Episode 11

The Emotional Advantage: How to Lead with Heart and Mind

Summary:

Alexa Beavers chats about the balance between emotional involvement and emotional intelligence at work. She explores how leaders often struggle, either reacting impulsively with passion or shutting down to remain overly composed. Highlighting neuroscience, she explains how emotions are processed before logic, thus serving as vital data points. The key is curiosity and intentionality, not suppression. Emotionally intelligent leaders harness emotions for insight, connection, and influence, avoiding both volatility and coldness. Alexa urges leaders to channel emotions effectively to inspire and create real impact, making emotions a tool rather than a hindrance.

Chapters:

0:00

Balancing Emotion and Emotional Intelligence in Leadership

0:46

Passion Without Control Leads to Workplace Tension

1:11

Emotional Wiring: The Brain's Limbic System and Connection

1:41

Harnessing Emotion as Insight Over Impulse in Decision-Making

2:15

Harnessing Emotional Intelligence for Effective Leadership

2:43

Engaging Emotions for Impactful Leadership

Host Alexa Beavers: linkedin.com/in/alexabeaverspmp

Executive Producer Jim Kanichirayil: linkedin.com/in/drjimk

Music Credit: "Lost in Dreams" by Kulakovka

Transcript
Alexa Beavers: [:

And then on the flip side, we've seen leaders so freaked out by being labeled emotional that they shut down completely and act like robots instead of human beings. Now, both extremes are a problem. So what's the difference between being emotional and being emotionally intelligent at work? I worked with a leader who was passionate.

Really passionate about their work. And what about when you have passion but no control? This is what was going on with this leader. It turned into outbursts and meetings, emotional reactions to feedback and tension that made the whole team walk on eggshells. They thought they were just being real, but what they were actually doing was creating instability and distrust because of their volatility.

o prided themselves on being [:

The part of the brain that processes emotions. The limbic system is much faster and more established than our prefrontal cortex, the part that manages reasoning and logic. That means our emotions often pick up on important cues about the situation before we can apply logic to it. For that reason, emotion can be a powerful data point.

, and then they respond with [:

Emotional intelligence isn't about suppressing emotions. It's about understanding them and knowing when to lean in and when to step back from them. When to let passion drive you and when to regulate your response. I. The best leaders don't explode, and they don't ice people out. They use emotions as data, as fuel, as a tool for connection and for influence.

So here's your gut check. Are you reacting or are you responding? Are you letting emotions control you or are you using those emotions to lead with intention? Leadership isn't about being robotic and it's not about being reckless. It's knowing about how to channel emotion to inspire, connect, and drive real impact.

The most powerful leaders don't avoid emotions. They engage with them,

About the Podcast

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About your hosts

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Alexa Beavers

I’m the founder and CEO of The Axela Group, where I work with leaders who are doing hard and important things—whether that’s leading change, shifting culture, or just figuring out how to keep showing up when the pressure’s on.

These days, I spend a lot of my time multiplying my impact through our growing team at The Axela Group. Our incredible team of coaches and consultants is making a difference in work and in life —through coaching executives to tap into their whole human intelligence, consulting on how to navigate rapid change, developing productive teams, and creating spaces where leaders can share their challenges, lessons, and what matters most in these fast-moving times. In essence, I’m building a team that helps others lead with clarity and humanity—especially in messy, high-stakes environments. I am also bringing real leaders stories of growth and transformation to life through amazing conversations with leaders across industries who have been there done that - and are courageous enough to share.

When I’m not in conversation with a leader who is sharing their story or leading my own amazing team, I’m probably up to my eyeballs in paint doing art, walking the dogs by the river, or hanging with my crew of teenagers in Richmond, Virginia.

Ping me if you’re trying to lead through change and want a partner who’s been in the trenches.
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Dr. Jim Kanichirayil

I'm the occasional host and full time producer of the Transformation Unfiltered show. At this point I've had over 1500 podcast episodes hosted/produced and it's one of my favorite mediums to work in.

I've previously hosted and produced top 10% globally ranked podcasts (Cascading Leadership, HR Impact, Engaging Leadership) and have a number of other shows I've helped launch and produce as well.

When I'm not in these interwebs streets yappin' away, I'm a fractional Head of GTM (go-to-market) for early stage/accelerating growth stage HRTech, TATech, and executive coaching organizations. I help organizations integrate sales, marketing, and partnership functions into a unified practice.

Ping me if you have questions and/or if you want to be a guest.