Leading with emotional intelligence: Guest blog by Jim Mayer

We’re thrilled to welcome Jim Mayer, founder of the Manufacturing Connector podcast, passionate advocate for manufacturing culture, as our guest author, sharing how emotional intelligence can shape people, teams, and legacies in modern manufacturing.

What one simple thing can you do in your organisation, that will inspire employees, improve business results, and improve satisfaction for staff and customers? The answer, cultivate emotional intelligence.

Sometimes it feels like we’re trying to remove the human element from manufacturing. All too often, we talk about humans as a source of error. We live in the age of artificial intelligence. Machines have started to learn, in many cases faster and more efficiently than the human brain.

Manufacturing facilities can seem like very alien places. With strange metallic shapes, tubes and pipes emerging from walls and disappearing into other structures. There might be danger signs, warnings of electric shocks, moving machinery and whatever you do, don’t step outside the safety lines.

These are places of cold logic and ruthless efficiency, endlessly refined and optimised. Engineering, manufacturing and industry are hardly the right place for emotions and empathy. Or are they?

The human side of manufacturing

As human beings, we like to think of ourselves as logical and rational, nowhere more so than in the industrial setting. But we must never forget that we are also (perhaps primarily) social, biological, and emotional. We develop emotional connections not only with each other, but with manufactured goods themselves. How many of the world’s cars have names? How many factories have a machine called Big Bertha?

In regions where manufacturing has traditionally been strong, communities develop deep cultural ties to those industries. Californians feel pride in Silicon Valley as a leader in innovation. These connotations are felt all the more strongly in areas where industries have declined – Detroit in the US is known as Motor City, Manchester in the UK was once known as Cottonopolis.

Manufacturing though is more than a livelihood. It’s part of our culture. Like no other, manufacturing is an industry where the biggest new ideas come to life. It might have taken several hundred years for the helicopter leave the pages of Da Vinci’s sketchbook, but there’s as much beauty in the engineering and finished product as there is in the original drawings.

The case for emotional intelligence in manufacturing

Consider two different business leaders. Both have the same tools, the same resources available to them, yet they achieve different results. The first is “data driven but disconnected”. They know all the KPIs and what the precise impact will be if they shave a few seconds off one process, save a few grams of material, or reorganise a workflow. They know the power and potential of digital transformation and push it strongly. Team compliance is high because they enforce strict adherence to processes. But the focus is purely on numbers and efficiency, leaving little room for creativity or connection. Over time, this approach can lead to a workplace that feels impersonal, transactional and devoid of innovation which is ultimately the key to longer-term success.

The emotionally intelligent leader

Now imagine a different kind of leader, one who engages with their team, communicates openly and values collaboration. This second leader understands the emotional undercurrents in the team. During times of organisational change, this leader engages people early in the process and uses empathy to build trust and address the concerns within the group. They build a workplace where employees feel involved, motivated, and ultimately more productive.

The difference between these two might be called “emotional intelligence”.

“… the capacity not only to be aware of and able to express our emotions but to manage and moderate them effectively too. Emotional intelligence is what prevents anger from turning into rage and sadness into despair.”

Daniel Goleman, Psychologist, journalist and author of “Emotional Intelligence”

Cultivating emotional intelligence is what turns a manager into a leader. Bringing with them all the benefits of the data driven approach, the emotionally intelligent leader adds a layer of humanity. By truly valuing people and communication, innovation becomes a hallmark of this leader’s operation. They begin to take a creative lead on the competition, consistently outperforming them over and over again.

Once we can recognise and manage the emotions within us as individuals, we can begin to do the same thing with others. Here we take a step towards empathy. In common talk, that means “putting yourself in someone else’s shoes” and there’s a handy technique to help with that.

How to build emotional intelligence with the VALUE technique

Emotional intelligence is a broad concept that encompasses a range of emotional and social skills. It’s something you can learn and practice.

One of the key components is empathy. There’s a strong argument to see empathy as a strategic asset. Put simply, it makes leaders more effective. It makes employees more engaged. It makes your customers happier and your competitors very nervous. In the age of AI, robotics and automation, empathy has never been more important.

If you’re the kind of manufacturing leader who is looking for self-development tools to help you create more successful operations, the VALUE technique is a handy way to understand and lead in precisely that way, emphasising communication and problem solving.

V – Validate

This is about acknowledging another person’s feelings and experiences. A good leader makes people feel valued. This builds trust and promotes communication and collaboration.

A – Ask questions

Sometimes the asking of a question is more important than the question itself, or the content of the response. When you ask a question, it signals to the other person that you are interested and you want to know more. It tells them that you value their contribution. Open questions like “can you tell me more about that” or “can you give me some more details” invite deeper conversation and help avoid assumptions and misunderstandings.

L – Listen

Hearing is passive. It’s something we do almost every second of every day without even thinking. Listening is active. It’s something you must consciously do, avoiding distractions, maintaining eye contact and not interrupting. If you find yourself formulating a response while the other person is still talking, you’re not listing. Active listening shows respect. It’s the best way, perhaps the only way, to understand the other person.

U – Understand the meaning behind the words

People talk for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, what someone says on the surface doesn’t fully capture what they’re feeling. Empathy means being able to read (or listen) between the lines. Instead of asking “what” a person is talking about, ask yourself “why” that person is saying what they are saying. Don’t always take things on face value. Look for the meaning behind the words.

E – Empathise

Have you ever noticed how being in the company of some people makes you feel at ease? Some people have an ability to bring out the best in others. You might feel like that person just “gets” you. There’s no judgement, just understanding. That’s empathy, and it’s what ties all this together.

The VALUE model helps manufacturing leaders that place a value on continuous improvement to build empathy which in turn cultivates emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence is a critical leadership capability, even in seemingly logic-driven environments like manufacturing. The VALUE technique offers a practical roadmap for improving communication and building stronger teams.

Human emotions tell us so much about ourselves and the people around us. Far from being an awkward and unfortunate quirk of evolution, they are a valuable part of what links us all together, our humanity. Great leaders know this and they employ a range of techniques to use this knowledge.

Behind every workflow, KPI, or machine is a person with emotions, aspirations and ideas. Those who lead with emotional intelligence can inspire their teams, drive better results, and build a powerful culture of trust, understanding, and ultimately success.