About Episode
How do you really know if someone is ready to lead? Is a traditional 360 a good enough measure, or do you need an EI 360 to truly reveal what it takes for a leader to step into a more senior role?
That’s the question Genos International CEO, Dr. Ben Palmer set out to answer in his world-first, four-year study, ‘The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Leadership Succession Management,’ soon to be published in the Consulting Psychology Journal. While the study focused on 485 aspiring school leaders, its findings apply to any industry where roles are emotionally laborious, from healthcare and policing and more.
The study proved that EI 360s provide a clearer picture of true leadership potential, revealing the emotional soft skills like self-regulation, empathy, and the ability to lead teams through chaos and complexity that traditional 360s often miss.
The study also revealed that these critical EI skills can be developed. Even leaders who initially scored low in EI in the study were able to significantly boost their scores, some by as much as 43 percentile points with further training, before they step into more senior roles.
For those who had high levels of EI, the rewards are clear, better decision making, reduced conflict, stronger teams, and more resilient workplace cultures.
Listen to the full episode for more insights on the power of using EI 360s in talent succession decision making.
In this episode, learn:
[00:35] About the purpose of Dr. Ben Palmers study – understanding the role of emotional intelligence in identifying true leadership potential.
[01:18] About succession management and why it’s critical in talent decisions.
[03:38] Why the study’s findings are relevant across emotionally laborious industries, not just education.
[06:06] The role of emotional labour in leadership and why it matters in high-stakes roles.
[08:28] What it means to be an aspiring leader, and why not all leaders should lead.
[09:12] The three critical research questions the study set out to answer.
[09:34] The unique value of EI assessments in identifying true leadership potential.
[12:03] If leaders with low EI can improve and explore the potential for EI development.
[12:50] The broader impact of EI development on leadership effectiveness.
[18:05] The importance of thresholds in identifying leadership potential.
[20:57] Why using multiple assessments is critical in evaluating leadership potential.
[23:39] Why leadership styles matter, and the importance of adaptability.
[24:57] How 93% of participants improved their EI by an average of 43 percentile points through targeted development.
[28:22] About the business case for investing in EI development – why it leads to better leadership outcomes.
[31:18] Why some leaders simply aren’t cut out for emotionally demanding roles, even with the best training.
[34:52] When to expect the publication of the study and what to look for in the final paper.