Level Up Your Leadership: Emotional Intelligence Tips for a High-Performing Workplace with Dr. Mari Weymouth
Episode 10
Struggling to lead effectively when emotions run high? You’re not alone.
Many leaders and HR professionals know emotional intelligence matters—but few understand how to actually apply it in high-stress, real-world situations.
In episode #10 of The People Success Circle, I’m joined by Dr. Mari Weymouth to break down what emotional intelligence in the workplace really looks like—beyond buzzwords and into everyday action.
Whether you’re leading a hybrid team, navigating change, or coaching high performers, this episode is packed with practical insights to help you lead with greater self-awareness, empathy, and impact.
🎧 Listen in or keep reading for actionable tips and takeaways you can use today.
In this episode, I chat with my dear friend and emotional intelligence expert, Dr. Mari Weymouth, who reveals how mastering self-awareness and emotion regulation can unlock unparalleled productivity and reduce burnout across your team.
Develop Transformative Leadership: Cultivate authentic leadership by harnessing emotional awareness to navigate challenges and drive impactful decisions.
Foster a Psychologically Safe Workplace: Create an environment where teams feel valued, conflict is managed effectively, and performance soars.
Regulate Emotions Under Pressure: Learn practical strategies to pause, reflect, and respond—not react—so you can maintain calm even in high-stress situations.
Leverage Unexpected Tools: Discover how cutting-edge solutions like ChatGPT can support your journey towards greater emotional intelligence, especially in today’s virtual work environments.
Enhance Non-Face-to-Face Interactions: Adapt your communication and engagement skills to thrive in remote and hybrid settings.
🎧 Tune in to hear how emotional intelligence can transform the way you lead—and help your people thrive.
🔗 Helpful Links
🌐 Mindy’s website for business consulting: https://www.limerockcareerco.com
🎧 Listen to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts
Episode 10: Watch or Listen
Key Takeaways From My Conversation With Dr. Mari Weymouth
Emotional Intelligence Starts with Self-Awareness
Emotional intelligence in the workplace begins with recognizing how we show up—especially in high-pressure situations. Dr. Mari emphasized that self-awareness is foundational. If a leader lacks it, growth in regulation or empathy simply can’t happen. Practicing mindfulness, pausing, and paying attention to our internal state helps us lead more intentionally.
Emotional Regulation Is a Daily Practice
Leadership isn’t just about managing others—it’s about managing ourselves. Emotional regulation is like a muscle; it requires daily work. From breathing exercises to taking a walk to getting enough sleep, we discussed tangible ways leaders can prevent burnout and stay emotionally grounded.
Why Emotional Intelligence Is Everyone’s Business
It’s not just for leaders. When individual contributors build emotional intelligence, they boost their own confidence, performance, and adaptability—regardless of their leader’s emotional maturity. This supports a high-performing workplace across all levels.
The Link Between Emotional Intelligence and Decision-Making
In stressful moments, our “fast brain” can lead us to react impulsively. Emotional intelligence helps us activate our “slow brain”—the part responsible for thoughtful, logical decision-making. Leaders who pause before reacting create more inclusive, psychologically safe environments.
Embedding Emotional Intelligence into Company Culture
Training alone isn’t enough. For emotional intelligence to truly transform your workplace culture, it needs to be modeled at the top and reinforced regularly. That includes leadership buy-in, systems support, and intentional follow-through—especially in hybrid or remote settings.
People First, Profits Follow
If you’re struggling to get leadership buy-in, here’s what I remind my clients: when the people side of the business isn’t working, everything suffers. Sales, service, retention, culture—it’s all connected. When you invest in your people, you build the foundation for long-term success. And it all starts with seeing what’s really going on behind the curtain.
🎧 Want the full story, examples, and action steps?
Listen to the full episode of The People Success Circle for more insights on building a thriving culture that drives results.
Read the full transcript
Mindy:
I am so excited to have a guest today who I call my business BFF, Madi Weymouth.
We both own small businesses in San Antonio, and after getting to know her, I realized that the wealth of knowledge she brings is something I want my guests to hear. So with that, welcome, Mari. Thank you for joining the podcast today.
Dr. Mari:
Hi Mindy, thanks for having me today. What an honor to be here and to share and partake in sharing about emotional intelligence today.
