This hub curates real-world examples of emotional intelligence in practice, drawing on dozens of Forbes interviews with L&D and HR leaders as well as key EQ research for each industry.
In the last year, Kevin Kruse and I have written over 36 Forbes interviews profiling how HR and L&D leaders develop the emotional intelligence of their people.
Many of these interviews are with giants—CPOs, CLOs, and CHROs at companies like Google, Delta, and The Boys & Girls Club. These articles tend to explore bigger-picture questions like “Why train EQ right now?” and “What problems does EQ solve for in your business and your industry?”
Many others are with heads of leadership development and learning. These interviews tend to connect the “why” with the “how.” These leaders explore questions like “How do you deliver great EQ training at scale?” and “How do you show that your training is making an impact?”
What follows is a breakdown of what emotional intelligence training and coaching look like in practice, organized by industry. For each industry, we’ve also paired 2-3 key research studies that show how emotional intelligence training can impact specific business outcomes.
*Note: As this collection continues to grow, this page will serve as a living point of reference for L&D professionals, coaches, researchers, and students. We update this page on a monthly basis with new interviews, new research, and new industry analysis.
Jump to Your Industry
- Life Sciences
- Healthcare
- Manufacturing
- Technology
- Hospitality
- Military & First Responders
- Additional Case Studies Across Sectors
EQ in Practice Across Industries: Key Patterns That Have Emerged
Across industries, roles, and organizational sizes, a few interesting patterns have emerged:
- EQ Solves Real Problems: Everyone fears that their audiences will see EQ as “soft.” But it impacts things like patient care, guest satisfaction, incidents in law enforcement, and safety in manufacturing. Many of these stakes are quite literally life and death.
- EQ and IQ: In more technical environments, we often assume that IQ will be a greater differentiator. But typically in these environments, IQ is the price of entry and it’s EQ that separates a good leader from a great one.
- EQ and AI: EQ + AI = Business Impact. Leaders emphasize that because EQ can’t be replaced by AI, it’s becoming more important than ever. In many cases, AI can automate the low-lift, administrative work, freeing people up to spend more time in deep one-on-one connection (which of course necessitates EQ).
- Embedding EQ in Your Culture: EQ embeds in company culture when it surfaces at every key touchpoint: Hiring, onboarding, development, and importantly, performance reviews throughout the course of a career.
The interviews below show what these patterns look like in practice, across very different organizational realities.
EQ in the Life Sciences
Typical challenges faced by people in the life sciences include transitioning from technical expert to great leader, making sound decisions, and collaborating cross-functionally. Emotional intelligence training can help improve a company in each of these areas:
- Leadership Effectiveness: A study looking at 48 studies found that emotional intelligence correlates significantly with leadership effectiveness
- Decision Making: Two studies found that people skilled at understanding their emotions made more sound decisions even when faced with incidents of anxiety.
- Cross-functional Collaboration: One study looking at drug development teams at a Fortune 100 Pharmaceutical company showed that emotional intelligence skills help leaders navigate cross-functional collaboration, specifically through skills such as providing clear direction, proactively seeking out feedback, and coaching team members.
The following interviews demonstrate successful examples of emotional intelligence training in the life sciences:
- 🔗 Cytek Biosciences: How To Embed Emotional Intelligence Into Your Culture
An Interview with Chief People Officer Connie Wedel - 🔗 Rentschler Biopharma Manufacturing: Making EQ a Part of Your Leaders’ Daily Rhythm
An interview with PJ Bouchard, VP of Culture and L&D.
- 🔗 Regeneron: How Emotional Intelligence and Mindfulness Intersect to Create Great Leaders
An interview with Renny Bloch, Director Global Learning and Leadership Development
EQ in Healthcare
In health care, highly effective teamwork, patient care, and stress/burnout mitigation are top priorities. The research shows that emotional intelligence influences all three:
- Team effectiveness: A study at MD Anderson Cancer Center found that teams whose leaders went through their emotional intelligence and leadership training saw significant improvements in team effectiveness and collaboration in comparison to the control group (leaders who hadn’t yet gone through training).
- Patient satisfaction and burnout mitigation: One study surveyed 110 internists and 2,872 outpatients to examine links between doctors’ emotional intelligence and key work outcomes. Physicians with higher self-rated emotional intelligence reported significantly lower burnout and higher job satisfaction. Greater emotional intelligence also correlated with higher patient satisfaction.
