Mental Health & Resilience
Leadership Development
Physical Wellbeing
Workplace CultureEmotional intelligence training for leaders and managers
When a manager stays calm under pressure, reads the room and responds to people rather than reacting to them, the whole team feels it. Emotional intelligence is what separates a technically capable manager from one people trust and want to follow.
Emotional Intelligence for Leaders is a workplace training program from Holistic Services Group that develops the core capabilities of emotionally intelligent leadership: self-awareness, emotional regulation, empathy, and the communication and relationship skills that build trust across a team. It is delivered onsite across Australia and online nationwide, in formats from a single workshop to an ongoing series.
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Why emotional intelligence matters in leadership
Managers shape the daily experience of work more than any policy or perk. When leaders lack the self-awareness to manage their own reactions, or the empathy to notice when someone is struggling, small tensions turn into turnover and capable people quietly disengage. Emotional intelligence is the skill set that helps managers hold steady, have honest conversations and keep their teams connected, particularly when leading through uncertainty and change.
- Managers shape team engagement: managers account for 70% of the variance in team engagement, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2024.
- Manager engagement is falling: global manager engagement fell from 27% to 22% between 2024 and 2025 (Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2025).
These figures show how much rides on manager capability; they are not a measure of emotional intelligence training itself. Building that capability deliberately is a practical place to start.
Talk to us about building emotional intelligence across your leadership team.
Who this is for
This program is designed for new and emerging managers stepping into people leadership for the first time, experienced managers seeking to lead with greater influence and less friction, and senior leaders setting the tone for a department. It suits intact leadership teams as well as cross-functional groups of managers learning together.
What the workshops involve
Sessions are practical and reflective rather than theoretical. Participants explore the four domains of emotional intelligence through self-assessment, real workplace scenarios, guided discussion and simple tools they can use the next day. By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
- Recognise their own emotional triggers and responses
- Regulate their reactions under pressure and in difficult conversations
- Read their team’s emotional cues and respond accordingly
- Hold steadier, more empathetic conversations with staff
Sessions are available as a 90-minute workshop, a half-day intensive or an ongoing series, and can be customised to your leadership context. HSG delivers onsite across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra and regional Australia, and online nationwide and across New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific for distributed teams.
Outcomes you can expect
After delivery, HSG can report on attendance, participation and staff feedback, and many leaders describe an immediate shift in how they handle difficult moments. Follow-up sessions and repeat bookings are common as capability builds.
Over time, stronger emotional intelligence among leaders can support:
- Team engagement, connection and psychological safety
- Reduced friction and escalation in difficult conversations
- Lower voluntary turnover driven by poor management experience
- Improved quality of everyday communication across the team
What our clients say
Dana facilitated our Emotional Intelligence workshop and delivered the topic so well, keeping attendees engaged. Her approach gave us a clear understanding of emotional intelligence — how to understand your emotions, improve communication and become a more effective team player. Our dealings with HSG are always efficient and friendly, and Lisa is a pleasure to work with from beginning to end.
Angela Stojak
Blum Australia
Thank you to HSG and our facilitator, Anne Rodgers, for an informative webinar on “Don’t Expect to Stay Calm, Stay Connected”. It was very well received and we are looking forward to our next one! Anne is a true professional and very knowledgeable about her subject.
Lisa Saunders
Herron Todd White
Experience and credentials
HSG has delivered workplace wellbeing since 2003 and is trusted by more than 1,600 organisations, including Microsoft, Telstra, Commonwealth Bank and the Department of Defence. Sessions are led by specialist facilitators who hold professional credentials in psychology, leadership and organisational development, with onsite delivery across every Australian capital and virtual delivery nationwide and across the Asia-Pacific.
Related leadership programs
Emotional intelligence underpins HSG’s wider leadership development and manager capability work, including difficult conversations training, psychological safety for leaders and manager mental health training. To talk through what would suit your leaders, get in touch.
Frequently asked questions
It is designed for people-leaders at every level, from new and emerging managers to experienced and senior leaders. It works well for an intact leadership team or for a cross-functional group of managers, and content is tailored to your leadership context.
Emotional intelligence is the human skill set underneath technical leadership skills, and it is what teams actually respond to day to day. Because managers account for 70% of the variance in team engagement (Gallup, 2024), building this capability complements your existing leadership programs rather than duplicating them.
Both. HSG delivers onsite across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra and regional areas, and online nationwide and across the Asia-Pacific for distributed leadership teams.
Yes. Sessions run as a 90-minute workshop, a half-day intensive, or an ongoing series, and the scenarios and emphasis are tailored to your organisation and your leaders’ level.
HSG reports on attendance, participation and staff feedback after each session. Our experience shows that over time, stronger emotional intelligence among leaders can support engagement, retention, psychological safety and communication. We focus on realistic, evidence-informed outcomes rather than guarantees.
Build the emotional intelligence your managers need to lead with composure and trust
Talk to us about a workshop or series suited to your leaders.
Call us: 1300 889 073
