About this session
Managers shape the emotional climate of a team every day, often through small moments: how they respond to a mistake, how they deliver feedback, what happens when pressure rises and whether people feel heard when they raise a concern.
Emotional intelligence helps managers become more deliberate in those moments.
This session helps managers understand how their own emotions, assumptions and communication habits influence the people around them.
Participants learn to recognize when stress is affecting their leadership, read employee reactions more accurately and adapt their communication without becoming vague, over-accommodating or afraid to hold people accountable.
The session then moves into practical management situations such as feedback, underperformance, conflict, change and emotionally difficult conversations.
Participants learn how to stay calm, curious and clear, maintain appropriate boundaries and create a team environment where empathy and accountability can exist at the same time.
What your people take away
- Recognize how your emotional state and behavior affect the wider team
- Read employee reactions more accurately without assuming you know what people are thinking
- Adapt communication while remaining clear about expectations and accountability
- Handle feedback, conflict and emotionally charged conversations more effectively
- Build team trust through consistency, empathy, boundaries and follow-through
Shared with you
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- What each length covers, 30 minutes to full day
- Everything that’s covered, part by part
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What each length covers
30 minutes
30 Minutes — Key Points: Start With Yourself as the ManagerA focused 30-minute session on three key points from Start With Yourself as the Manager: notice what you bring into the room, map your leadership triggers and notice how your reaction lands on the team.
- Notice what you bring into the room
- Map your leadership triggers
- Notice how your reaction lands on the team
Covers 3 of 4 points in Start With Yourself as the Manager.
60 minutes
60 Minutes — Module 1: Start With Yourself as the ManagerParticipants identify how their own emotions, stress responses and communication habits affect the team and choose one recurring leadership trigger to work with more deliberately.
- Module 1: Start With Yourself as the Manager
- Live Q&A
Covers 1 of 4 parts: Start With Yourself as the Manager.
90 minutes
90 Minutes — Modules 1 and 2: Read the Team More AccuratelyEverything in the 60-minute session, plus practical work on listening, perspective-taking and recognizing emotional cues without mind-reading. Managers practice distinguishing observable behavior from assumptions about attitude, motivation or intent.
- Module 1: Start With Yourself as the Manager
- Module 2: Read the Team More Accurately
- Manager perspective-taking exercise
- Live Q&A
Covers 2 of 4 parts: Start With Yourself as the Manager and Read the Team More Accurately.
3 hours
Covers 3 of 4 parts: Start With Yourself as the Manager, Read the Team More Accurately and Lead Difficult Conversations With EI.
Full day
Full Day — Full Emotional Intelligence for Managers WorkshopFull coverage of all four modules with leadership self-awareness, listening practice, emotionally difficult management scenarios and trust-building exercises. Participants leave with a practical 30-day emotionally intelligent leadership plan.
- Module 1: Start With Yourself as the Manager
- Module 2: Read the Team More Accurately
- Module 3: Lead Difficult Conversations With EI
- Module 4: Build an Emotionally Intelligent Team Climate
- Manager conversation scenarios
- 30-day leadership action plan
- Live Q&A
Covers all 4 parts.
Also available as a 4-week or 8-week program, for change that lasts. Ask us about it.
What’s covered
Start With Yourself as the Manager
Every length- Notice what you bring into the roomParticipants identify the emotions they carry into management conversations and consider how stress, frustration or anxiety may influence tone, pace and decision-making.
- Map your leadership triggersManagers identify situations that reliably trigger them, such as missed deadlines, repeated questions, challenge, conflict or lack of follow-through.
- Notice how your reaction lands on the teamParticipants examine how their own behavior under pressure may be experienced by employees, including becoming abrupt, distant, controlling or overly accommodating.
- Create a pause before leading the responseManagers practice slowing down before reacting in higher-emotion moments and asking what outcome the team needs from them.
Read the Team More Accurately
90 minutes and longer- Separate observation from interpretationManagers practice distinguishing what they actually observe from conclusions such as 'they are disengaged' or 'they have a bad attitude.' They identify what additional information is needed before treating an interpretation as fact.
- Listen for the issue under the reactionParticipants practice listening for whether a strong reaction is connected to workload, clarity, confidence, fairness, change or another concern.
- Use perspective without mind-readingManagers consider what pressures or information may be shaping an employee's perspective while keeping those explanations tentative.
- Do not confuse emotion with performanceParticipants distinguish an employee being disappointed, anxious or frustrated from the question of whether expectations are being met.
Lead Difficult Conversations With EI
3 hours and longer- Start with the issue, not the labelManagers practice describing specific behavior, impact and expectations rather than using labels such as 'difficult,' 'negative' or 'not committed.' Keeping the conversation observable makes it easier to address the real issue without unnecessary defensiveness.
- Acknowledge emotion without losing directionParticipants practice recognizing when an employee is upset, frustrated or disappointed while keeping the conversation connected to the issue that still needs resolving.
- Manage your own defensivenessManagers identify what happens when an employee challenges their decision, feedback or leadership and practice staying curious long enough to hear the concern.
- Close with clear expectations and next stepsParticipants practice ending difficult conversations with clarity about what has been understood, what needs to happen next and when progress will be reviewed.
Build an Emotionally Intelligent Team Climate
Full day only- Make your response predictableManagers identify how consistency in tone, follow-through and decision-making affects trust.
- Create room for challenge and questionsParticipants examine how they respond when employees disagree, admit uncertainty or raise concerns.
- Use recognition with specificityManagers practice recognizing the behavior or contribution that mattered and explaining why.
- Know where your manager role endsParticipants distinguish supportive management from becoming therapist, counselor or sole source of emotional support.
How booking works
- Book online. Create a free Workbliss profile, then pay with session credits, by card or by invoice.
- Pick a date. Choose a date at least 14 days ahead, or book now and set the date later.
- Choose your expert. Within 3 working days, we send you profiles of the experts available for your date.
- We deliver it. Your expert is briefed on your people and goals, then runs the session live online or at your site.
Questions about Emotional Intelligence for Managers
How long is Emotional Intelligence for Managers?
Emotional Intelligence for Managers runs as 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, 3 hours or full day. You choose the length when you book. A 30-minute session covers three key points from Start With Yourself as the Manager: notice what you bring into the room, map your leadership triggers and notice how your reaction lands on the team. A 60-minute session covers Start With Yourself as the Manager in full, with a live Q&A. A 90-minute session adds Read the Team More Accurately. A 3-hour session adds Lead Difficult Conversations With EI. A full-day session adds Build an Emotionally Intelligent Team Climate. It is also available as a 4-week or 8-week program.
Can Emotional Intelligence for Managers be delivered online or in person?
Yes, both. It runs live online, so every office can join at the same time, or in person at your site, in any country.
How do we book Emotional Intelligence for Managers?
Create a free Workbliss profile with your work email, then open Emotional Intelligence for Managers to see the price for each length and book it. You can pay with session credits, by card or by invoice, and choose a date at least 14 days ahead, or set it later.
Who leads the session?
A vetted Workbliss expert, briefed on your people, culture and goals before the session. After you book, we send you profiles of the experts available for your date within 3 working days, so you can choose who leads it.
Can it be tailored to our company?
Yes. Every session is shaped around your goals, your people and the benefits you already offer, and delivered by experts in your people’s languages.