Joshua Lindsey

Emotional intelligence doesn’t start with empathy. Or people skills. Or charisma.

It starts with self-awareness.

Because if you don’t understand your own emotional triggers:
– you can’t manage them.
– if you can’t manage them, you can’t stay calm.
– and without calm, you can’t lead—only react.

You can’t train IQ.
You can’t train personality.
But you can train emotional intelligence.
And it’s the only one of the three that predicts performance.

It’s a power dynamic.
The emotionally attuned hold disproportionate influence—because they pick up on what others miss, and adjust faster.
Most “natural leaders” are just emotionally literate people in emotionally illiterate teams.

Empathy Is a Non-Negotiable Leadership Skill. Here’s How to Practice It. When leaders have misconceptions of what empathy entails, they don’t know how to practice it—or they practice it badly. Many don’t bother to intentionally lead with empathy at all, and the stakes are…

Leaders often overestimate how good they are at being empathetic. Per the 2024 State of Workplace Empathy Report: A Game Plan, “55% of CEOs think they lead [with] empathy at work, but only 28% of employees and 22% of HR share that view.” Source:

“The more energy you spend issuing rules and correcting people’s behaviour, the less space there is for trust and autonomy. Instead focus on values. Yours, your organisations and your coworkers. When values are shared, people can guide themselves…”

change-management.co.uk/what-my-two-...

It’s 7.45am. We’re late. And my son is face down in full meltdown mode because he wants chocolate for breakfast.
Toast? An insult.
Logic? Pointless.
And in that moment, I realised something that changed how I lead:
🔗 change-management.co.uk/what-my-two-...

I am half-convinced that Steven Johnson, an extremely experienced historian, can make productive use of NotebookLM, but the article illustrates how using this technology requires a ton of experience working without it. This thread shows how even that experience may not be enough to avoid pitfalls.

Terrible news! You almost certainly think you’re more self aware than you are. But you can change that through reflection and feedback. Source: professional.dce.harvard.edu/blog/how-to-...

You can train emotional intelligence.
But you can’t do it in an afternoon workshop with clipart slides.
Behaviour change takes repetition, feedback, and discomfort.
Most EI training fails because it avoids all three.
👉 Source summary from meta-analyses in healthcare, 2023–24

Meanwhile my dog “caught” a discarded bread role from the compost bin this morning….

It was going so well. Then I got to “Harris’s Marines are breaking into a Naval Weapons Depot, which I was able to figure out because there's a giant sign hanging up just past the security gate that reads “Naval Weapons Depot.” God, I love this movie.” Before I broke down a laughed.

This quote, for me, made my eyes well up…

“I’m not crazy,” she said. “I’m literally just living a normal life while also, you know, discovering interdimensional communication. This caused tension with her husband…”

You don’t say!

Empathy Is a Non-Negotiable Leadership Skill. Here’s How to Practice It. When leaders have misconceptions of what empathy entails, they don’t know how to practice it—or they practice it badly. Many don’t bother to intentionally lead with empathy at all, and the stakes are…

Virtual meetings are overly transactional - HBR warns that in virtual settings, empathy must be deliberate—active check‑ins & verbal affirmation matter more than ever. #RemoteWork #EI

“What does a human slowly going insane look like to a corporation?” Mr. Yudkowsky asked in an interview. “It looks like an additional monthly user.” When the algorithm can warp your entire sense of reality there is going to be a lot of people hooked on its every sentence.

It’s extraordinary. “But in each case, the person had been persuaded that ChatGPT had revealed a profound and world-altering truth.” How long before we start to see full scale cults or cult adjacent groups built around AI?

The Positive Domino Effect of Psychological Safety When people feel safe speaking up in the workplace, says BCG’s Ulrike Schwarz-Runer, innovation and better business outcomes follow.

BCG found that when people feel safe speaking up, others follow—boosting motivation, innovation, and performance.
👉 The Positive Domino Effect of Psychological Safety

The ways my 2yo made me a better man this year:
– Attunement: Co-regulatation. Let others arrive at their own conclusions but hold them as they do.
– Wonder: Slow down. Watch them solve their tiny puzzles.
– Values: Set boundaries from conviction, not for the sake of control
#fathersday #parenting

To all the Dads - Happy Fathers Day!

To all the Mums who are the only father their child have - Happy Fathers Day!

To all those who are loving a child and who are making a difference to them - thank you!

Psychological Safety Levels the Playing Field for Employees Leading with empathy creates a secure environment that boosts performance and retention—especially for diverse employees.

BCG on retention: with high psychological safety, only 3% of employees plan to quit vs 12% in low-safety teams. Empathy = retention multiplier:

Empathy Is a Non-Negotiable Leadership Skill. Here’s How to Practice It. When leaders have misconceptions of what empathy entails, they don’t know how to practice it—or they practice it badly. Many don’t bother to intentionally lead with empathy at all, and the stakes are…

Empathy isn’t just soft—it’s essential. HBR says empathetic leaders who strive to understand, not just feel, foster trust & drive performance. #Leadership #EmotionalIntelligence
👉 Empathy Is a Non‑Negotiable Leadership Skill

Is this what you built Silicon Mingle on? It’s good!

Thank you. Great tip. I’ll take a look!

What other online platforms are the Makers of the Internet using at the moment? I heard someone talk about circle? If I’m building courses around teaching emotional intelligence whilst also learning about emotional intelligence myself what tools should I be using? #productivity #buildinginpublic

The vast majority of top executives across corporate America believe that companies should maintain—or even expand—initiatives to promote DEI, despite the government’s executive orders designed to compel them to do the opposite, a new survey shows.

Want to be a better communicator? You can learn from project management - JLH Coaching Having recently qualified as a Project Manager, and after ten years in communications, here's what comms professionals can learn from PMs

Whatever you do, if you want be a better communicator you don’t need more “creative flair”. You need better tools, more structure, and a strategic point of view.
Structure and strategy aren’t someone else’s job.
🔗

Humans love to hear they’re right. Humans also train chat bots like Chat GPT. As a result Sycophancy- or the software sucking up to the user- is rife. Even at the expense of truth.
#AI

www.freethink.com/robots-ai/ai...

Want to be a better communicator? Here's you can learn from project management - JLH Coaching Having recently qualified as a Project Manager, and after ten years in communications, here's what comms professionals can learn from PMs

Want to be a better communicator? Soft skills get you in the room. But hard structure keeps you there.
If you’re a trying to earn strategic credibility, stop skipping the “boring” bits.
🔗

This has been knocking about in my head for the last few days:

So how do we build resources to support growth in emotional intelligence so leaders are best equipped to engage?