How Business Leaders Can Leverage Emotional Intelligence in the Age of AI?

20 Aug, 2024

6 min read

Utilizing emotional intelligence can be substantially beneficial for business leaders. This helps to improve their relationships with people, become creative, and make ethical business decisions. Where Artificial Intelligence may come in handy in making logical, data-driven decisions, it still lacks finesse in human skills regarding connecting with and enthusing people.

Experts believe that those able to combine the power of AI with EI are best positioned to get the best out of teams. This can be done best by utilizing analytical insights and understanding human behaviors to assemble a resilient and engaged workforce that thrives amidst technological disruption and stays productive.

This blog discusses about role of EI for global leaders and the approaches Cubix, as a sane industry voice, takes to enhance emotional competencies among its teams.

Why Emotional Intelligence is More Vital than Ever?

Emotional intelligence (EI) has outgrown the definition of a crucial soft skill. It is more than having strong social abilities—at the right levels. As a skill, EI improves conflict resolution, decision-making, adaptability, and team-building by directing the employee experience toward these improvements.

According to Brandon Hall Group, the significance of emotional intelligence is rapidly increasing. 58% of institutions are now focused on developing emotional intelligence in their teams, while 55% prioritize cultivating empathy among their leaders.

Cubix’s founder and CEO, Salman Lakhani, recently stated:

“Developing emotional intelligence is no longer just a personal pursuit – it’s a strategic necessity for organizations. In the new age of business competition, it’s the key to unlocking people-centric leadership and driving meaningful growth.”

This shift towards EI is not just a trend, it’s a necessity. The nature of work is getting increasingly complex with fast growths in technology, globalization, and the unending innovative pursuits. In such a workplace, workers and leaders alike need far more than just technical skills; they require emotional intelligence to sail through ambiguities, forge strong relationships, and drive positive change.

The Synergy of Emotional Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence

In a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, the biggest question in front us is: how we ensure we use AI to complement human capabilities and not replace them? The answer lies in the powerful synergy between emotional intelligence (EI) and AI.

When employees and leaders share strong emotional relevance, they are better equipped for today’s turbulent times. Here’s how AI and emotional intelligence intersect in this tech-forward world:

Complementing AI Capabilities: As said earlier, AI systems excel at data analysis, information processing, and automation tasks. They often lack the nuanced understanding of human emotions, social dynamics, and contextual communication that may require emotional intelligence. Those familiar with strong EQ aptitudes will put AI to good use when facing an ethical dilemma while utilizing this transformative technology.
Fostering Human-centric Innovation: AI has become more ubiquitous, and there is a risk of this technology becoming overly mechanistic and losing the little human touch it promises. Emotionally savvy individuals and teams can ensure that AI-driven solutions remain centered on human needs, experiences, and values.
Collaborative Intelligence: This approach involves Humans and AI working together to address troubles beyond each part’s capacities alone. When both work as partners, humans provide emotional intelligence (EI), creativity, empathy, and critical thinking, while AI contributes analytical power, speed, and scalability. The goal is to solve complex problems beyond either’s capabilities.
AI Ethics and Bias: Emotional intelligence helps observe and mitigate the potential of AI systems to perpetuate or amplify human biases. A strong, emotionally resilient mindset brings a deep understanding of social and cultural contexts into the development and deployment of AI for good.
Enhancing Customer Experiences: Humans buy from humans. No matter what service or product you sell, today’s clients and end users admire the human touch more than robotic responses. EQ in your AI customer experiences creates more meaningful relationships, fosters empathy, and drives long-term loyalty and success.

“In the age of automation and AI, emotional intelligence is set to become a ‘must-have’ skill.”

The Role of Emotional Intelligence in AI-Powered Workplaces

The core competencies of artificial intelligence, its reliability, and precision in processing enormous datasets, make it purposeful for making logical, data-driven decisions. However, AI still struggles to target human skills of empathy, social awareness, and relationship management.

