Whilst recently spending a fair chunk of time with my head in business strategy I was reminded in one of my coaching engagements that breadth is important. What do I mean by that…..well, many people assume that success in leadership comes from strategic thinking, financial acumen, or technical expertise. But research in various pockets, has consistently shown that the most effective leaders excel in other areas, of which people skills is the most prominent.
We talk about concepts such as emotional intelligence, communication, trust-building, and coaching, as examples of this. Leaders who invest in these kinds of areas tend to drive higher engagement, better business results, and stronger teams. If you haven’t seen any of the research over the years then where have you been hiding. Yet, despite the overwhelming evidence, many leaders still neglect to develop these skills. Why is that?
Let’s start with the evidence (in case you needed it)
Multiple studies have shown that people-focused leadership isn’t just a “nice-to-have” skill—it’s a business necessity if you want higher levels of performance. Here’s a few bits of research that talk to its importance which you may or may not have seen before:
🔹 Emotional Intelligence & Leadership – Daniel Goleman’s research has been well documented. Amongst other things it found that 90% of top-performing leaders score high in emotional intelligence (EQ), which includes self-awareness, empathy, and communication.
🔹 Gallup’s Engagement Research – Teams with highly engaged employees achieve 23% higher profitability and 18% higher productivity. And what drives engagement? Leaders who listen, coach, and build trust.
🔹 Google’s Project Oxygen – This one got me curious given this was a tech company. Google’s internal study found that their most effective managers weren’t the most technically skilled—they were the ones who excelled in coaching, communication, and emotional intelligence.
I would say these are fairly credible sources and tend to re-enforce each other. The list could go on, there are more.
Despite all of this, some leaders still don’t prioritise people skills
This causes a bit of a head scratch on the surface. It’s obvious that we should, isn’t it?
There will be a host of reasons behind this, beliefs, hard formed styles and habits come to mind. Based on my own experience and thoughts on this particular subject, I would say these are some of the big ones and the problems that may surface with them…
1. Overemphasis on Technical & Financial Skills
Some leaders believe that hard skills drive success, not soft skills. They’ve climbed the ranks based on technical expertise or financial decision-making and assume these skills alone will make them great leaders.
The Problem with this… It can lead to a transactional leadership style—where people feel like a number rather than a valued contributor.
2. Lack of Self-Awareness & Emotional Intelligence
Many leaders don’t even realise they have blind spots when it comes to people skills. If you’ve ever heard of the Dunning-Kruger Effect you may have awareness of this. Essentially, where people with lower competence in an area are often unaware of their reality.
The Problem with this… These leaders may mistake disengagement, high turnover, or lack of innovation as “employee problems” rather than a leadership issue. Inability to really look in the mirror.
3. Short-Term Performance Pressure
In many organisations, leaders are judged primarily on short term targets and immediate business results. This can mean that they see people skills as a distraction rather than a performance enabler.
The Problem with this… Ignoring people skills can lead to short-term gains but long-term losses. The next leader(s) may inherit and then play the short term game again, essentially disadvantaging the business again and again.
4. Fear of Vulnerability & Losing Authority
Some leaders worry that if they focus too much on relationships, they’ll lose their authority or even appear weak. Traditional leadership models have promoted the idea that leaders should be strong, decisive, and distant—rather than empathetic and open. I do wonder which ‘leaders’ and their preferences, created these specific models.
The Problem with this… This “command-and-control” leadership style erodes trust, discourages innovation, and creates toxic work cultures. Not ideal for any growth or high performance agenda.
5. Lack of Training, Coaching & Role Models
Whether we believe it or not, many leaders simply haven’t learned effective people skills. If they’ve never had mentors or managers who modelled strong people leadership, they might not see its value.
The Problem with this… Without proper development, leaders default to what they know. They are constrained by their current paradigm(s). They will often focus solely on strategy and execution rather than people development.
How Leaders Can Overcome These Barriers & Invest in People Skills
This may be pointing out the obvious but it’s important to raise awareness of how organisations and leaders can make people skills a priority. Raising awareness creates more opportunity for choice, even if it isn’t taken up. Here’s some thoughts on strategies that may help.
✅ Make People Skills Measurable – If it’s measured it will shape how people operate. Think about including employee engagement, retention rates, and feedback from direct reports in leadership performance reviews.
✅ Develop Emotional Intelligence (EQ) – Offer EQ development, self-awareness assessments, and executive coaching to help leaders grow.
✅ Reframe Vulnerability as Strength – Encourage authentic leadership by highlighting case studies of high-performing, people-first leaders. When someone demonstrates this, champion it.
✅ Create a Culture of Coaching – Help managers learn how to be effective in coaching conversations, so leadership becomes about developing others, not just directing tasks.
✅ Reward People-First Leadership – Recognise and promote leaders who excel in this type of leadership, not just financial results. Constant reward of the right behaviours will eventually bring about more consistency of what is required.
Leadership is about People, not things
The most successful leaders may have in common that they understand, business is ultimately about people. While strategy, execution, and technical expertise matter, leadership, at its core, is about the ability to inspire, engage, and develop others. You could argue that this separates good leaders from great ones.
By investing in people skills, leaders don’t just create better teams—they build more resilient, innovative, and high-performing organisations.
And so hopefully that puts to bed any argument that people skills don’t matter. The questions left to consider could be…
How much attention are you paying to bringing up people skills across your teams?
How much further could/should you be going to leverage this opportunity?
What does all of this say about your leadership legacy?