Emotional Intelligence as the Real Measure of Leadership

Business success is often framed in technical terms: operational efficiency, strategy, and subject matter expertise. You could climb into leadership on the strength of your skills, hit your numbers, and call it a good career.

That story is changing.

More and more, the real differentiator is emotional intelligence. When EQ is strong, collaboration improves, conflict becomes more constructive, and people stay engaged even when things get hard. When EQ is weak, trust erodes, communication breaks down, and the best people quietly leave.

On The Bliss Business Podcast, we sat down with Josh Fitzgerald, CEO of Zoomin Groomin and long time franchisee within the Loyalty Brands family. Josh grew from single territory owner to multi unit operator, then moved into the corporate support team before becoming CEO. His view of emotional intelligence is not theoretical. It is shaped by years of working with franchisees, groomers, and pet parents in very human, often emotional moments. For him, EQ is the difference between a brand that people trust and one that fractures from the inside.

Emotional Intelligence Is Guiding Your Emotions

Josh defines emotional intelligence in simple terms: guiding your emotions instead of letting your emotions guide you. That shows up in your tone, the timing of your responses, and the weight you give to how your words land on others.

He describes leaders who can read a room in real time. They notice facial expressions, body language, and the energy in the space. They understand that people do not hear the same words in the same way, and they adjust accordingly.

As a CEO, Josh knows his words carry disproportionate impact. A throwaway comment can feel like a verdict to someone on the receiving end. Emotional intelligence is what keeps him aware of that gap. It is the discipline to slow down, choose language carefully, and speak in a way that protects dignity even when the news is not good.

Responding Instead of Reacting

One of Josh’s core distinctions is between reacting and responding.

Reacting is instinctive. A problem shows up, emotions spike, and words come out before thought. Responding requires a pause. It is the short space between stimulus and reply where you decide who you want to be in the conversation.

Josh is clear that the urge to react never fully disappears, especially on a hard day. Emotional intelligence does not erase that impulse. It helps you manage it. When someone brings bad news, he reminds himself that they are usually the messenger, not the cause. They are already carrying stress.

That small pause changes outcomes. Instead of damaging trust with a sharp reaction, you create space for problem solving. You stay curious. You preserve the relationship. Over time, people learn that they can bring you hard truth without fear, which is the foundation of a healthy culture.

Trust, Culture, and the Customer Experience

Within Loyalty Brands, leadership often talks about three imperatives: happy and successful franchisees, opening locations, and creating fanatical fans. Customers sit at the end of that chain, yet their experience is shaped by everything that happens upstream.

When emotional intelligence is missing at the leadership level, mistrust starts to spread.

• Franchisees feel policed instead of supported.

• Employees feel like they are one mistake away from being shamed.

• Conversations become defensive rather than collaborative.

That breakdown shows up in numbers. Customer ratings dip. Retention slips. Rebooking rates fall. Tips shrink. Leaders sometimes say EQ cannot be measured. Josh believes the data tells a different story.

On the other hand, when leaders correct with respect, hold people accountable from a place of care, and listen fully before judging, trust grows. Franchisees invest more. Staff stay longer. Customers feel the difference in every interaction with the brand, from the first phone call to the moment their pet hops off the grooming truck.

Visible Signs of High Emotional Intelligence

When Josh looks for emotional intelligence in others, he pays attention to a few visible behaviors.

First, thoughtful leaders are not afraid of silence. When asked a hard question, they pause. They are willing to say, “Let me think about that before I answer.” That calm signal of self control builds confidence. People would rather follow someone who thinks for a moment than someone who always has an instant reaction.

Second, he watches how leaders treat the people with the least formal power. It is easy to be charming with board members and key clients. Emotional intelligence shows up in hallway conversations, how you speak to front desk staff, and whether you treat a nervous new employee with the same respect as a top performer.

Third, he notices what happens under pressure. Values are easy to quote when things are going well. They are proven when money, comfort, or speed are at stake. Leaders with true EQ keep their tone, their respect, and their commitment to fairness even when the stakes rise.

Building Systems That Support Emotional Intelligence

Culture does not sustain itself on good intentions. If emotional intelligence matters, it has to be supported by systems and habits.

At Zoomin Groomin, that includes:

• Rhythms of communication. Leaders hold regular check ins and debriefs so people do not only hear from them when something is wrong. Predictable communication makes the environment feel safer.

• Two way conversations. Meetings and one on ones are designed for dialogue, not monologues. Leaders ask questions, listen deeply, and adapt their style to different personalities.

• Clear feedback norms. Constructive feedback happens privately and respectfully. Praise is often shared publicly, so people see that their work is noticed and appreciated.

• Curiosity before blame. When something goes sideways, the first move is to understand what happened, not to hunt for someone to blame. The goal is learning and improvement.

Alongside those structures, Josh leans on personal practices. He reflects on his week, looks for moments where he reacted instead of responded, and decides how he wants to handle similar situations next time. That kind of honest review turns experience into growth.

Purpose, Family, and the Bigger Why

Behind Josh’s focus on EQ is a clear sense of purpose.

On the business side, his mission is to pamper pets and enrich lives. That includes the lives of franchisees, groomers, managers, and support staff. Some of his favorite stories are about team members buying their first homes or creating schedules that let them be more present with their families. Growth is exciting to him because it means more of those stories across more markets.

On the personal side, he thinks about his four children. One day they will look back and decide what kind of man and leader he was. Did he use his role to serve others. Did he practice what he preached about respect and care. Did he stand by his values when it was inconvenient. Keeping that future moment in mind pulls his leadership toward integrity.

Purpose gives emotional intelligence its weight. Self control, patient listening, and thoughtful responses are not just techniques. They are daily expressions of what he wants his life and work to stand for.

Love as a Leadership Standard

When the conversation turns to love in business, Josh connects it to a simple standard he grew up with: treat others the way you want to be treated.

In his view, love in leadership is the commitment to show people unconditional respect, even when performance conversations are difficult. It is the willingness to tell the truth without stripping away dignity. It is the instinct to repair when you miss the mark, rather than defending a poor reaction because of your title.

Love is not sentimental in this context. It is practical. It shapes hiring decisions, service standards, and policies. It influences how you schedule routes so groomers are not exhausted, how you handle a complaint from a worried pet parent, and how you respond when a franchisee is struggling. Emotional intelligence becomes one of the main ways that love is felt day to day.

Key Takeaways

• Emotional intelligence is the ability to guide your emotions instead of letting them guide you. It affects tone, timing, and the impact of your decisions.

• The pause between stimulus and response is where leadership lives. That moment often determines whether you protect or damage trust.

• EQ and business outcomes are linked. Trust inside the system eventually shows up in ratings, retention, rebooking, and revenue.

• Systems and habits keep EQ from being a personality trait. Communication rhythms, feedback norms, and curiosity-based problem solving embed emotional intelligence into daily operations.

• Purpose and love give EQ its power. When your deeper motivation is to enrich lives and treat people with real care, emotional intelligence stops being a tactic and becomes part of who you are.

Final Thoughts

Emotional intelligence in business is not a soft extra. It is a central measure of leadership. Technical skill may put you in a position of authority, yet what you do with your emotions once you are there determines the quality and longevity of your impact.

Josh Fitzgerald’s journey at Zoomin Groomin is a reminder that the leaders people remember are not just the ones who made smart moves. They are the ones who stayed calm in the storm, listened when others were afraid to speak, and consistently chose responses that built trust rather than fear.

Check out our full conversation with Josh Fitzgerald on The Bliss Business Podcast.