What do you do if your senior Blockchain leaders struggle with emotional intelligence?

If your senior blockchain leaders struggle with emotional intelligence, it can have a negative impact on team dynamics and overall organizational effectiveness. Here are some steps you can take to address this situation: Lead by Example: Demonstrate strong emotional intelligence in your own interactions and relationships. Show empathy, active listening, and effective communication skills. Your behavior can serve as a positive example and influence others to develop their emotional intelligence. Encourage Awareness: Help your senior leaders develop self-awareness by providing constructive feedback in a respectful manner. Point out specific instances where their lack of emotional intelligence may have affected team dynamics or communication.

Offer Emotional Intelligence Training: Suggest emotional intelligence training or workshops specifically tailored for leaders. These programs can provide insights into self-awareness, empathy, communication, and relationship-building skills. Provide Coaching or Mentoring: Offer coaching or mentoring opportunities to senior leaders to support their personal and professional development. Assign them a mentor who excels in emotional intelligence and can provide guidance and support in enhancing their own skills. Coaching sessions can help them identify areas for improvement and work on specific strategies to enhance their emotional intelligence.

Foster a Positive and Supportive Culture: Create a work environment that values emotional intelligence and encourages open communication, collaboration, and empathy. When team members observe and experience positive emotional intelligence in action, it can inspire leaders to develop these skills as well. Encourage respectful and inclusive practices that promote psychological safety and trust within the organization. Facilitate Emotional Intelligence Workshops: Organize workshops or team-building activities that focus on emotional intelligence. These activities can include role-playing exercises, group discussions, or scenario-based simulations that allow leaders to develop their emotional intelligence skills in a supportive environment.

As they grow through training programs, they'll learn various ways to empathize with others. A key behavior to look for is how much leaders share about themselves and their struggles. How much do they leverage their past history to open the door for others? It's not about telling old-time war stories and walking out of the room. It's about sharing the part that was difficult and inviting feedback from alternative perspectives. When the leader looks for opposing views, they're opening themselves to vulnerability and likewise creating a safe space for the team.

Provide Resources and Reading Materials: Share resources such as books, articles, or podcasts on emotional intelligence with your senior leaders. These materials can provide them with additional insights, strategies, and practical tips to enhance their emotional intelligence. Encourage them to engage in self-study and continuous learning in this area. Foster Peer-to-Peer Learning: Encourage senior leaders to learn from one another by creating opportunities for peer-to-peer learning and sharing experiences. This can be done through regular leadership meetings, cross-functional collaborations, or informal networking events. Peer feedback and support can help them understand different perspectives and develop their emotional intelligence.

As a former Global Tech Leader at Amazon, I led the Web3 Partner organization and a community of 1600 Amazonians. I made it a point within my role to openly discuss my neurodivergence and toolset for successes and coping mechanisms for leveraging mistakes. I had many Amazonians share their stories of how my tales enabled them and their team to have open dialogues about EI and create new methods to achieve success individualized to each employee.

Address Leadership Challenges: If specific leadership challenges arise due to a lack of emotional intelligence, address them directly and constructively. Provide guidance on alternative approaches or strategies that align with emotional intelligence principles. Offer support and resources to help leaders navigate difficult situations and improve their leadership effectiveness. Involve Human Resources: If the lack of emotional intelligence significantly impacts organizational performance or creates a toxic work environment, involve the Human Resources department. HR professionals can provide guidance, support, and additional resources to address the situation effectively.

Sometimes a person is promoted to a managerial position because of their technical skills, but we all know that capability and technical expertise are not necessarily correlated. Therefore, if a manager truly has issues with emotional regulation, we can consider resigning. After all, we wouldn't want their emotional problems to become our psychological issues.