Let’s assume an AI system responsible for workforce optimization. It will surely make decisions to ensure productivity on paper, but it may fail to account for how these decisions affect team morale and work-life balance. For a real-world scenario, It is genuinely important to connect with customers, inspire them, and help them achieve what works best for them.

According to Working Voices, 76% of executives globally believe there is a dire need to develop EI skills, considering the rapid rise in AI and Automation. Balancing AI’s analytical, intelligent insights with a deeper understanding of its people’s needs, concerns, and motivations can bolster decision-making significantly.

How Cubix is Embracing Emotional Intelligence in the Age of AI

Being at the forefront of AI innovation, Cubix recognizes that strides in technology must go hand in hand with deep understanding and empathy toward feelings and human needs. It is for this very reason that investment in the emotional intelligence of our workforce translates to a sunny future for all stakeholders involved.

Here are some of the many ways leadership at Cubix is fostering a more people-centric and inclusive workplace by making EI our core workplace value:

Motivate and Empower Teams

Cubix believes that AI can automate but will never be able to replace the human need for responses with meaning, purpose, and belonging. Our EQ-savvy leadership believes in continuous motivation, uniting the teams with a shared vision, and empowering them to contribute meaningfully.

Emphasizing active listening and team perspectives
Providing personalized support
Implement a culture of empathy and care

Fostering a Positive Culture

Emotional intelligence is also about acknowledging that everything’s not about you. You are part of a team where you must take responsibility, collaborate with your colleagues, make data-driven decisions, own your deliverables, and complete your tasks on time.

At Cubix, our leadership strongly emphasizes cultivating a collaborative culture within the organization. We promote open communication and active listening skills to build, resolve conflicts, and foster a sense of belonging.

These emotional intelligence behaviors inspire teams to work with a similar mindset, which leads to increased cooperation, creativity, and overall job satisfaction.

Winning the Talent War

We need to put our people first, with a strong realization that they are our best asset. Only then can we drive a culture of trust, cooperation, and growth underlined with aristocratic concern for their welfare, work-life balance, and professional development.

Regular upskilling, reskilling, and AI-skills in-house sessions are regular mainstream endeavors at Cubix. This lets our workforce adapt to new changes taking place within the trends of technology and enterprise.

This is how we are able to attract, engage, and retain top talent and empower them to thrive in a changing landscape where human skills and creativity are more valued than ever.

Adaptability & Resilience Principle

No one can stay comfortable in a job role with one skill set they haven’t updated or upskilled in the past few years. The world is transforming rapidly, and to keep up with it, one must adapt to change and uncertainty with agility.

For employers, it is essential to not only address the emotional needs of employees but also to anticipate them along the way. When this happens, team members feel valued, motivated, and empowered toward innovation.

Rewarding Soft Skills

Nowadays, soft skills like creativity, critical thinking, and empathy are more crucial than ever. We believe in rewarding these kinds of necessary skills, so our leaders pay special emphasis to them when conducting the performance evaluations. This approach enables targeted training, development programs, and mentorship initiatives that foster growth and excellence.

By acknowledging and celebrating employees who exhibit valuable soft skills and professional ethics, we inspire others to follow their lead, driving a culture of innovation and collaboration.

The Way Forward

AI systems are tending towards perfection in data processing and automation, emotional intelligence becomes very important for appropriate human-AI collaboration. Emotional intelligence thus enables trust, empathy, and productive partnerships with emotional awareness and interpersonal skills.

By taking a qualitative & realistic approach and focusing on emotional intelligence, we can now navigate this ever-automating world and make educated decisions that empower success. At Cubix, we not only acknowledge the fact that emotional intelligence is important but walk miles ahead of organizations driven by data alone for decision-making.

Now it’s your turn. Apply emotional intelligence in your organization and start building a more collaborative, human-centric future. Follow Cubix for more strategic blogs and insights into how to win in an AI-driven world.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is emotional intelligence?

Emotional intelligence, often called EI & EQ, is the ability to perceive, interpret, demonstrate, and use emotions to communicate constructively with others.

What are the benefits of emotional intelligence in the domain of AI?