Author: admin_poj
Keep calm and carry on! Why EQ is your life raft in a crisis.
The easiest response in a crisis is to get angry and look to blame. It takes EQ to recognise your part in a situation. I hold up the quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes, as someone who showed perfect EQ in a really tough situation.
Sat in front of the press at a conference after his team’s defeat in the Super Bowl, he could have thrown out excuses and blame. Instead, he took the hits and said that he would learn from the experience. It would have been so humbling for him but was also humbling to watch. He was human and relatable – showing the emotional skills that Chris Hyams, the CEO of jobs platform Indeed, told Fortune will be what employees look increasingly for as AI in particular takes over some aspects of some roles.
When our EQ vanishes
Only a few months ago, I was in a situation in which my EQ went out of the window. In my line of work, you are ultimately selling ideas. If executed right, these ideas will allow you to hit the goal. You therefore spend a lot of time to get buy-in; making sure that your clients are aligned with the decisions that need to be made and agree on the outcomes that the project is focused on.
In this specific situation, I had spent weeks getting a senior client on board because I knew that he was critical to helping us achieve the objectives with the wider group. But the actual day of the meeting came, and he did a complete 180 degree turn in the board meeting. He focussed on the short-term and declared that we weren’t all in agreement, and chose to ignore the long-term picture – for which we did have a supported plan.
“I have worked on my EQ for decades and yet in that moment of crisis – when I felt trust had been eroded and integrity pushed aside – I didn’t call on it.”
My reaction was immediate. I became defensive because I was extremely frustrated. I felt upset because I thought his move was in poor form, but I also knew how much work my team had put in to get us all to this point. I usually listen and then respond. Instead, I was sharp in my tone and I lost my composure. I have worked on my EQ for decades and yet in that moment of crisis – when I felt trust had been eroded and integrity pushed aside – I didn’t call on it.
Times are tough
I am sharing this because I recognise that it’s not easy to use your EQ, especially in a crisis when things feel really personal. And it seems apt to write now when there is so much instability. The annual Gallagher Business Risk Index, last published in August 2024, asked 1,000 leaders of UK businesses to identify their top five risks. The cost-of-living crisis topped the list for the second year, but competition, cybercrime and high material costs also got a mention. Add the unstable geopolitical situation, the rapid pace of technological changes and compliance demands to these; and you can see why CEO departures have reached record levels and why Mental Health UK reported in January that 34% of adults experienced high or extreme levels of pressure or stress ‘always’ or ‘often’ last year.
How can EQ help in a crisis?
First of all, a key aspect of this is self-awareness. Thinking back to that moment in the boardroom, I could have taken a mental step back before becoming defensive. Even a few deep breaths or a pause in speaking might have helped me regain composure. If needed, I could have made a note to revisit the issue later, perhaps after speaking with a trusted colleague who can offer honest, objective feedback. Either way, it would have been an intentional choice to avoid reacting in a way that wasn’t constructive.
Unfortunately, the self-awareness only hit me after my meeting. I realised that I needed to try and understand my client’s position. I needed to draw on another key tenet of EQ – my empathy. What was he trying to protect in this moment? What did he need from this? Was this more about his credibility within the organisation than the holistic objective that we were trying to achieve?
Taking the time to pause, reflect, and apply my EQ gave me much-needed perspective. It allowed me to approach him again and reframe the conversation in a way that helped us find common ground. I won’t pretend it was easy – it was a tough situation and a challenging discussion. But by leaning into empathy and adaptability, we were able to work through it and reach a resolution. Without that EQ-led approach, we’d likely still be stuck and without a deal.
Keeping it human: The secret to getting the best from your data
How can data and technology empower businesses to understand their customers better and deliver hyper-personalised experiences?
The answer: keep it human.
Data is powerful – But it’s not the whole story
Most companies are already collecting vast amounts of customer data. In 2023, data removal experts Incogni analysed 180 shopping apps across 59 countries. Nike and H&M topped the list, each collecting a staggering 17 data points per purchase – including purchase history, financial information, photos, video, location, performance data and even messages.
This data is the easiest to gather and brilliant at telling you what has happened in the past. It is the data of understanding, according to data leader, Aleksandra Semenenko. It is valuable but limited. Aleksandra understood this in a lightbulb moment in her own career. She shares: “It was the first time when I realised that everything that I do in front of a computer actually needs to be absorbed by human beings and agreed by human beings.”
From transactions to emotional connections
More than this, though, she adds that data isn’t just about efficiency. It’s a tool for building relationships – the fuel for creating fans from customers. It can be used to delve into what a customer’s values are and therefore where the company’s values intersect. As Aleksandra neatly explains: “For a person to become a fan of a brand, they need to feel an emotional connection with the values of these brand; that their values are aligned.”
“For a person to become a fan of a brand, they need to feel an emotional connection with the values of these brand; that their values are aligned.”
This means tapping into qualitative insights that give numbers context and emotional weight. As author Dan Heath wrote in Switch: “Data are just summaries of thousands of stories – tell a few of those stories to help make the data meaningful.” Once you have these stories, you can use them to create marketing activation strategies, pricing strategies and product recommendation strategies. They can help you design your future interactions with that customer to maintain the emotional connection.
As Aleksandra explains, this makes the customer feel that they have your attention. Transparency is also key to this. Companies must share what data they are collecting and why. Customers want to know what they are getting in return. “It’s give and take,” says Aleksandra: “You ask for their data, so give something else in return like enhanced customer experience, better promotions, great discounts and great events.” Ultimately, when customers feel they’re being seen, not just analysed, trust is built.
How to avoid data overload
But let’s not shy away from the fact that it isn’t a straightforward task to find the gems you need. How do you not get weighed down by information paralysis? This is where companies must use their “human brain” and set themselves specific questions to use data to answer: What are the values of my brand? What hypotheses do I want to test first? What decisions am I trying to inform?
Companies must use their “human brain” and set themselves specific questions to use the data to answer.
Aleksandra emphasises that you should have more than solely your data team involved in determining these data foundations. If you deploy new tools – for example, AI, make sure that everyone is on board with them. All key players – from marketing to product to leadership – should come on a journey together to find the value in the data. “The data slowly but surely will drive them to do better and better,” she says. This will also allow you to be agile in your decision making when you get answers. It also means the company will be more resilient – with everyone on the same page – if you hit any roadblocks.
Enhance not replace
The end game is to use data to enhance the company’s emotional intelligence rather than replace human connection. However, the obsession with collecting more data is lazy – smart companies use what they already have, and use it better. As Aleksandra explains, each piece of data will provide a piece of the puzzle, which – when assembled with care – will create a picture of who your customer is.
This picture might change as humans do in their tastes and needs – but data can be used to help you find the new pieces of the puzzle to replace the outdated. As Aleksandra explains: “It’s actually not enough to know your partner – the customer – really well. You need to make an effort to maintain this interest also, because you change and your partner changes, and you need to be in sync all the time.”
In fact, you need to be customer obsessed and then in return, you might make fans of your customers by winning their loyalty. Yes, data can be a tricky beast to conquer. It’s sometimes an inexact and challenging taskmaster, but you must use it to achieve a simple mantra, says Aleksandra: “If you want people to love you, you need to love them back…just in a GDPR compliant way.”
In the race to automate, optimise, and personalise, don’t forget the human heart of data. Data doesn’t build loyalty – people do. The brands that win won’t be those with the most data, but those that use it to make every customer feel seen, understood, and valued.
