Why Building Emotional Intelligence is the Secret to Better Tech Teams

This Mental Health Awareness Week we’re looking at a topic close to our heart at Makers — Emotional Intelligence. To build a successful career in tech you need much more than just technical ability. You need to build resilience and communication skills to thrive and lead.

EI refers to the ability to understand and manage one’s own emotions and those of others. Studies have shown that teams with higher levels of empathy are more productive and creative than those who lack it. And when team members feel that their leaders are invested in their well-being and success, they are more likely to go above and beyond in their roles, take on new challenges, and come up with innovative solutions to complex problems.

This is why at Makers we also teach an emotional intelligence curriculum as part of our course to help people thrive, combat stress, connect with peers and prevent burnout in the real world of work.

Emotional intelligence encompasses self-awareness skills; self-regulation; motivation; empathy and social skills. How do we build our emotional intelligence? After all, EQ is something you can work on and develop like a muscle.

Why is mental wellbeing important to your tech team? Mental health disorders accounted for the majority of days lost due to work-related ill health… 8.2 million per year, which is a huge number. What can leaders do?

EQ can have a powerful impact on an organisation’s measurable success, and it will continue to serve a critical role in ensuring diversity and preventing bias in technology moving forward. As AI continues to advance and become more integrated into our daily lives, it is imperative to prioritise EQ to ensure that these systems are serving us well.

When it comes to developing AI, EQ becomes increasingly important for tools like the below:

How can we personally develop necessary AI or EQ skills?

“AI ethics” is looking at defining moral principles for Artificial intelligence usage. EQ helps us understand the legal and social implications of AI application.

Sarah believes that we should be Developing AI for Social Good: individuals take responsibility. There is intentional collaboration between government, industry, academia, and civil society. This ensures we use our EQ, IQ, and push for diversity and inclusion in all aspects of our lives to develop better technology, encourage diversity of thought and have not just more successful teams but society.

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