The Power of Emotional Intelligence in Business with Michael Ward

Self-honesty in leadership is what turns emotional intelligence from a personal trait into a business strategy, according to Michael Ward. In this episode of The Bliss Business Podcast, we sit down with Michael Ward, Founder and CEO of Paminga, a modern marketing automation platform built as an alternative to Marketo, Eloqua, HubSpot, and Marketing Cloud, to explore how authenticity and honesty remove friction from a business.

In this episode we explore:

• Why everything in business comes back to people

• How authenticity builds trust faster in sales and partnerships

• Why self-honesty may be the real starting point for higher EQ

• Why Michael sets culture by example, not by formal EQ program

• What “when in doubt, tell the truth” looks like when a technology product goes wrong

• How empathy shapes software design, customer support, and growth at Paminga

🎙️ Hosted by Stephen Sakach and Mike Liwski

🎧 Produced by Tullio Siragusa

Michael calls his path a slow realization: everything he does is about people. He once felt he had to figure out how to act in business, then learned through trial and error to be himself.

He argues self-honesty may be where higher EQ begins: once you stop lying to yourself, you see the truth about your product and your customer’s perception. In hiring, his red flag is a person who cannot admit being wrong.

At Paminga there is no formal program. Michael sets the tone on every call and in the daily 10 a.m. stand-up with the software team. When something goes wrong, the company reaches out to customers proactively and tells the truth. His biggest culture risk as growth speeds up is hiring the wrong people too fast.

He also ties empathy to product design and purpose: make life easier for customers, and treat support as part of the product. He has never raised venture money because he does not want to be run by a spreadsheet.

Zero Company, the agency behind this podcast, holds the same belief about marketing: audiences trust brands that speak plainly.

Key Takeaways

• (4:58) On why authenticity speeds up trust: “I come across as straightforwardly authentic, like obviously authentic. And that just builds trust so quickly”

• (6:30) On dropping the business persona: “through trial and error, I learned to just be myself”

• (11:32) On self-honesty as the starting point for higher EQ: “I found it increasingly impossible to lie to myself”

• (17:36) On why he has no formal EQ program: “It’s a cultural thing that we don’t measure, we have no program.”

• (21:52) On leading through a crisis: “when in doubt, tell the truth”

• (38:58) On how he sees love in business: “this empathy is a form of, you know, just love for the human race, love for your fellow person”

FAQ

What is self-honesty in leadership?
Michael Ward, Founder and CEO of Paminga, describes self-honesty in leadership as no longer lying to yourself about your flaws, your strengths, or your product. He says it leads to more effective leadership because you see the truth about your offer and your customers.

How does Michael Ward build emotional intelligence into company culture?
Michael Ward uses no formal program or metrics at Paminga. He sets the tone in every call, one-on-one, and customer conversation, and says new team members relax into the culture when they see people ask questions and seniors help juniors.

What does Michael Ward do when a business hits a crisis?
Michael Ward follows one mantra: when in doubt, tell the truth. At Paminga, that means reaching out to customers proactively when something goes wrong so they are not surprised.

Self-honesty in leadership starts with a simple choice: stop pretending and tell the truth. Learn more about Michael Ward and Paminga at paminga.com and on LinkedIn, see his guest profile, watch the video, or explore more Featured Guest Series conversations.