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🎙 Emotional Intelligence Is a Leadership Discipline—Not a Personality Trait

In this episode of the Elite Leader Insights™ Podcast, Donald C. Kunkel Jr. breaks down one of the most misunderstood elements of leadership: emotional intelligence.

Too many leaders still treat EQ as a soft skill—or worse, a personality trait you're either born with or not. But the truth is, emotional intelligence is a discipline, and it’s one that separates those who manage people from those who truly influence them.

Drawing from the TECCA™ Influence System and insights from The Foundations of Influence, this episode explores why EQ is the thread that connects trust, communication, and leadership credibility—and how leaders can start developing it with intention.

This is for every leader who's ever been told to “stay calm” or “be more empathetic” but was never given the tools to do it.

You’ll learn:

• The Five Core Areas of Emotional Intelligence (based on Goleman’s research)
• Why empathy without self-regulation can do more harm than good
• How blind spots in EQ quietly derail your leadership
• A real-world story from Donnie’s First Sergeant experience that shows EQ in action
• Coaching tips to build your EQ as a habit—not a buzzword

Resources Mentioned:

• The Foundations of Influence: The Power to Lead & Inspire
• TECCA™ Influence Assessment + Power Profile™
• Elite Leader Insights™ Newsletter

Final Thought:
You can’t lead others if you can’t lead yourself—and emotional intelligence is where that leadership begins.

Elite Leader Insights is hosted by Donald C. Kunkel Jr., founder of the Elite Leadership Center, author of The Foundations of Influence: The Power to Lead and Inspire, and creator of the TECCA Influence System

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