The Missing Link in Emotionally Intelligent Workplaces
Emotional intelligence is trending everywhere. From LinkedIn posts to leadership seminars, the buzzwords are unavoidable: regulation, empathy, psychological safety, and toxicity. I should know—I contribute to this conversation regularly. But the more I engage with leaders and observe how organizations function, the more I question whether emotional intelligence is being treated as a performative metric or a real cultural standard.
Because here’s the bigger question behind all the content:
Can an organization truly embody emotional intelligence—or is it just something we expect from individuals, while the systems they operate in remain unchanged?
Can an organization actually be emotionally intelligent? Or just the people within it?
When Business Became a Person
In 2010, the US Supreme Court delivered a decision on a case recognized as Citizens United. It effectively gave corporations the same voting and contribution rights as individual citizens. While the details are a little more complicated than that, the net result was that organizations and businesses could have a more direct influence on politics, which, by extension, substantially impacts our society.
I reference the SCOTUS decision because it marked a turning point in how businesses began to understand their social contract, not just as economic entities, but as influential societal actors. If corporations can have political influence as ‘people,’ shouldn’t they also be held to the same emotional standards we expect of individual leaders? When I research “Toxic Business” in the 90s, most of the articles I discover are about actual toxic practices, such as polluting the environment with chemical mismanagement and predatory business practices, as well as other direct affronts to the social responsibility of businesses.
Anecdotally, back then, we had not begun to look closely at the toxic culture of business, but plenty of reports suggest that toxic business culture is nothing new. For some reason, business and toxicity are uniquely linked to each other. For my part, this is both frustrating and unnecessary. It’s also costing a lot of money.
If corporations can have political influence as ‘people,’ shouldn’t they also be held to the same emotional standards we expect of individual leaders?
The Gap Between Values and Reality
I’m baffled by the fact that businesses even publish their values, when so often they seem to function without any awareness of their existence. This is not to say there aren’t good, quality businesses that uphold their values, but I believe they are rare and rapidly becoming obsolete. This is exactly the opposite of where we should be heading. These days, most business values feel more like propaganda and marketing than actual expressed character.
Here’s a value statement that was taken directly from a company website:
“Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Every day, we live our core values of integrity, compassion, belonging, relationships, innovation, and performance. We work with a genuine sense of passion and purpose, knowing that what we do has the power to touch countless lives.”
While I will not call out the organization by name, you might recognize it by the details. Recently, they have received a lot of attention, and none of it has benefited the business or its employees and customers. It’s possible that every one of the values listed could be fairly and rightfully challenged. Among other debilitating events, this organization recently had its CEO step down, and it was announced that they are under investigation by the DOJ for criminal fraud. Even though the value statement uses all the right words—Integrity, Compassion, Relationships, Innovation—the company is not expressing any of these values in action. What is more telling to me is that not only was this statement difficult to locate on their website, but it is coupled with a recruiting call-to-action for unwitting new hires.
This doesn’t just represent a lack of emotional intelligence, it represents a void of morality and ethics. Unfortunately, the statement gets one thing right. This organization does have “the power to touch countless lives.” The question is, “How do they wield that power?”
The Real Cost of Emotionally Unintelligent Leadership
It’s easy to say that power and greed are the root of all evil in business. It’s easy, because in many cases it has been proven true. While it is a fair statement that business has always been somewhat toxic to the individual, recent studies have shown that there has been a steep increase in toxicity during the past few years. From my research, I have noticed two distinct possibilities about why this seems true.
First, I don’t think most people are given the proper support and training to become effective leaders. I’ve met hundreds of people at various levels of leadership who describe being “thrown into the fire” and “having to learn as they go.” Rarely is any formalized training provided, and often, when there is training, it’s delivered by someone who also has poor skills and a lack of self-awareness. I believe this has created a cycle of dysfunctional leadership that worsens with each iteration.
The second challenge I have noticed is how we are defining the word “toxic.” What I mean by this is that many people will describe a situation as toxic, but when I probe and ask questions, the reality is something else. We are currently living in an emotionally disregulated society, and it shows up in many different forms. One of the ways I see this reflected is through emotional triggers and projection. On more than a few occasions, I have had to gently point out to someone describing another person’s toxic behavior that their behavior would likely be described in the same way if I were speaking to the other person. This lack of self-awareness becomes exponentially problematic when it is exhibited by leaders and managers towards employees.
Even with those observations, real toxicity exists in business spaces and can’t, or shouldn’t, be ignored, though it often is. I’ve stated this many times, and it bears repeating: Leadership drives culture. Culture drives the brand experience. An organization led by people who lack emotional intelligence and basic empathy may end up being profitable, but at what cost? And who absorbs or has to pay that cost? Most often, it is the employees who bear the brunt of the challenges presented in these environments, but consumers are also at risk.
Getting It Right: Companies That Lead with Integrity
With all this attention to emotionally dysfunctional companies and leaders, it is important to recognize that some get it right. I don’t think there are any perfect companies. We don’t need perfect, it’s not realistic. There are plenty of companies that have consistently maintained and expressed their values. Companies like Google, Cisco, Zappos, and Patagonia consistently show up in a way that consumers and employees can know and trust their values. All of these organizations have clearly defined values and a strategy to make sure those values stay active.
If your organization values profit over people, just say so.
I’ll have more respect for the business and can make an informed choice.
And, honestly, it’s not even about the values themselves. It’s about being truthful and transparent. If your organization values profit over people, just say so. I’ll have more respect for the business and can make an informed choice. When organizations are led from a place of truth and integrity, emotional intelligence is being modeled from the top down. But then, truth itself is a value.
If we want emotionally intelligent organizations, we must demand emotionally intelligent leadership—and stop rewarding anything less.
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