Emotions in Motion
Photo Boards via Unsplash
A Leadership Edge You Can’t Afford to Ignore
There’s a moment I see often in coaching sessions. The one where someone tries — heroically — to keep the lid on. They’ll reach for logic. Keep things “professional.” Maybe laugh it off. But underneath… it’s humming. Tight throat. Swelling chest. The quiet storm of feeling.
And then it cracks open. A pause, a smile, a tear, a yell. A truth.
Not dramatic. Not performative. Just… real.
This is the moment where meaningful leadership work begins. Not because emotion overwhelms, but because it reveals. It shows us what matters, where the stakes are, what’s really going on beneath the polished narrative.
As a senior leader, an emerging leader, or someone who shapes culture like a Chief People Officer — you know emotional intelligence (EQ) matters. But what often gets overlooked is this: EQ isn’t just about attuning to how others feel. It’s about being in relationship with your own emotional life — and how that inner awareness shapes everything you do.
The Hidden Half of Emotional Intelligence
Many leaders have been told that a high EQ means being empathetic, good with people, sensitive to the emotional tone of the room. And yes, that matters.
But there’s a blind spot here: EQ without emotional self-awareness is just performance.
If you’re outwardly composed but inwardly disconnected — if you can “read the room” but can’t read your own internal cues — you’re only halfway there. And people can feel it.
True emotional intelligence starts inside. It starts with noticing how emotion moves through you. How your body responds in moments of tension. What signals you ignore, and which ones you override. The stories you tell yourself to stay safe, composed, in control.
When you begin to feel those things — and not just think about them — you become far more trustworthy, grounded, and impactful.
What Emotional Suppression Really Costs
Here’s the dilemma for most senior and emerging leaders: you were trained to suppress, not express. Somewhere along the way, you learned that showing emotion could make you appear weak, irrational, or less “executive.”
But the cost of emotional suppression is high.
It cuts you off from essential data. It limits your ability to sense risk, opportunity, or conflict before it becomes visible. It makes it harder to connect — really connect — with the people around you.
And perhaps most damaging, it reinforces a false binary: that leadership must be either strategic or emotional. In reality, the best leaders are both. They lead from the head and the heart.
That’s not softness. That’s strength.
Emotion Is Information
Think about the last time you felt a spike of frustration, or a swell of pride, or a sudden drop in your energy. What was your instinct? Did you power through? Rationalize it? Push it aside?
What if instead, you got curious?
Emotion is not noise to be filtered out. It’s intelligence to be heard.
For leaders, especially those guiding large systems or shaping culture, emotional fluency helps you understand not just what’s happening, but why it matters. It gives you access to the human layer of every business challenge.
Whether you’re navigating a reorg, addressing team burnout, or trying to inspire alignment on vision — emotion is in the room. Always. The question is: are you?
From EQ to Emotional Integration
The next evolution of leadership isn’t just about EQ as a skillset. It’s about emotional integration as a way of being.
This means:
Recognizing your emotions as real-time data.
Listening to your body’s cues as early-warning systems.
Naming what you feel without shame or defensiveness.
Creating space for others to do the same.
Leading with presence, not just polish.
This isn’t about oversharing or abandoning boundaries. It’s about being human enough to be felt — and steady enough to hold the room while others feel, too.
For Chief People Officers, this is particularly relevant. You’re not just modeling this integration — you’re building systems and cultures that either support or suppress it. The way you relate to emotion shapes what becomes possible for everyone else.
Emotion in Motion
When we allow emotion to move—not dominate, not disappear, but simply move—we unlock a different kind of leadership.
One that’s not just performatively intelligent, but profoundly aware.
Not just strategic, but resonant.
Not just in charge, but in relationship—with self, with others, and with what matters most.
That’s what I call emotion in motion. And in a world that increasingly demands both precision and humanity, it’s not just a nice-to-have. It’s the edge.
