Maya spent three weeks putting together the quarterly presentation. She put a lot of effort into crafting each slide and reviewing every bit of data. As the marketing team gathered to review it, she felt proud and eager to showcase her work.
James, the senior designer, cut her off two minutes into the presentation. “This color scheme doesn’t work,” he said . “These graphs are hard to follow. , it just doesn’t look polished enough.”
Maya’s cheeks turned bright red as she froze. Some of her teammates avoided eye contact focusing on their phones, while others shifted . Nobody said a word.
“I… I thought this was the plan we agreed on last week,” Maya managed to say, her voice trembling.
“You missed the point,” James shot back folding his arms across his chest. “We can’t show this to the executives tomorrow. It needs a complete redo.”
Sarah stayed quiet, her focus on her laptop like she hadn’t heard the conversation. Maya felt a sting of embarrassment as her eyes started to water. She realized she had two paths: fight for her work knowing it might spark an argument, or step back and let the others take control.
The team had until tomorrow morning to finalize the presentation, which was crucial to their quarterly review. Maya could feel the pressure in the room growing as everyone stared waiting to see what she’d say. Her heartbeat raced, and a storm of frustration, sadness, and stress swirled inside her.
Time to Think It Through
Imagine being in Maya’s place. How would you respond during such a high-pressure moment? Think beyond just this single interaction. Consider what you’d do to manage the relationships involved, meet the project deadline, and maintain your own emotional balance.
Jot down your thoughts: What exact steps would you take right now, and how would you handle this situation with your words and actions?
View the answer
SOLUTION:
🔴 LOW EI RESPONSES (Weaknesses)
Struggles with Self-Awareness:
- “Whatever, your opinion doesn’t matter!” (leaves )
- Challenge: Lacks self-awareness and struggles to recognize or handle emotional tension.
Quick Emotional Reactions:
- “You’re upset because you weren’t chosen to lead this project. Your designs aren’t even relevant anymore!”
- EI Weakness: Struggling with self-regulation by letting emotions dictate responses and actions
Failure to Understand Others:
- “You have no clue what you’re saying. I’ve been putting in effort for weeks, and you’ve done a thing!”
- EI Weakness: Lacking empathy by not considering how others feel or the challenges the team faces
Ignoring Team Signals:
- Pushing forward with a presentation despite noticing discomfort from teammates
- EI Weakness: Missing social awareness like failing to pick up on group dynamics
Reacting Aggressively Under Pressure:
- “Fine. Go ahead and handle it yourself. Let’s see how much better you do in just one day!”
- EI Weakness: Strains professional relationships because of poor relationship management.
Passive-Aggressive Response:
- Pulling back from discussions talking, or refusing to help.
- EI Weakness: Lacks clear communication dodging conflict but increasing unease.
Emotional Manipulation:
- “, all the effort I put in doesn’t even matter here. Maybe I should just leave.”
- EI Weakness: Playing on emotions to sway others instead of tackling problems .
🟢 HIGH EI RESPONSES (Strengths)
High Self-Awareness:
- “I think I’m feeling pretty defensive right now. Let me take a second to figure out how to look at this feedback more .”
Strength in EI: Self-awareness—realizing how you’re feeling before responding
Keeping Emotions in Check:
- Taking a moment to breathe and asking, “Can you break down which areas need work?”
Strength in EI: Self-regulation—handling those gut reactions in a more helpful way
Understanding Others’ Feelings:
- “James, I can tell you’re worried about how the presentation turned out. Sarah, it looks like tomorrow’s deadline is stressing you out. What steps can we take as a team to fix this?”
Strength in EI: Empathy—seeing things from others’ points of view and recognizing their feelings
Being Aware of the Group Dynamic:
- Noticing the team looks uncomfortable and saying, “I think we’re all under pressure. Why don’t we focus on finding solutions?”
- EI Strength: Social awareness – understanding group feelings and dynamics
Building Relationships:
- “Thanks for the feedback, James. Let’s arrange a quick session to work your ideas in.”
- EI Strength: Relationship management – keeping relationships positive even in disagreements
Clear Communication:
- “I want to get a better idea of the exact changes. Can we take 15 minutes after this meeting to review them together?”
- EI Strength: Social skills – expressing needs but respecting others at the same time
Working Together to Solve Issues:
“Since we’re short on time how about splitting the revisions between team members and meeting back in two hours?”
EI Value: Combines self-control understanding others’ feelings, and teamwork skills