Boards are looking for CEOs with high emotional intelligence, new research shows. Here's how to develop the skill.

• A new study found that boards look for CEOs with high emotional intelligence.
• Emotional intelligence is one's ability to understand how people feel and react to make decisions.

For many boards hiring high-level executives, the new bottom line isn't just about the bottom line. While boards used to prioritize a person's ability to deliver profits when choosing a C-suite leader, new Harvard research finds that a new skill trumps all others: emotional intelligence/social skills.

Researchers combed through nearly 5,000 executive job descriptions from leadership search firm Russel Reynolds from 2000 to 2017. They found that companies looking for a CEO, CFO, and other top roles most often mentioned keywords revolving around emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and the ability to work well with others.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to read other people's emotions or infer how they feel, and use that information to connect with others.

The research builds on a growing body of studies underscoring the importance of the skill. Managers with high emotional intelligence were found to be 11% more successful in completing projects than those who said they ranked low in emotional intelligence, according to research conducted by software reviews platform Capterra published in January. A 2009 study published in the Leadership & Organization Development Journal found that executives who possessed higher levels of empathy and self regard were more likely to yield high company profits.

"It's a crucial leadership skill to have, one I think more people are going to be talking about in the future," Arquella Hargrove, a diversity and inclusion consultant and leadership coach, told Insider.

Amid calls for racial equity and diversity, equity, and inclusion, consultants said they expect demand for emotional intelligence skills to increase even more over the next few years.

"Diversity and inclusion — we are dealing with people. We want to humanize it. There's emotion there," Hargrove said.

"If we're trying to center around humanity and accept people for who they are, you have to have a skillset of understanding and of empathy," Doris Quintanilla, executive director and cofounder of The Melanin Collective, a DEI consultancy, said.

This article was originally published in February 2021.

What emotional intelligence looks like and how to build it

There are multiple parts to emotional intelligence leaders (and managers in general) can work to improve. They fall under a few broad categories, explain Daniel Goleman, famed author of "Emotional Intelligence 2.0," and Richard E. Boyatzis, a psychology professor at Case Western Reserve University.

One is social awareness: or the ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes. It's having empathy, they write in Harvard Business Review.

To boost your empathy, Hargrove and Quintanilla recommend leaders spend more time learning about their employees from underrepresented and marginalized backgrounds. Invite them to share their experiences, and listen to them. In addition, educate yourself by reading books on anti-racism.

"The beauty of this is when leaders listen to their colleagues from different backgrounds, they start to value those differences. They make people feel included on the team," Hargrove said.

Another part of emotional intelligence is how well you manage relationships, or your ability to communicate effectively and work with others.

"One part of emotional intelligence is asking for feedback and being able to accept that feedback. That makes managers and leaders better," she said.

Quintanilla recommends leaders invest in their relationships with Black and brown employees. Give them a seat at the decision-making table, and incorporate their advice into your plans.

"Everyone had a statement after the murder of George Floyd, those things don't matter anymore. The words that you say — if they're not in alignment with the actual actions you're taking, the people you're hiring, the people you're promoting — we don't want to hear it," Quintanilla said.