Emotional intelligence is the ability to be aware of, control, and express one's emotions, while handling interpersonal relationships. This can be one of the most difficult yet most needed skill of a leader. This is what allows leaders to handle difficult situations most effectively by being a guiding light to others during times of uncertainty. In order to build your own emotional intelligence, you need to focus on the four key skills within emotional intelligence.

So many people talk about company culture like it's solely based on factors outside of their control, but what I want you to consider is that it's actually an aggregate of each employee, and we're all responsible for intentionally building it. These concepts to building culture are nothing new, but I've found that most organizations are only focused on one, maybe two consistently. In order to make the most impact on building a positive and trusting culture, we need all four of these regularly.

Tis the season for holiday office parties and happy hours! Discover simple, meaningful ways to plan a memorable holiday party for small and mid-sized companies. A leadership guide to inclusive, low-stress celebrations.

Providing feedback doesn’t have to feel uncomfortable or awkward. Learn practical ways to recognize your employees’ strengths, deliver constructive feedback that motivates change, and create meaningful development plans that keep your top talent engaged all year long. Watch the webinar replay or read the highlights.

Leaders need to be able to navigate conflict in a productive way. Unfortunately, a lot of us are never taught these soft skills of how to handle difficult conversations when emotions may be high. This requires emotional intelligence in order to be able to regulate your own emotions and understand the emotions of the other people involved.

Most people don't like conflict. A lot of us avoid it at all costs, delay it as long as possible, or say anything just to get through it. Sound familiar? But as a leader, conflict is something we need to get more comfortable with navigating, both for ourselves and for our team. When building your growth mindset around conflict, the best place to start is shifting your relationship to conflict.

Trust isn't built overnight. Here are 6 specific, practical ways leaders build real trust with their teams - and why most well-meaning efforts fall short.

Empowerment is about becoming stronger and more confident in yourself and your work. As a manager, it's really a two-way street with you and your employee to get them empowered. In other words, you're responsible for it just as much as they are. It's something that will build over time and that you need to continually invest in the relationship for it to continue to bloom.

Being authentic as a leader is what will help you stand out, leverage your natural strengths to be your best, and connect with your teams more easily. It's helpful to have role models and mentors to look up to, especially in leadership, however, we're all so unique that what works for one person isn't going to work for everyone. So, we can get the best results for ourselves and our teams when we look inward at our own strengths and qualities and develop a vision and plan for how to be our most authentic self as a leader.

A practical guide to navigating performance review feedback - how to deliver it clearly and receive it without getting defensive, from a leadership coach.

Holding other people accountable is a key piece of being a manager or leader in an organization. It can be difficult to hold others accountable because each person has different motivations and communication styles that will impact their accountability needs. Continue reading to learn how to get started and what to do when people don't meet your expectations.

Most people tend to put off difficult conversations because they know it will be uncomfortable. I always say, it's better to have the 10 minute uncomfortable conversation now than to simmer in your worry, anxiousness, and uncertainty for weeks, months, or even years for some people. There are a few key skills that you can keep in mind to help navigate these conversations with ease and rip the band-aid off sooner.

These tips have helped me immensely while navigating difficult times personally and professionally from unexpected company restructurings to navigating the pandemic to handling the losses of loved ones. We will continue to need to navigate challenging situations full of uncertainty in the future. And the more intentional you are, the better off you will be to confidently navigate it when the time inevitably comes around again.