Ep. 32 - Why True Collaboration Starts with Team Culture with Dr. Vanessa Druskat
What if the key to better collaboration isn't about fixing individuals, but transforming the emotional culture of the team?
In this episode of the CivilTalk Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Vanessa Druskat, a renowned researcher, award-winning professor, and the pioneering mind behind the Team Emotional Intelligence (Team EI) model. With more than three decades of research under her belt, Vanessa has dedicated her career to understanding what sets high-performing teams apart from average ones—and what she’s discovered is reshaping the way leaders think about teamwork, collaboration, and culture.
Vanessa’s work has influenced Fortune 500 companies, global healthcare institutions, and leadership teams across industries. She argues that emotionally intelligent collaboration isn’t a byproduct of personality, but the result of deliberate systems, norms, and routines that make people feel seen, supported, and safe.
We explore her journey from early academic research to global consulting, dig into the principles of her new book The Emotionally Intelligent Team (Harvard Business School Press, 2025), and examine how organizations can stop wasting time trying to "fix" individuals—and instead focus on building social systems that inspire trust, emotional resilience, and real, sustained collaboration.
This conversation is full of wisdom for leaders, educators, team members, and anyone who wants to understand how group dynamics, emotional intelligence, and psychological safety intersect to create high-performing, human-centered teams.
In This Episode, We Discuss:
The origin story of the Team Emotional Intelligence (Team EI) model
What emotionally intelligent collaboration actually looks like in practice
How team culture and social norms shape performance
The role of psychological safety in high-functioning teams
Why individual EQ isn’t enough, and how team-level EI unlocks better results
How to apply these insights in hybrid and remote work environments
Actionable strategies for leaders to build emotionally intelligent team cultures
Insights from her new book The Emotionally Intelligent Team
About Our Guest:
Dr. Vanessa Druskat is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at the University of New Hampshire and a leading expert on team leadership and performance. She is widely known for pioneering the concept of Team Emotional Intelligence, a framework now used by organizations like Amazon Web Services, YPO, Johnson & Johnson, and Massachusetts General Hospital to build stronger, more collaborative teams.
Her work has been featured in top academic and practitioner journals, and her Harvard Business Review article (with Steven Wolff) on emotionally intelligent teams has been reprinted four times in HBR’s most valued collections. Vanessa is also a member of the executive board of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations.
Her new book, The Emotionally Intelligent Team, offers a practical guide for leaders who want to move beyond surface-level fixes and design truly collaborative team environments.
Resources & Links:
Vanessa’s Website: www.vanessadruskat.com
Order the book: The Emotionally Intelligent Team
Harvard Business Review article on Team EI: Read it here
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About CivilTalk:
At CivilTalk, we help leaders and teams grow through emotional intelligence, intentional communication, and real-world tools for human-centered leadership. Explore our resources, podcast episodes and AI Assisted ORGTALK designed to bring more civility, presence, and clarity into the workplace and beyond.
Learn more: www.civiltalk.com