Mindy:
Yes, I'm so glad to have you. To start out, Mari, do you want to just tell us about your background and your business and what led you to be an expert in emotional intelligence?
Dr. Mari:
Sure. I’m born and raised in San Antonio. I'm a Latina, first generation, and grew up here with my parents who were entrepreneurs. Early in life, it was more about survival mode.
After getting mentors and people around me that really saw something in me I didn’t see in myself, they started to open my mind to new possibilities and made me curious to explore. Now I’m in what I call my sharing phase. I've thrived through failures and successes, and now I can share with others.
My business is People Whisper Solutions. I help organizations—especially their people—navigate leadership development, strategy execution, and change management. It’s really about helping people grow and develop through all these different changes.
Mindy:
I love that. And one of the things that is so impressive about you, Mari, is your deep work in studying leadership. Do you want to tell us a little bit about that?
Dr. Mari:
I had this thirst for knowledge and decided to pursue my PhD—something I never imagined. I didn’t even know it existed at one point! But I got curious. Leadership really spoke to me. I loved studying it.
We studied 13 different theories, and emotional intelligence was my favorite. It really made me reflect—what am I doing differently now to be more impactful with others and in my work?
Mindy:
I love that. And I feel like I learned about emotional intelligence by observing you and the way you carry yourself as a business owner and leader. For people who’ve heard of emotional intelligence but maybe haven’t grasped what it means, can you give us a layman’s definition?
Dr. Mari:
Absolutely. Emotional intelligence is really about how you’re showing up. It has two main parts.
First is how you're aware of your own emotions and how you're projecting them—your self-awareness and self-regulation. Second is the social aspect—how you’re observing and adapting to your environment. It's about being present and adapting appropriately based on what’s going on around you.
Mindy:
And we’re going to dive into how that affects leaders and job seekers too. My podcast is called The People Success Circle because I believe every people-related process—hiring, feedback, performance reviews, terminations—it’s all part of a loop. And emotional intelligence bleeds into all of that. It’s the foundation.
So Mari, you’ve built your business around helping people develop emotional intelligence. What first sparked your interest?
Dr. Mari:
When I first heard about emotional intelligence, I thought I understood it. But once I started doing more research during my PhD, I realized it was much deeper.
It became a daily practice for me. I have to watch myself and my emotions so they don’t control how my day turns out. Like going to the gym—you have to keep the muscle strong or it fades.
Mindy:
So emotional intelligence isn’t just something you learn once—it’s a continuous practice. How would you define it in a way that’s practical for everyday life?
Dr. Mari:
There’s a book called Thinking Fast and Slow by Dr. Kahneman. He talks about how our brain has two systems: fast and slow.
Fast brain is reactive—fight or flight. It keeps us safe. Slow brain is more thoughtful and logical. Emotional intelligence is about activating the slow brain—pausing before reacting.
We practice our slow brain with meditation, breathing, walking, slowing down. But in today’s world, we’re overstimulating our fast brain—social media, constant dopamine hits—so we have to be intentional about pausing.
Mindy:
I love that image of activating our slow brain. As a mom of teen boys who love video games—and as someone who overuses her phone—I relate. Being present and mindful really does help.
Dr. Mari:
Yes, it enriches our relationships and helps us connect more meaningfully.
Mindy:
Let’s talk about emotional intelligence in the workplace. Many companies struggle with retention, engagement, and well-being. How can leaders use emotional intelligence to improve the employee experience?
Dr. Mari:
From an organizational and individual perspective, emotional intelligence matters. If we invest in developing it across all levels—not just for leaders but for team members too—people perform better and feel a greater sense of belonging.
Even if a leader isn’t emotionally mature, an emotionally intelligent team member can still perform well. But when both leader and team have high emotional intelligence, the results are powerful.
Mindy:
You also work with organizations navigating leadership challenges and change. How does emotional intelligence support that process?
Dr. Mari:
You have to meet people where they are—understand their change readiness. That requires emotional intelligence—listening, caring, adapting.
It takes time and relationship-building to do it effectively.
Mindy:
And that emotional intelligence helps leaders build trust and show up the right way. How do systems support that?
