, empathy, and conflict resolution to help leaders and employees communicate effectively. ✅ Recognize all contributions ↳ Implement a "Hidden Hero" program where employees can nominate peers whose hard work often goes unnoticed. ✅ Promote inclusivity and diversity ↳ Create employee resource groups (ERGs) that provide a platform for underrepresented voices within the organization. ✅ Encourage feedback from all levels ↳ Use 360-degree feedback reviews to ensure everyone, regardless of rank, has a voice in shaping the workplace culture. Don’t let hierarchy dictate respect. Everyone wins when all feel valued. ❓ How do you ensure respect is a core value in your workplace? ♻️ Repost to encourage more respect in the workplace. 👋 I write posts like this every day at 9:30am EST. Follow me (Dr. Chris Mullen) so you don't miss the next one.

It's easy to damage a career you spent your whole life building. It's about emotional intelligence and control. A career takes years to build but only minutes to destroy: →  A heated email. →  A reckless comment in a meeting. →  A moment of frustration posted online. One impulsive reaction can destroy decades of hard work, trust, and credibility. That’s why emotional intelligence and self-control are key in your career. Here’s how we can strengthen them: 1. Pause before reacting ↳ If you feel anger, frustration, or disappointment, take a deep breath before responding. A delayed response is often a wiser one. 2. Master composure  ↳ Not everything needs an immediate reaction. Train yourself to remain calm under pressure. 3. Reframe the situation  ↳ Instead of reacting emotionally, ask: What’s the best professional response? How will this affect me in the long term? 4. Develop self-awareness  ↳ Notice your emotional triggers. If certain people or situations provoke you, prepare in advance to handle them. 5. Look for perspective  ↳ Before sending that email or making that comment, ask yourself:  Would I be proud of this in 24 hours? If not, rethink it. Emotional intelligence isn’t about suppressing emotions. It’s about channeling them wisely. → Control your reactions. → Protect your reputation. → Lead with emotional intelligence. What other tips do you have? Share them below. ♻️ Share to help others improve ➕ Follow Anna Chernyshova for more tip Post inspired by Deena Priest. Thanks Deena, for the inspiration.

It's time we stop calling these skills soft. In reality, they're essential - And they're increasingly what leaders are hiring and promoting for.   They couldn't be further from soft. Master these 15 essential skills, and you will be unstoppable: 1. Be proactive Take the initiative, starting and giving updates before being asked, and finishing ahead of the deadline 2. Work hard Be the person who works hard without complaint, even if everyone else is searching for shortcuts 3. Be honest Have integrity, telling the truth and doing the right thing no matter the situation 4. Focus on growth Learn to see failure as a learning opportunity, and colleagues as teachers 5. Act reliably Deliver on your promises - consistently 6. Demonstrate professionalism Act in a way that makes people proud to be associated with you 7. Collaborate Work well with others, rather than trying to do everything yourself 8. Be kind Have empathy for your colleagues, and take a genuine interest in their lives 9. Develop emotional intelligence Put in the effort to have control over your emotions, and to develop self-awareness and an awareness of others 10. Show persistence Be resilient in the face of setbacks, pushing forward 11. Be coachable Ask for and act on feedback, and then repeat that cycle relentlessly 12. Adapt Recognize the importance and inevitability of change, and work to adjust quickly when it comes 13. Stay organized Stay on top of your commitments, meeting deadlines and nailing the details 14. Demonstrate accountability Be quick to take ownership and slow to pass the buck or cast blame 15. Develop creativity Give yourself the mental space to be creative, and practice thinking outside the box These skills are what top performers use to shine. Put in the effort to get better at them every day. Any essential skills you'd add to this list? --- ♻ Repost to help your network master these skills. And follow me George Stern for more content like this.

