3 key pieces of emotional intelligence all leaders need

Emotional intelligence is at the heart of good leadership, writes executive coach Naphtali Hoff, who emphasizes the role of empathy, active listening and being tuned in to others' emotions to create a culture where your team feels valued and safe to take the chances their work may demand. "Leaders with high emotional intelligence are better equipped to build strong relationships, foster teamwork and navigate challenging situations with finesse," Hoff writes.

Put it into practice: When you're actively listening and emotionally in tune with your team, you can spot problems before they arise and address them with empathy, Hoff writes. "Being attuned to emotions enables leaders to make informed decisions, motivate their teams effectively and navigate conflicts with empathy and tact."

Having a deep understanding of a subject may undermine your teaching effectiveness if you use long explanations, present information out of order or offer too many examples from personal experience, writes Justin Hale. Instead, Hale recommends keeping presentations simple, reading from your slides and ensuring your audience clearly understands the processes and concepts you're teaching them.

Put it into practice: Be careful when sharing examples from your experience that you're not making the presentation about you instead of the material you want your audience to learn, Hale cautions. Instead, hold your stories for when you're sure your audience has absorbed and understood your key points.

Remembering and finding meaning in your dreams the night before work can produce a sense of awe that "makes subsequent work stressors seem less daunting, bolstering resilience and productivity throughout the workday," according to Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business researchers. Anything that brings a sense of awe gives us a larger perspective on our role in the world, which means "we're more likely to view even cumbersome tasks at work as relatively unimportant in the grand scheme of things, and therefore more achievable," writes Adi Gaskell.

As another Super Bowl goes into the history books, flag football could be making history of its own as its popularity grows, especially among girls, and is finding support from NFL teams as well as becoming an Olympic sport in 2028, writes West Virginia University sociology professor Josh Woods. Flag football team members still face the risk of injury but lower chances of sustaining damaging head injuries since "tackles" consist of snatching one of two flags players wear around their waist, Woods notes.

I get up early for this job (that I love, btw), so I went to bed at halftime last night and missed the thrilling end to the Super Bowl. I really thought the 49ers were going to take the Lombardi trophy home, but never discount the magic of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and, of course, Taylor Swift. I'm reviewing the footage this morning!

For 49ers fans, maybe next year. For Chiefs fans, it's time to party -- perhaps even take a nap later.

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