Leaders: “Emotional Intelligence” in Business Helps Family Businesses Grow.
Asharqia Chamber, represented by the Women's Empowerment Center, organized a workshop on Thursday, February 6, 2025, as part of the Leadership Initiative and in cooperation with the National Center for Family Businesses within the Women in Family Business Council, targeting female leaders of family businesses entitled "Professional Emotional Intelligence and Its Role in Career Growth and the Growth of Family Businesses", in the presence of Nouf bint Abdulaziz Al-Turki, a member of the Center's Board of Directors, Aghareed bint Ihsan Abduljawad, a member of the Chamber's Board of Directors, and a remarkable number of specialists and interested women. Nouf Al-Turki, a member of the Center's Board of Directors, said that family businesses have many unique features that make them one of the most important tools for achieving economic development goals, including, for example: focusing on long-term investments, compared to some other types of companies such as listed joint-stock companies that are under pressure to achieve quarterly or annual targets to keep pace with the expectations of investors and analysts. Family businesses are more closely linked to their communities, so you find that there is an umbilical cord linking family businesses to the third sector. As these businesses and their owners are among the most prominent financiers of this sector. Historically, family businesses have played a major role in establishing and leading many sectors. For example, families such as Al Rajhi, Al Subaie, Bin Mahfouz, Al Rashid Al Hamid and others played a major role in establishing the financial sector with the presence of government incentives and supportive legislation.
For her part, Aghreed Abduljawad, a member of the Chamber’s Board of Directors, said that Saudi women have received great attention from our wise government over the past years, which has given them the opportunity to play their role more in the development process, and has taken many decisions that have strengthened their role and increased their involvement in economic work. Today, women play an important and growing role in the business community, and are even the most important figure in the equation of construction and the comprehensive development process that our country is undergoing at all levels, and at the level of family companies. With the increased involvement of women in their boards of directors and leadership positions, comes the importance of understanding emotional intelligence skills, which enable understanding feelings, organizing them, and dealing with them positively, and also enable mastery of communication, possessing professional emotional competence, and getting rid of negative feelings. During the workshop, the speakers discussed the types of emotional intelligence, which include the ability to recognize and understand emotions, manage them effectively, and communicate clearly with others. Research has shown that individuals with a high level of emotional intelligence tend to build better relationships and achieve higher results in work environments. They pointed out that developing emotional intelligence can have positive effects on mental health, as it helps individuals manage stress and conflicts better, enhances leadership skills, and increases the ability to work in a team. Emotional intelligence is also a powerful tool that contributes to improving the quality of life and helps individuals achieve their full potential in various aspects of life. The workshop was attended by lawyer and legal advisor Najla Al-Qadi, Dr. Abeer Rashid, Director of the University Guidance Center at Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University, Sharifa Al-Sudairy, Board Member and Deputy General Manager at Nouf Group Fahad Al-Sudairy, Dana Al-Afaleq, Director of Sustainability and Relations at Al-Kifah Company, Engineer Ayla Al-Shadwi, Marketing Manager at Al-Falak Company, Taghreed Haddadi, Managing Partner at Al-Zamil and Haddadi Law Firm, and Nouf Al-Sudairy, Founder and President of Nouf Group Fahad Al-Sudairy.
