The staffing of public works is changing. As the generational divide expands throughout the industry, emotional intelligence moves beyond buzzword to a practical and necessary skill set. Emotional intelligence provides improved communication, self-awareness, conflict resolution, and empathy amongst staff and public engagement. It is becoming essential to identify and empower staff with high emotional intelligence, leveraging these individuals to train and develop agency wide. As professionals, it is important to fully commit to utilizing emotional intelligence to create a workforce capable of working inclusively together to better serve public works and our communities.