“You Can’t Think Your Way to High Performance”: Why Emotional Mastery is the Hidden Advantage in Construction
In a sector where precision, timelines and technical brilliance reign supreme, few senior leaders think of emotion as a core performance lever. But Phil Willcox, founder of Emotion at Work, wants to change that because he learned the hard way.
Before he was leading cultural change programmes on major infrastructure projects or advising boards on emotional intelligence, Willcox was in a call centre. At just 20 years old, a single angry outburst during a customer call nearly cost him his career. The sting of that moment — shame, regret and the startling realisation that emotional overwhelm had hijacked his thinking set him on a 27-year journey to understand what emotions are really doing to us at work.
Now, he's brought that learning to one of the most emotionally suppressed industries out there: construction.
Speaking on the Site Story podcast with Colin Tomlinson, Willcox laid out a deeply personal case for why emotion isn't a distraction — it's the driver of performance, relationships and safety on site. And ignoring it doesn’t make it go away.
“In construction, anger is often permissible — sadness fear, or vulnerability less so,” he explains. “But fear, for example, is exactly the emotion you want present if you’re dealing with high-risk safety scenarios.”
Through stories drawn from nuclear sites and major civil programmes, Willcox unpacks the quiet emotional currents that shape decision-making, team cohesion and even cost control. When pressure's on and deadlines loom, teams become less emotionally intelligent — not because they’ve lost the skill, but because they’ve lost the capacity.
That distinction — between capability and capacity — is at the heart of his definition of emotional intelligence: the ability to recognise and influence emotions in yourself and others, and the space to do so.
“You can’t think your way to high performance,” he says. “You can only feel your way there.”
It’s a bold assertion. But one he backs up with practical tactics that any project leader can use… from emotionally safe check-in questions to reducing cognitive overload during optioneering meetings.
And it’s not about coddling. Willcox is clear: it’s about productivity. Teams that process emotion constructively stay focused. Leaders who understand emotional load prevent flooding-out moments. Projects that engage with emotion build trust, reduce rework and unlock collaboration.
His advice to early-career professionals? Track your emotional triggers — the real ones. The things that get under your skin, that make you anxious or that energise you. “Self-awareness isn’t a fluffy skill,” he insists. “It’s performance-critical.”
To senior leaders, he offers a challenge: stop trying to suppress emotion. Instead, ask better questions. Get curious. And never confuse apathy for professionalism.
Because emotion, Willcox reminds us, is always there. The question is: are you leading with it or being led by it?
About Phil Willcox
Phil Willcox is the founder of Emotion at Work and host of the Emotion at Work podcast. He helps teams and leaders put emotion at the heart of workplace performance through consulting, coaching, and practical development. He has worked across high-stakes environments including construction, infrastructure, and nuclear energy.
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🎧 Listen to Phil’s full conversation with Colin Tomlinson on the Site Story podcast: bit.ly/SiteStory
📚 Download the High-Performing Teams Blueprint at emotionatwork.co.uk
