The Unspoken Leadership Skill That Fuels High-Performing Teams

Forbes

2 days ago

Laurie Arron, executive coach and trusted advisor to C-suite and Chiefs of Staff, best-selling author, and founder of Arron Coaching LLC.
A leader I once coached said flatly, 'Emotions slow us down. What I need is efficiency.' This is a common sentiment among high-performing leaders. But the irony is that the results we chase often depend on the very thing we underprioritize.
Research has shown that emotionally intelligent leaders are linked to significantly stronger team outcomes, often achieving double-digit performance gains. That is not a minor uptick; it is the kind of leap organizations spend years trying to engineer through systems, structures and incentives.
But no system can outperform a disengaged team.
And disengagement isn't always loud or obvious. Sometimes it's the quiet that contains unspoken concerns or withheld ideas. It's the risks that never get raised and people doing the bare minimum, not because they don't care, but because they don't feel safe to do more.
The Hidden Cost Of Disengagement
One CEO I coached believed his leadership team was aligned and effective. But over time, projects missed milestones. Deadlines slipped. No one spoke up in meetings. The problem was not execution; it was a lack of trust. People were holding back ideas and avoiding hard conversations.
Eventually, it came to a head. A significant initiative ran months behind schedule. The team had seen it coming but never flagged it. When we unpacked what went wrong, it became clear that they did not feel safe to challenge assumptions or ask for help.
This was a classic case of low psychological safety.
Emotional Intelligence Creates Space For Truth
Leaders with strong emotional intelligence are skilled at something deceptively simple: making it easier for people to tell the truth. They build credibility not by demanding it, but by earning it. They notice when someone is holding back. They ask questions that surface what is not being said. They pause instead of rushing to solve. And above all, they listen without defensiveness.
A CTO I worked with recently began asking his team one consistent question at the end of every meeting: 'How could I adjust to make your work easier or more effective?'
The answers were eye-opening. Of course, initially, people hesitated. But as trust grew, so did the honesty. Over the next six months, the team's internal communication improved dramatically. Employee engagement improved significantly. Customer response times were shortened. Delivery speed increased. And they did it all without hiring a new person or changing any technology.
The shift was in leadership behavior.
Emotional Intelligence Closes The Feedback Gap
The higher up you climb the corporate ladder, the harder it becomes to get honest feedback. Not because people are trying to hide things, but because they're reading the room. They're watching how you respond under pressure. They're asking themselves, 'Is it worth it to say this out loud?' Emotional intelligence helps leaders create an environment where the answer is yes.
It enables leaders to manage their responses and build the kind of trust that invites honesty. It is what allows a leader to hear uncomfortable truths without shutting down or retaliating.
A few powerful self-checks:
• How recently has someone on your team felt safe enough to challenge you?
• Did you respond with curiosity or with a need to explain yourself?
• Would someone tell you if something important about your leadership was being left unsaid?
Leaders high in emotional intelligence collect feedback in real time. They understand that psychological safety is earned. And it is sustained by the leader's ability to be emotionally grounded, open and transparent.
Leading With Intelligence That Resonates
Senior leaders are often trained to prioritize logic, data and strategy. And those matter. But logic without empathy creates distance. Data without meaning leads to burnout. Strategy without trust leads nowhere.
When uncertainty and change are constants, as they are today, building connection and trust is what sets great leaders apart.
The research supports it. The results prove it. But what matters most is this: Emotional intelligence changes what leadership feels like, for you and the people counting on you. Because at the end of the day, performance follows the emotional tone you set.
Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?