The Most Underrated Project Management Skill: Emotional Intelligence
- kevonyawebbriley
- May 26
- 3 min read
When people talk about project management, they usually bring up CRM tools, timelines, deadlines, budgets, and frameworks. Sure, those things matter, but they’re not what make or break a project.
What really causes delays, missed deadlines, and burnout?
It’s not usually a lack of technical know-how. It’s miscommunication between teams. It’s misalignment on project scope and goals. It’s unchecked egos.
In other words… people.
This is why I believe emotional intelligence is one of the most underrated (and under-discussed) skills in project management.
From Therapy to Project Management: My Unexpected Advantage
When I transitioned from a career in therapy to project management, some hiring managers couldn’t see how the skills would translate. Honestly, I didn’t know how to explain it either. I knew I could do the work, but how was I supposed to convince people who had never worked outside the field.
What I did know was that I had spent years learning how to sit with people, listen for what wasn’t being said, manage emotional triggers, mediate conflict, and help people feel seen enough to move forward together. So, when I got the chance to step into the project management world, one thing became clear to me:
Projects don’t fall apart because of tools like Asana or Jira. They fall apart because people don’t feel heard, don’t trust each other, or aren’t clear on what’s being asked of them.
That realization became my superpower in the workplace.
Most people in this field went to school for it or something close. They studied business or marketing and leveraged that to get certified in project management. I, on the other hand, have two degrees in the mental health field, got lost for a little bit and found my way to a PMP. While that path might’ve looked “off” on paper, it’s what makes me stand out.
The truth is, learning the tools and frameworks was easy to me. Not because I’m some genius, but because people are systems too. I already understood how humans tend to operate under pressure, how they process information, and how they respond to confusion. So, all I had to do was take what I learned in therapy spaces and bring it into boardrooms and Slack channels.
What I started noticing was that people were trying so hard to be emotionally detached from work that they didn’t realize how often businesses succeed because of “soft skills”, not in spite of them.
What Emotional Intelligence Actually Looks Like on a Project Team
People throw around the term “soft skill” like it’s something extra, but EQ is essential. Here’s how it plays out in real time:
Reading the room: Noticing when someone is checked out, irritated, or holding back in meetings, and then following up with them intentionally.
Knowing your audience: Adjusting your communication style depending on who’s in the room, whether that’s a technical team, executive leadership, a partner who needs clarity fast, or a new hire.
Regulating your own emotions: Staying grounded when things get messy, deadlines get missed, or clients get frustrated.
Naming tensions early: Calling out misalignment before it turns into conflict, and doing it with curiosity, not blame.
These are the micro-moves that stabilize a team and hold a project together, and when you do them consistently, things tend to shift for the better. Your team starts to trust you. People relax. They stop fighting you and start leaning on you.
That kind of trust doesn’t just help you lead the team; it helps you teach the team what real project management looks like, because sometimes, people don’t trust the process simply because they’ve never been shown how it’s supposed to work. That’s part of the job too.
Why It Matters More Than Ever
Remote work. Cross-functional teams. Tighter timelines. Bigger expectations.
All of that means emotional intelligence isn’t optional. It’s necessary.
When a project manager can catch tension early, help others feel heard, and ground a team through uncertainty, it doesn’t just “feel good.” EQ is what helps you catch tension early, bring vision when things are cloudy, and guide a team through change without burning everyone out.
Anyone can build a project plan, but not everyone can build trust while they do it. You can learn any project management tool, memorize frameworks, and build timelines, but if you can’t manage people, you can’t manage projects.
This post will also be the focus of Episode 3 of my podcast Kee to the Conversation, dropping Monday, June 2, 2025. Subscribe wherever you listen so you don’t miss it!
