Emotional Intelligence — The Superpower HR Must Harness to Truly Influence
Influencing Skills for HR Teams
HR frequently faces the challenge of how to influence without formal authority – an issue that comes increasingly to the fore as organizations become flatter, more decentralized and more complex.
Research consistently shows that emotional intelligence (EQ) is one of the strongest predictors of influence – especially in complex, politically sensitive environments.
It might sound surprising to suggest that HR, of all functions, needs to enhance its emotional intelligence. After all, isn’t HR already about people?
And yet, we see the opposite. We see HR teams struggling to influence when they lack formal authority to mandate change, often resorting to tactics that are ultimately counterproductive.
That’s why emotional intelligence is rapidly becoming one of the most essential tools in the HR Business Partner’s kit. At Threshold, we help HR teams to develop their EQ muscle. This means that they more readily and instinctively respond to resistance by seeking rapport based on mutual understanding. In other words, they learn to treat resistance as a cue to change their strategy, whereas in the past they may simply have pushed their agenda harder.
Let’s take a recent example. One of our clients, a large professional services firm, had agreed to relocate its software development team from India to a client’s HQ in the EU.
The deal was nearly done when HR spotted a legal risk: A potential breach of EU immigration law that had been overlooked.
If left unaddressed, the fine could have reached a percentage of global turnover – an astronomical sum.
It was a high-stakes moment. Tensions were high. The business did not want to hear this so late in the process. But the HR Business Partner didn’t start by pushing the risk.
She started by listening – really listening – to the pressures the business was under. Then she reflected back what she heard, showing she understood the stakes. She acknowledged the reality without judgment.
Only after building that connection did she begin to explore solutions—together with the business.
And the conversation moved forward, without damaging relationships.
This is the essence of affective attunement – a concept from social psychology that describes how emotionally aligned responses build trust and reduce defensiveness.
Why EQ Is a Game-Changer for HR
We humans are far more likely to act on advice when we believe the adviser truly gets us – when they can see the world from our side of the table. If you want people to act, the relationship is just as important as the argument. Too often, HR gets stuck being technically right but seen as disconnected. And that leads to resistance.
Emotional Intelligence – The Superpower HR Must Harness to Truly Influence
The good news is that EQ – unlike IQ – is largely learnable. Evidence shows that techniques to ‘walk a mile’ in the shoes of others and understand their thoughts and feelings builds emotional intelligence. These are the methods and techniques that we teach HR professionals at Threshold.
We use:
- ‘Immersive theatre,’ dramatizing real-world scenarios that HR professionals face allowing them to deconstruct the dynamics and see the situation from different perspectives
- Simulated stakeholder interactions – designed to test emotional judgement in live scenarios.
- Live coaching – focused on how to influence when stakes and emotions are high.
- Neuroscience-based self-awareness tools – helping HR adjust how they show up under pressure.
HR professionals with strong emotional intelligence:
- Get invited in earlier.
- Build lasting alliances.
- Lead change with less friction and more respect.
Because how you show up shapes what happens next
At Threshold, we are helping our clients to ensure that their human workforce is committed, engaged and ready for the technology revolution. We do this by bringing about small shifts in line manager behaviour that make a big difference. To find out more visit www.threshold.co.uk
