ATD Kansas City
Embodied Emotional Intelligence:
Transforming Delivery Through Whole-Self Awareness
Program Description
Most talent development programs focus exclusively on cognitive skills—whether you're designing leadership curricula, facilitating team workshops, or delivering technical training. But what if your participants are missing a critical data source that processes information faster and more accurately than rational analysis alone?
The Challenge: You've integrated emotional intelligence frameworks into your programs. Participants can identify their emotions, articulate communication strategies, and understand psychological concepts. Yet they still struggle with reactivity under pressure, inconsistent application of new skills, and the gap between "knowing" and "doing."
The Missing Link: While cognitive emotional intelligence teaches people to recognize and manage emotions, it overlooks the body's sophisticated awareness system that detects stress, reads interpersonal dynamics, and signals misalignment long before conscious thought kicks in.
The Solution: Embodied Emotional Intelligence integrates the body's real-time intelligence into learning experiences, creating more adaptive, resilient, and present professionals—whether they're executives, individual contributors, or new managers.
This session translates cutting-edge neuroscience into practical applications for talent development professionals across all program types.
You'll Learn
- Why traditional emotional intelligence development addresses only half the system—and what's missing for sustainable behavior change
- How the body's "internal dashboard" (interoception) provides performance data that cognitive-focused training overlooks
- The four research-backed patterns of adaptive behavior (Driver, Organizer, Collaborator, Visionary) and how to help participants access them intentionally
- Practical micro-practices that interrupt reactive patterns and build self-regulation capacity
- How to integrate embodied intelligence into ANY program delivery—from leadership development to change management to team effectiveness workshops
Speaker Bio
Sheena Lance-Nold is a Leadership & Executive Coach and learning design partner who helps talent development professionals improve learning transfer by integrating embodied emotional intelligence into leadership and organizational programs.
With a background in coaching, positive psychology, and neuroscience-informed facilitation, Sheena supports organizations in addressing one of their most persistent challenges: the gap between knowing and doing. Her work focuses on helping leaders and learners build regulation capacity, access adaptive behavior patterns under pressure, and sustain behavior change long after formal programs end.
Sheena’s approach is practical, evidence-based, and designed for immediate application—no prior somatic experience required. She works with leaders, coaches, and facilitators across industries who want learning experiences that engage the whole person and deliver measurable impact.
Aligned ATD Capability Model Areas
- Personal Capability – Communication, Emotional Intelligence & Decision-Making, Collaboration and Leadership
- Professional Capability – Training Delivery & Facilitation, Coaching
- Organizational Capability – Future Readiness and Change Management
