It’s time to rebrand emotions at work
As someone who studied marketing in university and spent most of my corporate life as a leader, I’m now convinced the concept of “emotions at work” needs a major rebrand. And I can prove it with one simple question.
When you think about emotions at work, what comes to mind first?
If you’re like most people, your mind probably goes to frustration, anger, stress, people venting, crying in meetings….
This is not random. As humans, most of us are wired with a negativity bias. We see and think about the negative things first.
But what is the side effect of this bias? Specifically for leaders.
If we immediately associate emotions at work with something negative (unprofessional, weak…), the normal knee-jerk reaction becomes making sure I don’t show any.
But here’s the challenge I see.
When you spend all your energy trying not to show “unpleasant” emotions, you do not just filter the difficult ones. You end up muting all of them.
When you attempt to bottle up "negative" emotions like anger or anxiety, you unintentionally limit your capacity to experience and express positive emotions like joy and excitement. Psychological and neuroscientific studies support this non-selective flattening effect.
Transformational leadership does not exist without displaying emotions of hope, care, excitement, pride and passion. It also does not exist without a mastery of our negative states like anger and frustration.
So it is time to rebrand emotions at work. From something negative…to something strategic. A key lever to help you achieve your goals.
Because in a world where people are constantly trying to feel connected their organization’s purpose, the leaders who stand out are not the ones who show less emotions. They are the ones who use them well.