Dr. Mari:
I use a framework called “the work to be done,” which includes leadership behavior and organizational systems.
Leaders inspire and guide people. But systems—like strategic planning, project management, risk management—create the structure needed as a company grows.
You need both: leaders to inspire, and systems to support.
Mindy:
Right. And when we only have one and not the other—results without empathy or empathy without follow-through—it doesn’t work.
What advice do you have for leaders under pressure who struggle to manage emotions?
Dr. Mari:
It’s critical. Without regulating your emotions, you risk burnout, anxiety, and more.
Acknowledge your emotions, but don’t let them define you. Don’t say, “I am angry.” Say, “I feel angry.” Let the emotion visit your mental lobby, but don’t let it move in.
Regulation is the hardest part of emotional intelligence. Sleep, mindfulness, walking, yoga—anything that helps you pause helps build that regulation muscle.
Mindy:
Sleep is such a game-changer. Can you share your story about how sleep—or lack of it—impacted your judgment?
Dr. Mari:
Yes. In April 2024, I was traveling from Orlando to Atlanta and exhausted after a long week. I ended up getting into a car with someone I thought was an Uber driver—but he wasn’t.
I wasn’t harmed, thankfully, but it was a lapse in judgment. I was so tired I didn’t even question it. It reminded me how important rest is. Even with emotional intelligence, when we’re exhausted, we’re not thinking clearly.
Mindy:
That’s such an important reminder. We don’t function at our best without rest. For organizations wanting to build emotional intelligence, where should they start?
Dr. Mari:
Partner with someone you trust to help create a thoughtful strategy. It’s not a one-time training—it’s an ongoing process. Start with leadership buy-in. They need to model the behaviors. Then cascade training thoughtfully throughout the organization, followed by reinforcement.
Mindy:
What happens if someone gets the training but doesn’t change? When do you move to accountability?
Dr. Mari:
It starts with self-awareness. If that’s not there, nothing else will stick.
If you’ve exhausted coaching and development and still see no behavior change, it’s time for a crucial conversation. Don’t delay. I’ve waited too long in the past, and it did a disservice to everyone—the team, the organization, and the individual.
Mindy:
Yes, and sometimes people think, “This is just who I am,” but we have to be aware of how we affect others. On the flip side, what can someone do if their organization hasn’t adopted emotional intelligence as a practice?
Dr. Mari:
Don’t wait. Leaders can take initiative. There are so many free resources out there. Learn, practice, and model the behavior. It becomes contagious.
Individual contributors can also benefit. When they build emotional intelligence, they become more resilient and confident—even without a mature leader.
Practice scenarios, use language tools (even ChatGPT helps!), and build that muscle over time.
Mindy:
Do you have any recommended books or tools?
Dr. Mari:
Yes! Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Dr. Bradbury. It’s practical, easy to follow, and has great strategies for self-awareness, regulation, social awareness, and relationship-building.
Mindy:
How does emotional intelligence affect decision-making at the leadership level?
Dr. Mari:
When we’re reactive—fast brain—we get defensive and shut others down. Emotional intelligence allows us to pause, be curious, and consider other perspectives.
It supports a growth mindset and helps leaders build inclusive teams that value diverse thinking.
Mindy:
What about in hybrid or remote workplaces? How does emotional intelligence play a role?
Dr. Mari:
Environment matters. We need to observe, adapt, and set clear norms—just like we do in a library or a funeral.
Some people worry they’ll lose authenticity by being “professional,” but it’s really about adapting to the environment, not changing who you are.
Leaders should set expectations—like turning on cameras or how we engage virtually. When we communicate clearly and often, it supports stronger team connections.
Mindy:
Yes—so many people want remote work, and it’s key to show up with emotional intelligence to earn and maintain that flexibility.
Final question, Mari: what advice would you give job seekers about using emotional intelligence in the interview process?
Dr. Mari:
Do your homework—on the company and the people. You want to go from stranger to acquaintance quickly and build trust.
Emotional intelligence helps you connect authentically and professionally. It’s not about the perfect interview—it’s about showing up as your best self and demonstrating that you care enough to prepare.
Mindy:
I could not agree more. Thank you so much, Mari. This has been such a powerful and practical conversation. I know our listeners will take so much away from it.
