Welcome to the What's Next! Podcast with Tiffani Bova.

This week, I'm joined by Vanessa Druscat. Vanessa is an associate professor at the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire. As an internationally recognized leadership and team performance expert, she advises leaders and teams at over a dozen Fortune 500 and Fortune Global 500 companies. She has a new book out called The Emotionally Intelligent Team.

THIS EPISODE IS PERFECT FOR…anybody who wants to unlock stronger collaboration, cohesion, and performance in their organizations by building emotionally intelligent teams.

TODAY'S MAIN MESSAGE…teams don't thrive just because the right people are in the room. They thrive when leaders create the conditions for connection, trust, and continuous improvement. In this conversation, Vanessa Druskat shares what decades of research reveal about emotionally intelligent teams and discusses how to transform a group of individuals into a high-performing, collaborative team.

KEY TAKEAWAYS…

• Teams perform better when leaders address core emotional needs like belonging and recognition.

• High-performing teams take time to really know one another, beyond just titles and roles.

• Every voice matters and innovation often comes from unexpected perspectives.

• Leaders don't need to have all the answers but they do need to ask the right questions and listen.

WHAT I LOVE MOST…Vanessa's reminder that emotionally intelligent teams aren't just "nicer" to work in, they're more effective. Taking time to build connection and belonging is a performance multiplier.

Running Time: 30:57

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Find Vanessa Online:

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Vanessa's Book:

The Emotionally Intelligent Team: Building Collaborative Groups that Outperform the Rest