Applying emotional intelligence to technical program management

Emotions and their management are present in our everyday lives. They impact our ability to focus, make decisions, and influence the emotions of everyone around us. This includes at work, where emotions impact social dynamics between co-workers and influence meeting directions and outcomes. In times of high stress, like a looming project deadline or a risk being realized, emotions are often heightened, and our responses can be redirected toward illogical or reactive actions. The ability to control and direct emotions for yourself and those around you is an effective tool for mitigating issues and resolving conflicts, in a compassionate and empathetic manner.

Emotional intelligence can go the other way too, if not handled well. Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft in the early 2000s, has been depicted as a passionate leader who cultivated a cut-throat and adversarial culture. The adversarial nature was both between internal...