How to Build Emotionally Intelligent Teams: Vanessa Druskat's 9-Norm Framework

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Jul 9, 2025

Join Vanessa Druskat, an organizational psychologist and associate professor, as she explores the transformative power of emotionally intelligent teams. She discusses her nine-norm framework that emphasizes trust and collaboration over mere intelligence. Through captivating real-life examples—from the Boston Bruins to CIA crisis teams—Vanessa reveals how team dynamics, rather than individual prowess, fuel performance. Learn why diverse teams particularly benefit from emotional intelligence and discover practical tools to enhance your team's emotional climate.

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INSIGHT

Emotion Shapes Team Behavior

A team's emotional environment dictates its behavior more than individual emotional intelligence skills.
Emotion is a key indicator of team health, impacting trust, psychological safety, and performance.

INSIGHT

Three Norm Clusters Define EI Teams

Emotionally intelligent team norms cluster into three categories: individual focus, continuous learning, and external awareness.
These norms differentiate top-performing teams from average ones.

ADVICE

Build Belonging First

Prioritize cultivating belonging and respect to activate key social needs.
Belonging drives participation, reduces invisibility, and enhances team creativity.

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What if the secret to high-performing teams isn't hiring the smartest people, but creating the right environment? Vanessa Druskat, organizational psychologist and associate professor at the University of New Hampshire, reveals how emotionally intelligent teams outperform their competition through trust, collaboration, and psychological safety.

Vanessa's research identifies nine specific norms that separate top-performing teams from average ones, clustered into three powerful categories: individual focus, continuous learning, and external awareness.

In this episode, Vanessa shares real-world examples from Johnson & Johnson drug development teams, the Boston Bruins, and even crisis situations involving the FBI and CIA. She explains why stacking a team with emotionally intelligent individuals doesn't guarantee emotionally intelligent behavior, and how team norms—not personality traits—drive performance.

You'll discover practical diagnostic tools to assess your team's emotional intelligence, learn why diverse teams need these skills more than others, and understand how virtual teams can build the same powerful dynamics. Vanessa also tackles the Silicon Valley skepticism around "touchy-feely" team building and reveals how her book "The Emotionally Intelligent Team" offers a roadmap for transformation.

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