S2 Ep22: EQ Is Not a Soft Skill — with Juan Cortés
Best intentions don't protect you from blind spots — and Juan Cortés has the mansplaining story to prove it. Juan has spent his career helping organizations build cultures rooted in emotional intelligence, and the most powerful thing he brings to that work is a willingness to turn the lens on himself first. Juan Cortés, co-founder of Matter of Culture, has led L&D, OD, and DEI inside organizations across advertising, hospitality, biotech, and fintech (just to name a few) — and going external gave him something he couldn't get from the inside: clarity. In this conversation, Juan and Jen dig into what it actually means to confuse proximity for influence, why EQ keeps getting dismissed as a soft skill, and what it costs leaders when it does. Juan shares his three R's framework — reflect, repair, recalibrate — and breaks down the four components of emotional intelligence in a way that makes them immediately actionable. This is the episode for anyone who knows they want to show up better but hasn't found the model that makes it click.