📊 For the first time in U.S. history, there are more employees providing care for aging parents (23M) than for preschool-aged children (21M). When we launched The Care Gap ( a Mother Honestly company), we knew the conversation around caregiving had to move beyond crèches and parental leave. What we’re staring at now is not just a childcare crisis , it’s an eldercare emergency. And globally, this shift is echoing across societies with rising life expectancies, shrinking family sizes, and health spans that aren’t keeping pace with age. But let’s be honest our workplace structures haven’t caught up. Most elder caregivers are women (59%, providing two-thirds of caregiving in the United States). Many are in their peak earning years. Some are sandwiched between childcare and eldercare. The toll? Lost promotions. Reduced hours. Emotional burnout. Quiet exits. And a staggering $264 billion drain on the U.S. economy every year. And that’s not even counting what it’s costing us in innovation, diversity, and leadership. At The Care Gap, we believe eldercare is not just a personal problem, it’s a workforce and economic issue. We can no longer ask employees to choose between caregiving and career. We must create systems that support both. 🌍 Globally, other countries are already setting the pace: Japan mandates long-term care insurance at 40. The Netherlands has integrated long-term care into public healthcare since 1968. Yet in the U.S. and across many African nations, eldercare remains underfunded, informal, and invisible. If we don’t act now, we’re going to see a mass exit of experienced, mid-career professionals, especially women, who simply can’t carry the load alone. 💼 What can employers do? - Start by recognizing that eldercare is workplace care. - Offer flexible schedules, paid caregiver leave, and care navigation services. - Educate employees on available benefits and normalize asking for support. - Treat eldercare not as an add-on but as a core talent strategy. Companies like Microsoft, AbbVie, and Bank of America are already leading with comprehensive eldercare benefits. But we need more than a few outliers, we need a movement. It’s time we expand our definition of care. Because caregiving doesn’t end when the kids grow up. And the future of work depends on how we show up for caregivers at every life stage. More data and insights here: https://lnkd.in/dejwpAJQ

I got fired twice because I had poor soft skills. Then, I became VP at Amazon, where my job was more than 80% based on soft skills. This was possible because I stopped being an outspoken, judgmental critic of other people and improved my soft skills. Here are 4 areas you can improve: Soft skills are one of the main things I discuss with my coaching clients, as they are often the barrier between being a competent manager and being ready to be a true executive. Technical skills are important, but soft skills are the deciding factor between executive candidates a lot more than technical skills are. Four “soft skill” areas in which we can constantly improve are: 1) Storytelling skills Jeff Bezos said, “You can have the best technology, you can have the best business model, but if the storytelling isn’t amazing, it won’t matter.” The same is true for you as a leader. You can have the best skills or best ideas, but if you can’t communicate through powerful storytelling, no one will pay attention. 2) Writing Writing is the foundation of clear communication and clear thinking. It is the main tool for demonstrating your thinking and influencing others. The way you write will impact your influence, and therefore will impact your opportunities to grow as a leader. 3) Executive Presence Executive presence is your ability to present as someone who should be taken seriously. This includes your ability to speak, to act under pressure, and to relate to your team informally, but it goes far beyond any individual skill. Improving executive presence requires consistently evaluating where we have space to grow in our image as leaders and then addressing it. 4) Public Speaking As a leader, public speaking is inevitable. In order the get the support you need to become an executive, you must inspire confidence in your abilities and ideas through the way you speak to large, important groups of people. No one wants to give more responsibility to someone who looks uncomfortable with the amount they already have. I am writing about these 4 areas because today’s newsletter is centered around how exactly to improve these soft skills. The newsletter comes from member questions in our Level Up Newsletter community, and I answer each of them at length. I'm joined in the newsletter by my good friend, Richard Hua, a world class expert in emotional intelligence (EQ). Rich created a program at Amazon that has taught EQ to more than 500,000 people! The 4 specific questions I answer are: 1. “How do I improve my storytelling skills?” 2. “What resources or tools would you recommend to get better in writing?” 3. “What are the top 3 ways to improve my executive presence?” 4. “I am uncomfortable talking in front of large crowds and unknown people, but as I move up, I need to do this more. How do I get comfortable with this?” See the newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/gg6JXqF4 How have you improved your soft skills?

I've interviewed >30k candidates. These are the 5 rarest + most impactful positive traits I've seen (the kind that lead to hires!) 1️⃣ Comfortable --> Authentic - Most candidates are in "performance mode" - The rare few are relaxed and conversational - Relaxed candidates readily admit mistakes or weaknesses - They ask questions or for clarification, and pause to think - And they follow the interviewers conversation rather than forcing talking points or rehearsed parts 2️⃣ Not eager, while interested - Too eager reads as salesy or inauthentic (see above) - But zero interest says "impress me" (ew) - The best candidates want to learn more, but aren't "trying to force it" - These candidates also ask tougher + thoughtful questions 3️⃣ Positive + Good Frame of Mind - So many candidates vent in interviews - Interviews are not therapy sessions, but some treat them that way - Stay positive, don't denigrate others or your previous company 4️⃣ Researched - Read everything you can about the company - Ask LLMs to give you more info / prep for the convo - Learn about all the people you'll be interviewing with - Public company? Read their earnings reports, etc. - 95% of candidates don't do this 5️⃣ Desire to Do What's Impactful - Some candidates lead with what they will take (benefits, time off, etc)  - Many focus on the tech / tools they want to work with or on - Others desire to make money and career climb - The rarest lead with a desire to make an impact on the business <<< The broader picture: the best candidates aren't "trying to get the job." The best candidates are working WITH the hiring manager and team to figure out if they are a good pairing, and are willing to share information that might be self-disqualifying. It may seem counterintuitive, but this orientation is MORE likely to lead to a hire than to torpedo a hiring process - so long as there's an actual match!

