My first recommendation on Emotional Intelligence is for procurement and supply chain professionals to benchmark their own personal emotional intelligence aptitude. I used the book Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Bradbury and Graves. There are other sources and advice on how to improve emotional intelligence. Know your starting point.

Here are some areas where strong emotional intelligence and empathy skills help:

One field I would begin with is in hiring, or talent management. A few behavior-based questions will help here:

Another area is the understanding of cultural differences in global suppliers. Reaching a strong cul­tural understanding will make or break the sourcing process. Understanding the culture of the sourcing country is dif­ficult. Culture includes social organization, political beliefs, the legal system, religious beliefs, language, and the educational system, to name just a few. Any one of these areas requires extensive study and understanding in order to be suc­cessful.

My conclusion is that procurement and supply chain professionals must continuously develop their emotional intelligence and empathy. The above are just a few of the focus areas, and I am sure that there are more that the reader can identify.