Leading with EQ

Business, Leadership & Management

Course overview

Leadership success depends on more than technical expertise. The ability to build trust, influence others, navigate difficult conversations, and create high-performing teams is increasingly critical for managers and aspiring leaders. Designed for professionals with at least five years' work experience, Leading with EQ explores how emotional intelligence (EI) can strengthen your leadership effectiveness and workplace impact. You'll develop the self-awareness, empathy and interpersonal skills needed to lead with confidence, improve collaboration, manage pressure effectively and bring out the best in people and teams.

03 February 2027 - 04 February 2027

Places: Available

Delivery mode: In person

Application deadline: 27 January 2027

Places: Available

Apply now

Course features

Strong leaders understand that performance is built through people. This programme develops the emotional intelligence capabilities that help managers and leaders build high-performing teams, strengthen stakeholder relationships and create psychologically safe working environments.

Grounded in the latest research on emotional intelligence and leadership effectiveness, you'll learn how emotions influence decision-making, communication, collaboration and leadership performance. Through a combination of self-assessment, expert facilitation, peer learning and personalised coaching, you'll gain practical tools to better understand your leadership style, adapt your approach to different situations and lead more effectively under pressure.

Designed around immediate workplace application, the programme enables you to explore real leadership challenges with a cohort of experienced professionals from a range of sectors. You'll develop practical strategies to strengthen influence, manage conflict constructively, motivate others, navigate change and improve team performance.

A key feature of the programme is the EQ-i 2.0 emotional intelligence assessment and individual coaching session, providing valuable insight into your strengths, development opportunities and future leadership potential. The combination of evidence-based learning and personalised feedback ensures you leave with a clear action plan that can be applied immediately in your role.

Before we begin	Complete the EQ-i 2.0 assessment to gain a detailed understanding of your emotional intelligence profile, leadership preferences and interpersonal strengths. You'll receive a personalised report that highlights key development opportunities and provides a foundation for your learning throughout the programme.
Day 1: Understanding the science of social and emotional intelligence	Explore the research behind emotional intelligence and why it is increasingly recognised as a critical capability for effective leadership. Through expert-led discussion, interactive exercises and guided reflection, you'll examine the relationship between emotions, behaviour and performance, while identifying your own leadership strengths and development areas.
Day 2: Putting learning into practice	Apply emotional intelligence concepts to real workplace situations and leadership challenges. Working alongside experienced peers, you'll develop practical techniques for building trust, strengthening influence, managing conflict, delivering feedback, navigating difficult conversations and creating high-performing teams. You'll also explore how emotionally intelligent leadership can improve organisational performance and employee engagement.
Your individual coaching session	In a confidential one-to-one virtual coaching session, you'll explore your EQ-i 2.0 results in greater depth with an experienced coach. Together, you'll discuss challenges and opportunities specific to your role, identify priority development areas and create a personalised action plan to support your continued growth as a leader.

Our expertise

This programme combines King's College London's expertise in leadership development with practical, evidence-based approaches to improving leadership effectiveness. Developed in collaboration with experienced practitioners, the course draws on the latest research in emotional intelligence, leadership and organisational behaviour to help participants build stronger relationships, navigate complexity and lead with greater impact.

The programme is led by Dr Alexandra Budjanovcanin, Reader in Leadership at King's Business School and Programme Director for Professional and Executive Education. Her research focuses on leadership in modern organisations, exploring how leaders operate effectively in increasingly complex environments and how leadership practice evolves in response to changing workplace dynamics. These insights inform both the design of the programme and the practical frameworks used throughout the course.

As a certified Emotional Intelligence Practitioner (EQ-i 2.0 and EQ 360) and qualified coach, Alexandra brings extensive experience helping professionals develop greater self-awareness, strengthen their leadership presence and improve their effectiveness in leading others. Having designed and delivered leadership development programmes for organisations across the public and private sectors, she combines academic rigour with practical expertise to ensure participants leave with tools they can apply immediately in their own leadership contexts.

A fascinating course that gives you access to a new level of emotional self-awareness — something that’s becoming more and more crucial as new generations enter the workforce.

Ant JacksonCreative Director at Stonehaven and Co-Director at Outvertising

One of the big highlights was my one on one coaching with Dr Ali Budjanovcanin, it shone a light on some of the areas you are not aware of and need to improve.

Jatin KhannaCEO at Saravar Hotels and Resorts

Entry requirements

This programme is designed for professionals with a minimum of five years' work experience who want to enhance their leadership effectiveness.

It is particularly suited to:

Team leaders and people managers seeking to strengthen their leadership capability
Professionals leading projects, programmes or cross-functional teams
Individual contributors preparing for their first management role
Experienced professionals looking to increase their influence and leadership impact
Leaders seeking to improve team performance, collaboration and employee engagement

While formal line-management responsibility is not essential, participants will gain the greatest benefit if they currently manage people, projects or key stakeholder relationships.

Further information

On completing this programme, participants will be able to:

Explain how emotional intelligence contributes to leadership effectiveness and organisational success.
Demonstrate greater self-awareness and recognise how emotions influence behaviour, decision-making and leadership style.
Regulate emotional responses and lead effectively in high-pressure situations.
Build stronger relationships through improved empathy, communication and interpersonal awareness.
Create trust, psychological safety and collaboration within teams.
Apply emotionally intelligent leadership techniques to motivate, influence and engage others.
Manage difficult conversations, feedback and conflict with confidence and professionalism.
Integrate emotional intelligence into everyday leadership practice to drive sustained personal and team performance.