In today’s shifting economic condition, marked by persistently high interest rates, slowing global growth, and tight talent markets in critical sectors, organizations are under pressure to do more with leaner, more adaptable teams. Beyond traditional tactics around process efficiency and headcount reduction, success in navigating these systemic conditions increasingly hinges on social capital: the collective trust, resilience, and engagement shared across an organization.

Emotional intelligence (EQ) plays a pivotal role here. In 2025, over 75% of Fortune 500 companies consider EQ essential to building these qualities into teams. Yet despite spending thousands per employee on coaching, upskilling, and workshops, gains in EQ and social capital are often short-lived, hard to scale, and inconsistent across organizations. To date, fewer than 20% of large U.S. companies have succeeded in fully integrating EQ at an organizational level.

This session explores how high-performing organizations are closing that gap — moving EQ beyond the interpersonal and into the structural to generate social capital at scale. When market leaders like Microsoft invest in EQ they don’t just develop individual leaders. They embed coveted EQ capabilities into the operating system of the organization, creating sustainable business and cultural impact.

The overlooked truth that most organizations miss? EQ’s root value isn’t about better communication or “managing” emotion. It’s a strategic lens for systemically discerning and diagnosing the hidden destructive performance patterns behind large-scale disengagement, resistance, and turnover at scale.

By shifting from one-off programs to systemic EQ integration, through policies, rhythms, and embedded practices, organizations unlock more aligned, agile, and resilient core teams for today’s economic climate. The result: healthier cultures, greater engagement and innovation, and ~25% greater profitability.