Leadership

🌊 The Chokepoint We Don’t See

The Strait of Hormuz is a name you have been hearing frequently over the last few months, but not one that you likely heard a lot about before the current conflict started between the United States and Iran. It is geographically a very small body of water that controls a very large portion of the flow of global energy, roughly one-fifth of global oil in 2024. When that narrow passage is disrupted, the effects do not remain local. They ripple through energy prices, financial markets, supply chains, and household budgets.

One of the great buzzwords of the last several years has been EQ, or emotional intelligence.  John Maxwell ranks this as the most important form of intelligence because it is behind our ability to connect with others.  In this time of social distancing, unrest, injustice, and uncertainty about the future connecting with others is the most important thing we can be doing.  

IT professionals, in particular, can reap benefits from focusing their #leadership and their teams on raising their emotional intelligence. Zoom and Webex meetings take away some of the personal touch, as our interactions tend to be hyper-focused and lose the nuances gained by a handful of interpersonal meetings during a typical workday. These nuances can be the difference between cohesiveness and a functionally competent but unengaged team.