Most organizations know that emotional intelligence (EI) is more than a buzzword. It’s the foundation for strong leadership, effective teams, and long-term organizational success.
But here’s the problem: Even when companies prioritize EI, they often struggle to develop it at scale—or to make it stick.
You might offer training. You might talk about empathy, resilience, or adaptability. You might even assess your leaders on their interpersonal effectiveness. And yet… things don’t change.
So what’s really getting in the way?
1. Treating Emotional Intelligence Like a One-and-Done Workshop
Emotional intelligence isn’t something you can “check the box” on with a single training session. It’s not knowledge—it’s a set of behaviors. And like any behavior change, it requires repetition, reinforcement, and accountability over time.
Many organizations offer one-off soft skills workshops without any follow-up. Leaders may find the content interesting, but without structure or support to apply it, they fall back on old habits the moment work gets busy or stressful.
What works better:
- Design learning as an ongoing process, not an event
- Build in reflection, practice, and discussion over time
- Reinforce with coaching, peer learning, and performance feedback
2. Skipping the Diagnostic
Leaders can’t improve what they don’t know they’re missing. Without a baseline assessment, emotional intelligence training can feel vague or disconnected from reality.
Many leaders may overestimate their emotional intelligence. If they believe they’re already effective, they may disengage from training, even if others around them see real gaps.
What works better:
- Use research-backed assessments to establish a clear starting point
- Provide coaching debriefs to interpret results
- Tie assessment insights to practical leadership goals
When leaders receive specific, personal feedback, they’re more likely to see EI not as a soft skill, but as a tangible performance driver.
3. Focusing on Traits Instead of Trainable Skills
Emotional intelligence is often confused with personality. But being naturally empathetic or outgoing doesn’t automatically translate to high EI. And being reserved or analytical doesn’t mean someone lacks emotional intelligence.
The real question isn’t who you are, it’s what you do under pressure.
Organizations often rely on broad personality assessments or communication style models. While helpful for awareness, they don’t get to the heart of building self-regulation, perspective-taking, or emotionally intelligent decision-making.
What works better:
- Focus on behaviors: managing stress, pausing before reacting, listening without judgment
- Use brain science to teach how the mind processes emotion and stress
- Help leaders understand how emotional intelligence shows up in real interactions
4. Lack of Leadership Role Modeling
Even the best training won’t gain traction if senior leaders don’t model emotional intelligence. If your C-suite reacts defensively to feedback, avoids vulnerability, or dismisses EI as “too soft,” others will follow suit.
Culture is contagious. People will prioritize what they see modeled and rewarded.
What works better:
- Involve executive leaders in EI development
- Tie EI to strategic priorities like engagement, innovation, and customer experience
- Recognize and reward emotionally intelligent leadership behaviors
When emotional intelligence is modeled from the top, it becomes part of the organizational culture—not just a training topic.
5. Lack of Reinforcement in Daily Systems
If emotional intelligence isn’t reinforced through day-to-day practices, it fades quickly.
Leaders may attend training but encounter performance systems that reward results over relationships, speed over reflection, or control over collaboration. In that environment, emotionally intelligent behaviors feel risky or irrelevant.
What works better:
- Integrate EI language into feedback conversations and performance reviews
- Coach leaders to apply EI in goal setting, conflict resolution, and team development
- Align leadership expectations with behaviors tied to EI, not just outcomes
Behavior change happens when leaders see that EI is valued, expected, and supported—not just mentioned during training.
Emotional Intelligence Takes More Than Good Intentions
Building emotional intelligence at scale requires more than content. It requires a strategic approach to behavior change.
It means giving leaders insight into their current behaviors, tools to navigate real challenges, and support to grow over time. It means aligning leadership development efforts with culture, accountability, and reinforcement.
This is why many organizations turn to custom leadership development programs. Because off-the-shelf training can only go so far—especially when your culture, teams, and leadership challenges are unique.
At the Wisconsin School of Business Center for Professional & Executive Development, we work with organizations to design custom programs that integrate emotional intelligence as a foundational leadership skill. Whether you’re developing emerging managers or strengthening executive presence, we help you align learning with your strategic goals.
Ready to explore what might work for your leaders? Let’s talk about the roadblocks you’re facing—and how we can help you move them.
Let’s Talk About EI Development