Great Leaders are Positively Infectious
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A
business simulation experiment at Yale University gave two groups of
people the assignment of deciding how much of a bonus to give each
employee from a set fund of money. Each person in the group was to get
as large a bonus as possible for certain employees, while being fair to
the entire employee population. In one group, the conflicting agendas
led to stress and tension, while in the second group, everyone ended up
feeling good about the result. The difference in emotional response was
created by the “plants” – actors who had been secretly assigned to
manipulate people’s feelings about the project. In the first group, the
actor was negative and downbeat, and in the second, positive and
upbeat. The emotional tone of the meetings followed the lead of each
actor – although none of the group members understood how or why those
particular feelings had emerged.
Here’s
why this is important for all leaders – and crucial for change agents:
1. All decisions
are emotional. According to the neurologist
and author Antonio Damasio, the center of our conscious thought (the
prefrontal cortex) is so tightly connected to the emotion-generating
amygdala, that no one makes decisions based on pure
logic. Damasio’s research makes it clear that mental processes we’re
not conscious of drive our decision making, and logical reasoning is
really no more than a way to justify emotional choices.
2. Emotions are
infectious.
Like the common cold, emotions are literally contagious. You can
"catch" an emotion just by being in the same room with someone.
Emotional contagion is primarily a nonverbal process. And since
emotional leads tend to flow from the most powerful person in a group
to the others, when the leader is angry or depressed, negative body
language can spread like a virus to the rest of the team, affecting
attitudes and lowering energy. Conversely, happy and buoyant leaders
are likely to make the entire team feel upbeat and energized.
3. People watch
your every move. During a major change, people
will be on high alert – constantly looking to their leader for
emotional cues. If you stay relaxed and optimistic, members of your
work groups will be more positive and more productive. If you become
upset, depressed or angry, those emotions will be replicated by your
team and expressed in a variety of less-than-optimal results including
higher absenteeism and lower productivity.
4. Body language
says it all.
My best advice is never to promote an initiative you don’t believe in –
and always be as transparent and candid as possible. Doing so will help
your body align authentically to reflect that openness. Even then you
will need to pay close attention to your nonverbal signals. If you
slouch, look down, clasp your hands in front of you, sway back and
forth, or sound tentative, these behaviors (even if they are only
nervous habits) can come across as uncertainty or insincerity.
5. Positive
motivation is most effective. Leaders use two sets of
emotions to motivate change: negative and positive. In “crisis
motivation” and “burning platform” rationales, the basic idea is to
frighten employees into accepting change. And there is no doubt that
negative emotions can be effective. Fear, anger, and disgust all
trigger physiological responses that prepare the body for quick and
specific actions.
But
far more frequently, organizational change is neither quick nor
specific. Rather, it is continuous, evolutionary and often strangely
ambiguous in nature -- a fact that requires much more innovative and
flexible approaches to its management. For this kind of change negative
emotions aren’t much help at all. In fact, negativity significantly
diminishes problem-solving abilities and narrows rather than expands
creative thinking. That why today’s most effective change agents focus
primarily on positive emotions that motivate people to commit to change
and to act on that commitment.
Daniel
Goleman’s book, The New Leaders, starts with this
statement:
“Great leaders move us. They ignite our passion and inspire the best in
us. When we try to explain why they are so effective, we speak of
strategy, vision, or powerful ideas. But the reality is much more
primal. Great leadership works through the emotions.”
About the Author
Carol
Kinsey Goman, Ph.D. is an executive coach, change-management
consultant, and international keynote speaker at corporate, government,
and association events. She’s a panelist for The Washington Post’s “On
Leadership” column, a blogger on Forbes.com, a columnist for “the
Market” magazine, and the author of “THE
SILENT LANGUAGE OF LEADERS: How Body Language Can help – or Hurt – How
You Lead.”
To
contact Carol about speaking or coaching, call 510-526-172 or email
CGoman@CKG.com.
To more information or to view videos, visit Carol’s website: http://www.SilentLanguageOfLeaders.com.
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Article Published/Sorted/Amended on Scopulus 2012-07-18 12:25:51 in Personal Articles