The following interviews demonstrate successful examples of emotional intelligence training in health care:
- 🔗 MD Anderson Cancer Center: How Emotional Intelligence Can Foster Resilience and Patient Satisfaction
An interview with Cathy Schaefer, Executive Director of Leadership Development - 🔗 Avalere Health: Most Leadership Training Fails. Here’s Why Emotional Intelligence Is Likely The Missing Piece
An interview with Nick Holmes, Global Head of L&D - 🔗 NewYork-Presbyterian: Why Emotional Intelligence Is More Critical Than Ever for Health Care
An Interview with Matthew Black, Director of Leadership Development
EQ for Safety: Manufacturing, Construction, Energy
In manufacturing, construction, and any industry where safety is a top concern, emotional intelligence correlates strongly to key business outcomes. Most notably, EQ has been correlated with improved safety, decreased incidents, and increased efficiency and productivity:
- Safety and Productivity: When supervisors in a manufacturing plant were trained in core emotional intelligence skills—listening more effectively and coaching employees to solve problems themselves—the results were dramatic. Lost-time accidents fell by 50%. Formal grievances dropped from an average of 15 per year to just three. And the plant exceeded its productivity goals by $250,000. In a second manufacturing plant, supervisors who received similar emotional intelligence training drove a 17 percent increase in production. A matched group of supervisors who did not receive the training saw no improvement.
The following interviews demonstrate successful examples of emotional intelligence training in manufacturing:
- 🔗 Orica: This VP Trains Emotional Intelligence To Prevent Accidents. Here’s How.
An interview with Sarah Van Helden, VP of Organizational Capabilities - 🔗 Clayton: How Emotional Intelligence Can Help You Build A Culture Of Care And Candor
An interview with Marti Willen, Sr. Director of Organizational Development - 🔗 PPG: How Emotional Intelligence Turns Managers Into Great Coaches
An interview with Dr. Christine Boring, Global Head of Leadership Development - 🔗 Dolese Bros: The New Hard Hat: Why EQ Is Essential For Safety-First
An interview with Cherly Ramirez, VP of Organizational Development, and Jake Hillemeyer, Director of Learning and Organizational Development
EQ in Tech
In tech, leaders emphasize the need to balance AI innovation with enduring human skills—and even to blend the two together. With this in mind, leaders are placing a premium on skills such as emotional intelligence, decision-making, communication, critical thinking, creativity, and adaptability.
The following interviews demonstrate successful examples of emotional intelligence training in the tech space:
- 🔗 Google: How Google Develops Emotionally Intelligent Leaders In The AI Era
An interview with Dr. Brian Glaser, Chief Learning Officer - 🔗 The Trade Desk: How Emotional Intelligence Can Help Leaders Navigate The AI Era
An interview with Mariana Rai, People Development Partner - 🔗 1Password: How Emotional Intelligence Builds Great Remote Teams
An Interview with Katya Laviolette, Chief People Officer - 🔗 Procore: How One Tech Company Built An EQ-Based Leadership System
An interview with Ash Panjwani, Head of Global Talent Development - 🔗 Lenovo: Why EQ Is A Leadership Imperative At Lenovo In The AI Era
An interview with Hwang Jann Lee, Executive Director of HR - 🔗 Amazon:3 Lessons Amazon’s Chief EQ Evangelist Learned Scaling EQ To 1.5 Million People
An interview with Rich Hua, Chief EQ Evangelist
EQ in Hospitality
In hospitality, L&D leaders seek to improve guest satisfaction scores, help people stay calm in high-pressure situations, and manage stress in a healthy way.
- Stress: One study found that emotional intelligence significantly reduces the harmful effects of “emotional work” on employees’ well-being. Employees higher in emotional competence were consistently less affected by emotional demands, time pressure, and emotional dissonance than those lower in emotional competence.
- Guest Satisfaction: Research from the Cornell School of Hotel Administration showed that empathy and interpersonal training at one hotel boosted guest-satisfaction scores.
The following interviews demonstrate successful examples of emotional intelligence training in hospitality:
- 🔗 The Biltmore: ‘America’s Largest Home’ Shows Emotional Intelligence Is Key In The Hospitality Industry
An interview with Stephen Watson, CEO, and Anna Sullins, Director of L&D - 🔗 PCH Hotels & Resorts: How Emotional Intelligence Powers Relationships And Saves Lives
An interview with Mike Stover, Director of Talent & Culture - 🔗 Rosen Hotels and Resorts: How To Scale A Founder-Led Culture Of Emotional Intelligence
An interview with Dorea Mays, VP of HR, and Kim Carson, Sr. HR Manager of Training and Development
EQ for Military and First Responders
Military personnel and first responders rely heavily on their ability to regulate their emotions. Leaders across the military and first responder segments frequently look to teach people about the trigger model of emotions, how to better manage their emotions, and how to practice self-care in a high-stakes, emotion-intensive job. In law enforcement, selecting great candidates and retaining them through training is critical (many lose 25-50% of recruits).
