Emotional Intelligence in the Age of AI

Part three of our four-week series “AI and Human Potential”, a practical guide to managing change with clarity, empathy and confidence.

AI can draft, summarise and search patterns at a pace that would take us hours. It cannot notice a sigh in a tense room, read a pause in a client’s voice or make meaning from a setback. EQ is not a nice to have in the age of AI. It is what keeps us human, ethical and effective while we use the tools. This sits right at the heart of change management. Tools may change processes, yet EQ protects dignity, pace and quality as people learn.

Start with your own state. Before we choose a tool, we choose a way of being. If AI triggers threat, you may avoid learning or over-control every step. If it triggers thrill, you may skip guardrails. Your Emotional Growth Journey: A Practical Guide [1] offers a simple way to spot where you are and choose one stabilising practice for the week. This guide shows how emotional intelligence in the age of AI keeps work human and effective. Clients use that to begin pilots with more steadiness and clearer choices. If your inner critic gets loud during change, Emotions and Self-Compassion: Learning to Accept and Support Yourself [2] can lower the pressure so you can learn again.

EQ turns tools into trustworthy teammates.

A quick self-compassion script

Try this line when a pilot wobbles. “This is hard and that is normal. I can learn one thing from this and try again.” Say it once, breathe out slowly and write the one thing you will change next time. It sounds small. It keeps you moving.

Empathy is the next lever. A large field study found that a generative AI assistant especially helped less experienced agents, largely by exposing them to effective patterns [3]. That is a chance to widen access to know-how, provided we design for dignity and support. As org charts flatten and spans of control widen, EQ becomes the social glue that prevents overload and keeps coordination humane. The WSJ notes this shift is already underway, which is why listening, buddying and clear ownership matter more than ever [8]. Agree pairs for two weeks. Each pair asks two questions after using AI once a day. What was helpful. What needed my judgement. Share the best tip in your Friday note.

If team emotions are running hot, the playbook in Navigating Emotions in Relationships: Building Connection and Understanding [4] gives practical language for listening and repair.

• Resilience is about staying in the work and keeping your care switched on. A short weekly rhythm helps.

• Start meetings with a one-word weather check so people arrive fully.

• Capture one AI win and one human boundary after each pilot.

• Use Integrating Emotional Growth into Daily Life: Building Lasting Habits [5] to anchor tiny rituals that make the rhythm stick.

Keep perspective on what hybrid work can and cannot do. A recent review in Nature Human Behaviour found that human and AI combinations often underperform the best of humans or AI alone on decision tasks, while showing more promise in content creation [6]. It is a reminder to choose the work wisely and keep ownership clear. This echoes Embracing Emotions as Catalysts for Change [7], which invites you to turn feeling into thoughtful action rather than outsourcing thinking to speed.

Finally, zoom out to the labour market. New analysis suggests the market has not been seriously disrupted so far. There is time to learn and adjust, which lowers the temperature and helps teams build capability without panic. Use that time to decide what you want to be known for. Invest in the parts of your craft that are most human. Deep listening. Clear judgement. Courageous, compassionate conversations [9] [10].

Something for you to reflect on. Which EQ habit will you practise before your next AI assisted task so that you lead the tool rather than follow it.

Next in our series finale: From Fear to Focus: Reframing AI at Work. We will turn today’s EQ into a simple 30-day plan for speed, quality and meaning, with boundaries that keep you human.

Learn more about Coaching for the AI Era and how I help leaders and teams build EQ-centred adoption plans that actually stick.

FAQ

Can EQ be taught quickly. Yes. Micro-habits such as a one-word weather check and a two question debrief build awareness and empathy without slowing work. Why push EQ if AI already boosts output. Because hybrid work underperforms when ownership and safety are unclear. EQ practices protect both.

References

[1] CO Coaching. Your Emotional Growth Journey: A Practical Guide. 23 Dec 2024.

[2] CO Coaching. Emotions and Self-Compassion: Learning to Accept and Support Yourself. 13 Dec 2024.

[3] Brynjolfsson E, Li D, Raymond L. Generative AI at Work. The Quarterly Journal of Economics. 2025. Oxford University Press.

[4] CO Coaching. Navigating Emotions in Relationships: Building Connection and Understanding. 11 Dec 2024.

[5] CO Coaching. Integrating Emotional Growth into Daily Life: Building Lasting Habits. 16 Dec 2024.

[6] Vaccaro M, Almaatouq A, Malone T. When combinations of humans and AI are useful. Nature Human Behaviour. 2024. Also summarised by MIT Sloan.

[7] CO Coaching. Embracing Emotions as Catalysts for Change and Personal Transformation. 20 Dec 2024.

[8] The Wall Street Journal. AI Is Turning Traditional Corporate Org Charts Upside Down. 16 Sep 2025.

[9] Yale Budget Lab. Evaluating the Impact of AI on the Labour Market. 2025.

[10] Brookings. New data show no AI jobs apocalypse for now. 2025.