Emotional Intelligence Special Interest Group
What AI Can’t Replace: The Business Case for EQ and the Coach’s Role in Building It
Speaker: Joshua Freedman, CEO and Co-founder of Six Seconds
Host: Desiree Briel Rodi, Ph.D., PCC
Date: Tuesday, August 25, 2026
Time: 11:00 am – 12:30 pm Pacific Time
CCEs: 0.5 Core Competencies and 1.0 Resource Development
Location: Virtual meeting via Zoom.us. Remember to log in before registering for the event.
***IMPORTANT: You will be redirected to a Zoom registration form after purchasing your ticket. You must register with Zoom to access the live event.
Replay available to registrants for viewing purposes only (no CCEs)
Description
As AI takes over more of what we used to call “smart,” the uniquely human capacities—self-awareness, empathy, connection, judgment under pressure—are becoming the real differentiator for leaders and the real frontier for coaches. Yet most organizations still treat emotional intelligence as a “nice to have,” even as disengagement drains trillions from the global economy and erodes the trust on which performance depends.
In this interactive session, Josh Freedman—CEO of Six Seconds and author of Emotion Rules—makes the data-backed business case for emotional intelligence and shows why it’s the leadership capability AI can’t replicate. More importantly, he’ll explore how coaches carry this work forward: helping clients see EQ as measurable and learnable, connecting it to the outcomes their organizations care about, and extending its ripple effects far beyond any single conversation.
Coaches will leave able to:
🌟 Make the business case in numbers they can actually use — the evidence linking EQ to engagement, retention, decision quality, and profitability, framed as language that lands with skeptical clients and stakeholders.
🌟 Reframe AI as the reason EQ matters more, not less — understand the shift that makes emotional intelligence the distinguishing human capability in an automated world, and how to position coaching around it.
🌟 Show that EQ is measurable and learnable — see how a measure → develop → re-measure approach turns “soft skills” into visible, trackable growth that clients and their organizations can believe in.
🌟 Understand the coach’s leverage in the larger system — how developing one leader’s emotional intelligence ripples outward into teams, climate, and culture.
🌟 Take a practical frame into their next session — at least one model or practice to apply immediately to help clients understand, embrace, and leverage emotions as a source of insight and connection.
About Joshua Freedman
Joshua Freedman is the CEO and cofounder of Six Seconds, the world’s largest emotional intelligence nonprofit. For more than 25 years, he has led the State of the Heart study, advised organizations including FedEx, Shell, and the United Nations, and developed practical EQ tools used in over 150 countries. A bestselling author, he has a latest book, “Emotion Rules” (2026), that helps leaders transform emotions into data that drive trust, resilience, and results. Website
About Desiree Briel Rodi
Desiree Briel Rodi is a PCC coach who harnesses Emotional Intelligence to drive awareness, action, and accountability. She’s worked in higher education administration, non-profit management, and people & business strategy. She holds a B.A. from Yale, an MBA from Seattle University, a Certificate in Evidence-Based Coaching, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Organizational Development and Change from Fielding Graduate University. LinkedIn