- Boost Officer Performance and Community Trust: A 2021 international review of law enforcement studies found that the evidence points to a strong connection between emotional intelligence, officer performance, and community trust.
- Retain Your New Recruits: When the U.S. Air Force used an EQ assessment to select recruiters (its front-line HR force), the most successful recruiters consistently scored higher in Assertiveness, Empathy, Happiness, and Emotional Self-Awareness. With this in mind, they hired and trained recruiters in these areas, and nearly tripled their ability to predict recruiter success in the process. This delivered an estimated $3 million in annual savings.
The following interviews demonstrate successful examples of emotional intelligence training for military and first responders:
- 🔗 University of Charleston Security: Why Emotional Intelligence Is Essential in Modern Law Enforcement
An interview with Eric Smith, Chief of Staff at University of Charleston Security - 🔗 Why This Officer Believes EQ Is The Path Forward For Law Enforcement
An interview with Dr. Tim Sharples, I/O Psychologist at Eikon Group and retired law enforcement Lieutenant - 🔗 How Emotional Intelligence Is Reshaping Leadership In The United States Air Force
An interview with Senior Master Sergeant Winsome Culley of the USAF
EQ in Practice Across Industries
As our collection grows, many of the articles in this “other” section will be recategorized into devoted industry sections. For now, you can skim through this list to look for any articles relevant to your work.
- Transportation
🔗 Delta Air Lines: A Culture Of Caring: How Emotional Intelligence Fuels 100 Years Of Success In Aviation
An interview with Allison Ausband, CPO of Delta Air Lines - Non-Profit
🔗 Boys & Girls Club: How Boys And Girls Clubs Of America Builds Emotional Intelligence In Its Workforce
An interview with Felicia Robinson, CHRO of Boys & Girls Club - Government
🔗 The Building People: Building Resilience: Emotional Intelligence Lessons for Federal Contractors
An interview with Saima Malik, Senior Vice President of Human Capital and Chief Human Capital Officer
🔗 Central Arizona Project: How To Scale Emotional Intelligence Training And Coaching To Every Employee
An interview with Andrew Krahe, Program Manager - Restaurant
🔗 Grand Central Bakery: How Emotional Intelligence Can Help You Stay Calm Under Pressure
An interview with Samantha Kennen, Head of People - Retail
🔗 Tractor Supply Co: Why Emotional Intelligence Training Matters More Than Ever In Retail
An interview with Ryan Samia, Director of Talent and Leadership Development - Finance
🔗 Ally Financial: Why This AI-Empowered Bank Is Betting Big On Emotional Intelligence
An interview with Kathie Patterson, CHRO - Higher Ed
🔗 UC Irvine: Emotional Intelligence Can Help You Orchestrate Connection And Break Down Organizational Silos. Here’s How.
An interview with Dr. Noah Askin, Associate Professor of Organization and Management
🔗 Kennesaw State University: How Emotional Intelligence Is Transforming Leadership In Higher Education
An interview with Dr. Sonia Toson, Vice President of Organizational Effectiveness, Leadership and Institutional Development
- Wholesale/Distribution
🔗 Breakthru Beverage Co: How to Develop Emotionally Intelligent Leaders
An interview with Trav Gislason, Director of Field Coaching and Development for the West Region - Professional Services
🔗 CBIZ: How Emotional Intelligence Powers Team Effectiveness in Times of Change
An interview with Marina Davis, VP of Organization Effectiveness
🔗 CliftonLarsonAllen LLP: Emotional Intelligence In Professional Services: How One Firm Leverages EQ In The AI Era
An interview with Heidi Hoffman, Director of Learning Experience and Instructional Design, and Cortney Jordan, Learning Design and Instruction Senior - Energy
🔗 Phillips 66:How Emotional Intelligence Can Future-Proof Your Leaders In The AI Era
An interview with Andrez Carberry, Executive Vice President and CHRO - Anonymous:
🔗 How Emotional Intelligence Transforms Technical Experts Into Great Leaders
An interview with Hector Ortiz a Senior Executive at 30k+ employee company
This resource is designed for leadership development professionals, researchers, and organizations looking for real-world examples of emotional intelligence in practice. We update this page on a monthly cadence as we conduct and publish new interviews. All are a part of our ongoing emotional intelligence column for Forbes. If there's an example or industry you're hoping to find that's not here yet, be sure to bookmark this page and check back in the future.
