Roughly two-thirds of what separates star performers from average ones is emotional competence

👥 The people who grow fastest don't feel less. They understand what they feel and choose what to do next. ✨ That's emotional intelligence, and it's a skill you can build — not a fixed trait. The **Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations** reports that **roughly two-thirds of what separates star performers from average ones is emotional competence, not technical skill — and in top leadership roles, more than 80%.** Yale's Center for Emotional Intelligence gives us a simple backbone for building it — RULER: 🔍 **Recognize & Understand** — catch the signal before the story. ➡️ Grow it: when something stings, pause and ask, "what am I feeling, and what's underneath it?" You stop reacting to the wrong thing. 🏷️ **Label it precisely.** ➡️ "I'm stressed" is a fog; "I'm overwhelmed because I'm carrying this alone" is a map. Precise words turn a feeling into something you can act on. 🗣️ **Express it cleanly.** ➡️ Share the feeling and the need, skip the blame: "I felt sidelined on that call; I'd like a heads-up next time" lands. "You ignored me" doesn't. 🧭 **Regulate under pressure.** ➡️ The pause is the whole skill — and optimism is trainable too: the EI Consortium found salespeople high in learned optimism sold **37% more in their first two years than pessimists.** Build one reliable reset: a breath, a walk, a night before you reply. ➡️ This is where teams win or lose, too — a peer-reviewed review of **104 studies (1998–2022)** found weak emotional-intelligence environments breed more task and relationship conflict. 💬 Which RULER skill would change your week the most — recognizing, labeling, expressing, or regulating? Tell me below 👇 — Fernando Bello · Author of "Find the Best — A Full Guide for Product Management" · LinkedIn Top Product Management Voice hashtag#EmotionalIntelligence hashtag#Leadership hashtag#EmployeeGrowth hashtag#EQ hashtag#FridayReflection hashtag#ProductManagement hashtag#OperationsLeadership 📚 Sources for the stats: ➡️ Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations — The Business Case for Emotional Intelligence: https://lnkd.in/eRhpFic6 ➡️ Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence — The RULER Approach: https://lnkd.in/ecfm283C ➡️ Emotional Intelligence, Leadership & Work Teams — peer-reviewed review of 104 studies (PMC/NCBI, 2023): https://lnkd.in/eb9TPNU4 ➡️ University of West Alabama — The Science of Emotion: https://lnkd.in/eeTdXEb8