Harsh truth for control freak managers: The best leaders I've ever worked with created environments where everyone felt safe to speak the truth. I've observed this pattern consistently in both high-performing and struggling organizations: Struggling teams → Limited psychological safety → People withhold their best ideas and critical feedback Thriving teams → Strong psychological safety → Innovation flourishes and problems get solved faster What happens when leaders build psychological safety: ↳ People flag problems before they become disasters ↳ Team members bring their full creativity to challenges ↳ Diverse perspectives emerge naturally in discussions ↳ Less time wasted on politics, more energy for solutions ↳ Critical feedback flows upward, not just downward The research backs this up, too… Google's Project Aristotle found that psychological safety was the #1 predictor of team performance - more important than individual talent, experience, or any other factor. This isn't about being "soft" – it's about being smart. Your team's psychological safety directly impacts your bottom line. The most successful leaders understand that protecting their team means creating space for honest dialogue, even when it challenges their own thinking. What's one thing you do to make your team feel safe to speak up? — Reshare ♻️ if you believe great leadership starts with psychological safety. And follow me for more insights like this.

Your high IQ is worthless if you can't control your emotions at work. Here's proof. People with high emotional intelligence earn significantly more than their reactive counterparts. Here's the reality check: • 58% of your job performance depends on emotional intelligence. • Only 42% of companies provide EI training • Managers with high EI are 4x less likely to lose their best employees The workplace cost of poor emotional control: - Damaged relationships - Missed opportunities  - Career stagnation - Lower team productivity - Increased stress levels Here's how top performers master their emotions: 1. The 3-Second Rule → Count to three before responding to triggers → This prevents career-damaging reactive responses 2. The Intention Shift → Assume positive intent from others → Ask clarifying questions before jumping to conclusions 3. The Power Pause → Step away from heated situations → Return only when emotions are regulated FedEx Express implemented EI training and saw an 8-11% increase in leadership effectiveness. Sky's EI program resulted in: - 25% increase in empathy - 21% improvement in relationship skills - Better business decisions - More positive workplace culture The truth?  Controlling your emotions isn't weakness - it's your workplace superpower. Choose ONE of these techniques and practice it tomorrow. Your career will thank you. Which technique will you try first? ✍️ Your insights can make a difference! ♻️ Share this post if it speaks to you, and follow me for more #EmotionalIntelligence #Leadership #WorkplaceCulture #PersonalDevelopment

I never knew where the term “BURNOUT” came from until last night! Psychologist Herbert Freudenberger coined the term “Burnout” after seeing passionate healthcare workers lose their spark. I have personally experienced burnout and worked with many professionals suffering from burnout. 🔥 Here is what to lookout for and how to quickly reset! Burnout shows up as exhaustion, cynicism, and a reduced sense of accomplishment. This is the opposite of flow, where you are fully immersed in your work with a high sense of control. If burnout isn’t caught early or taken seriously, it will destroy your productivity, which can result in losing your job or failing your business. I have witnessed high performers especially being prone to burnout. But there is a way to spot it early, recover, and even make yourself burnout proof! Burnout has six key triggers: 1️⃣ breakdown of community 2️⃣ insufficient reward 3️⃣ values conflict 4️⃣ lack of control 5️⃣ work overload 6️⃣ unfairness When you tackle these triggers, you can beat burnout. Six strategies that help me reset when I start experiencing burnout: 1. Choose Your Hard -> Align tasks with your strengths. 2. Don’t push yourself to exhaustion  -> Track energy levels and avoid putting yourself in a large recovery hole. 3. When You See a Hill, Sprint. -> Use bursts of focus to build momentum. 4. Regularly Assess the Burnout Triggers. -> Go through the list one by one. 5. Have a Burnout Tool Kit -> Try different active recovery practices and know what works for you. 6. Focus on the Basics -> Daily sunlight, exercise, quality sleep, and good nutrition have all shown to reduce and help recover from burnout. There will ALWAYS be more work, but by becoming more aware of your energy and potential triggers for burnout, you will sustain and optimize your mental health, productivity, performance, and overall career path. 📌 Comment below the word “BURNOUT” if you want me to send you a burnout inventory to monitor your risk. *I take it every month. Follow Alex Wisch for more lessons on #Burnout, #MentalHealth, and achieving #PeakPerformance.