ATD Footer Logo

Adobe Stock 118272657.ai

Emotional Intelligence and Decision-Making

The latest content on emotional intelligence and using it to make informed and effective choices. 

Emotional Intelligence and Decision Making

Get a monthly dose of the latest organization development and talent management content, tools and templates, best practices, events, and more.

Open Email envelope icon with document. Newsletter 3d concept. Vector 3d illustration

Adobe Stock 496266585.ai

The Organization Development and Talent Managment Newsletter

Relationship intelligence (RQ) is the engine that drives defining moments. Reputations and legacies are made by those types of defining moments, but what makes the defining moments possible?

ATD Blog

What Is Relationship Intelligence?

What is Relationship Intelligence?

TD Magazine Article

Should We Be Training for EQ?

Emotional Intelligence and Decision-Making link 1

Book

Emotional Intelligence in Talent Development Cover

112109_EI in TD_rgb_Cover

Emotional Intelligence in Talent Development

Emotional Intelligence and Decision-Making link 2

3 Ways to Bring EI to Your Writing

Emotional Intelligence and Decision-Making link 3

Emotional Intelligence Training: Where to Begin

Emotional Intelligence and Decision-Making link 4

Brand-Emotional Intelligence and Decision-Making

Google Ad #1 - desktop - 970x90

Google Ad #1 - mobile - 300x200

Ad #1 for Generic Pages

The Latest

Google Ad #2 - desktop - 970x90

Google Ad #2 -  mobile - 300x200

Ad #2 for Generic pages

If you struggle to communicate clearly, adapt to changes, or build relationships across teams, your impact and visibility can be limited.

The Hidden ROI of Soft Skills 

December 2025 - TD Magazine

Having empathy is critical for effective leadership.

The Staunch Empath

We all fall into the Excuse Trap sometimes. What matters is what we do next. Will we rationalize and stay stuck? Or recognize the trap and choose differently?

The Excuse Trap: How to Spot It and Escape It

As a leader, you set the tone for the teams you manage. Easy to say, but not so easy to keep a positive tone amid market uncertainty. Many of the challenges learning and development leaders face are impossible to plan for, so the way forward is to build resilience as a leader and set a clear course of action for your team. What is resilience, and why is it critical? Resilience is the ability to bounce back from challenging events. It’s the ability to manage emotions and stress levels, adapt to the situation, and find ways through it. While some can sail through life’s challenges without missing a beat, others are more likely to feel overwhelmed when things go wrong. Adopting new coping strategies to manage thoughts and emotions is key to developing resilience and finding that daily equilibrium. Resilience in the workplace When navigating challenges, your team looks to you for cues. Whether consciously or unconsciously, your reactions become a mirror for the organization’s health and morale. Authenticity is key—it’s not enough to merely talk about resilience while privately struggling with it. Authentic leadership demands that you do the hard work of developing self-awareness and cultivating a genuine form of resilience. By modeling healthy behavior, you empower your team to adopt the same mindset, creating a culture where overcoming adversity becomes a shared, intentional practice. Here are key strategies to build resilience within your team: Look after yourself first. Start with self-care. We all know the benefits of mindfulness, but in change situations, we need to take it further and track how we’re feeling emotionally. Chronic stress can leave you tired, forgetful, and struggling to make decisions. The impact can be challenging personally and organizationally. It can also create disengagement within your team. Looking after yourself is more than relaxing; it’s about making time to regularly meet with a mentor, coach, or counselor to ensure you’re aware of your stress levels and are leveraging healthy coping strategies. Accept the situation. Few people enjoy change, but accepting it is key to moving forward. Your team is likely struggling with some form of change resistance. Accepting the situation yourself and compassionately guiding your team through it will shift the team’s collective mindset. This step is about honesty and acknowledgement—not only of the situation but also of how your team is coping. Different personalities respond to stress differently, and accepting the situation requires open, honest, and nonjudgmental conversations to help people reduce stress and create mental space for solutions. Create a safe space for open communication. Psychological safety is a key factor in resilience. Your team needs to know they can safely share their thoughts and ideas, make mistakes, and ask questions without fear of being ostracized. Empathy is also an important factor here. Not everyone will respond to challenges and change in the same way. While some may be keen to step up, others might respond negatively or shy away from taking action. Psychological safety works in two ways: Ensuring everyone has the opportunity to share their concerns helps them feel heard. And as a leader, you have the chance to understand different perspectives to help the team overcome challenges. Encourage a growth mindset. It’s impossible to get things right 100 percent of the time. Resilience comes from making mistakes and learning from them. It’s important to extend this understanding to your team. Frame mistakes as learning opportunities rather than focusing on what went wrong. Encouraging a growth mindset in your team builds the foundation for resilience. It’s about confronting a challenge, taking it in stride, and thinking, “What can we do here? How can we pivot?” And then, following the situation up with a nonjudgmental, “What did we learn?” 

Resilience. Your Key for Leading Through Uncertainty

Develop creativity and problem-solving capabilities in the workplace.


Innovate, Solve Problems, and Invent

Development and growth don’t just come from corporate training programs; it comes from the way we live, lead, and learn from others. 

Emotional Intelligence and Decision-Making

TD MAGAZINE ARTICLE

BOOK

TD MAGAZINE ARTICLE

ATD BLOG