Emotional Intelligence: Why is it Important for Leadership Success?

Most businesses, however well run, organized and efficient, struggle with emotional complexity or drama that occurs within teams. ECE centre management, in an environment of predominantly women who are all juggling life’s challenges, takes that stress up several notches.

Self-regulation helps us to manage triggers and create greater balance and focus, but it’s easy to get stuck in firefighting mode and run on autopilot. Could there be new or different ways to lead or manage our day, our team and our centre? How can we change our own habits and behaviours to model the changes we’d like to see in our people?

Navigating Trigger Points

ECE centres are a hive of activity, but also emotions. I remember my own experience as a parent, having emigrated to New Zealand when my youngest child was three. Leaving her in a new place where she knew no one was challenging for both of us!

ECE leaders are often overloaded or exhausted, which can impact on how we interact with those around us. How we manage our reactions and responses to staff and parents can be the difference between helping them to feel inspired or insecure. It is therefore beneficial to unpack our own trigger points and discover what can be done to improve our responses.

Enhancing Team and Parent Dynamics

This can seem easy when things are going well, but perhaps less so when we face challenges that add to our existing mental and emotional load. There is sometimes a more respectful interpretation of a situation or perspective, and of course a default.

Exploring the values and expectations of others to create a more balanced environment with a focus on wellbeing and collaboration can be transformational: not only for your people, but for your business.

Creating a Supportive and Inclusive Culture

Having a masterplan, with responsibility and accountability for taking sustained action, can change the whole feel of a workplace. When our people have committed to the larger vision, they are more invested, loyal and can enjoy a greater sense of job security.

Internal discussion, even during dispute or complaint resolution, is often more productive if our people are aligned and consistent about the ways challenges are approached in the centre. Sharing knowledge and difficult experiences is a healthy exercise which can enhance shared knowledge and highlight ways to manage situations differently.

Emotional Intelligence for Brand and Reputation

Emotional awareness (both self and environmental) can be considered a form of brand and reputation management. How we react or respond when triggered creates a lasting impression on anyone we interact with. Over time, how we are perceived by our community becomes our culture. Therefore, we should always consider the impact of emotional intelligence in our work.

Gratitude and appreciation, paying it forwards (and backwards!) makes a huge difference to how ECE leaders and teachers feel at the end of a day. Interweaving recognition and celebration of small positive changes in daily activities and team meetings will foster a sense of growth and enhance emotional intelligence within your centre.

Want to Learn More?

For a deeper dive into the benefits of Emotional Intelligence, and the opportunity to collaborate with peers, join me for my upcoming 2-hour workshop. The session will equip you with insights and tools to manage inevitable challenges, frustrations and difficult relationships with skill.

Build on your existing knowledge of EI and how it can assist in self-regulation, better team dynamics and relationships, and reduce trigger points. Sign up for even greater productivity, wellbeing and positivity for 2025! As well as the chance to win a complimentary one-on-one coaching session on EI with me.