#managerdevelopment

What Are the Most Important Leadership Soft Skills for Managers?

Diagnose Employee Development Levels with SLII® and you’ll quickly see why some leadership styles work… and others don’t. Many leaders feel confused when an employee doesn’t respond the way they expect. It’s frustrating, even discouraging. 😓

The truth is, most leadership problems are not effort problems. They’re diagnosis problems. Employees don’t all need the same support, even if they have the same role. Development depends on skills and confidence for a specific task, not the job title. 🧠

SLII® gives leaders a simple way to read what’s really happening. Is the employee eager but inexperienced? Capable but unsure? Or ready to lead on their own? When leaders slow down and observe real behavior, coaching becomes clearer and more human. 💬

Upgrade leadership skills with Leadership Training Programs For Managers by GrowthSqapes. Our practical first time manager training and first time manager training program help new and experienced managers lead confidently and deliver results.

Leadership isn’t just about titles anymore—it’s about strategy, people, and business growth. But here’s the truth: many companies rush planning every year and forget to invest in their leaders 😩. That’s why this guide on the Best Leadership Training Programs for 2026 is a game-changer.

If your organization struggles with low team morale, poor communication, or unprepared managers, leadership training isn’t a “nice to have"—it’s a must. This guide explains how Filipino companies can build a strong 2026 leadership roadmap while staying within budget ✅.

From first-time supervisors to top executives, training programs like SLII®, Servant Leadership™, and Coaching Essentials® develop real skills—decision-making, motivation, coaching, and trust-building. These programs don’t teach theory—they build results 💡.

Ever worked with a boss who only cared about numbers, not people? 😓 In the Philippines, that story is too common. Gen Z workers and even older employees often feel unheard, stressed, and stuck in workplaces where managers give orders instead of real support.

That’s why servant leadership is gaining attention. Instead of leading with control, managers are trained to lead with service. 🙌 They learn empathy, active listening, and how to empower teams—values that match our Filipino culture of malasakit and bayanihan. When leaders practice servant leadership, employees feel valued and motivated to do their best.

Companies like PLDT and Smart Communications have already proven this works. From regular “kamustahan” check-ins to empowering employees in decision-making, they’ve shown that servant leadership creates loyalty, trust, and even stronger business results. 📈

The concept of emotional intelligence (EI) has been around for decades. However, organizations and leaders are now realizing the importance of EI for the overall growth and success of the companies.

As attrition rates continue rising, organizations are seeking new strategies to retain talented personnel. Research shows that employees are more likely to continue with organizations when they feel cared for and understood by their leaders. Supporting the development of EI in the workplace is crucial to building an empathetic organizational culture, which begins at the top.

Developing Emotional Intelligence

Companies can empower their people and develop emotionally intelligent leaders with the right training programs. An effective program is founded on four principles, which include self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. Building skills related to these principles enables leaders to:

Apply their knowledge to strengthen relationships

Understand their emotions and how these influence their behaviors

Recognize other people’s emotional needs, strengths, and weaknesses

Manage their emotions, leverage their stronger emotions and control weaker emotions

These abilities may not come naturally to leaders but with the right emotional intelligence training programs, they can learn these.

Self-awareness

An effective training program begins with participants identifying their emotional needs, strengths, and weaknesses. They learn how to monitor their real-time emotions and reactions, which ensures leaders are attuned to their behaviors while interacting with others. EI training teaches mindfulness, which is being fully present and aware of emotional, mental, and physical reality. Mindfulness ensures individuals recognize their emotional triggers before acting, which can be developed with proper training and practice. Some strategies include taking purposeful pauses, regularly seeking honest feedback, and taking time to reflect before reacting to situations.

Self-management

Emotional intelligence training for leaders includes meditations and deep breathing to help participants remain grounded and manage stress. The objective is self-control ensuring appropriate rather than instinctive reactions. Some strategies taught during the workshop include being present with feelings and thoughts without analyzing their correctness, creating space between self and emotions and recognizing these do not define how they must act in any situation.

Social awareness

This skill enables participants to have effective interactions and develop strong relationships with people at all levels within and outside the organizations. An important component of social awareness is empathy, which is the ability to tune into the emotions and needs of other people. Socially aware leaders combine the three types of empathy – cognitive, emotional, and empathetic concern. Leaders can become socially aware by being observant, showing some curiosity about things that matter to their people, active listening, and being attentive to unspoken words. An effective EI training program incorporates role plays in social situations and identifying and interpreting vocal tones and non-verbal cues like body language.

Relationship management

Learning how to create a positive workplace environment is an important component of EI training for leaders. This includes skills, such as authenticity, conflict management and resolution, collaboration, communication, and trust building. Emotionally intelligent training for  leaders are able to recognize issues from other people’s perspectives and respect their opinions even if they are not agreeable to them. Additionally, the manner in which leaders offer constructive feedback plays an important role and impacts their relationships with others. EI training teaches how participants can create a psychologically safe environment before offering feedback. Consistently encouraging and supporting team members can create a safe environment over a period that can bring about behavioral changes with constructive feedback.

Leaders with higher emotional intelligence can create a collaborative and positive organizational culture. Additionally, they can coach and motivate others to deliver their best performance by encouraging creativity, growth, and innovation. Leaders can also support robust decision-making, which boosts productivity and overall organizational performance.