Leaders : Emotional or Stone-headed ?

Its always a debatable topic whether we should be emotional or stone headed while dealing with the people and situations. Venkat and myself always debate on this topic. I strongly believe he is more emotional without display :). Be Emotionless in Business decisions, and Be Emotional in executing it is always my thought process.

The notion "Great leaders never show emotion, until they need to" is becoming void with increasing diversity and job complexity in today's modern workplaces.

The evolving nature of organisations that encompass empathy as one of the key values, makes it mandatory for today's leaders to be open about their emotions and feelings as it helps in developing a better connection with employees. Knowing the need to make themselves seem more human, leaders must bring more emotion into their roles. My insights on how the leaders' success and emotions are related to each other and they should not be emotionless to be the winners all the time.

The Traditional & Contemporary View of Being an Emotional Leader

Have been reading about the famous Big Five Personality Traits that help shape an ineffective leadership style. One of the Big Five Traits is Neuroticism, which is a trait characterised by emotional outbursts, aggression, and anxiety. The research considers this trait a disqualifier for the people from being viewed as a good leader. The opposite of this notion is emotional stability, one of the best traits of effective leadership.

However, things seem to change now. Leaders' emotional display can have an influencing and long-lasting impact on the way employees think, behave, and feel relative to an organisation's vision and goals. For instance, display of negative emotion tends to result in a more analytical thinking within a group as well as increased effort, while positive emotions encourage the people to feel more positive and open about a company’s prospects and are more creative. I experienced Emotional displays also seem to support better group coordination which is vital for collective success as team.

Making a balance between being "Emotional" and "Emotionless"

With all of this said, it doesn’t imply crying in front of the team daily and expect that the team will work harder. One of the keys to displaying emotion is to use it smartly and in a planned way, to be effective. If the leader is overly reactive or overly emotional with it, the team would perceive it as a roller-coaster ride. If the leader is least emotional, they will be viewed as “Mr. Perfect” by their team. So how a leader can find a balance? Let’s explore both sides of the coin for some of the common emotions that leaders face

• Anger & frustration

When you are angry and want to use this emotion wisely with your team, you must show anger towards the situation and not a person. It’s quite like parenting. If a parent screams at their children every time a mess happens, that scream will lose its usefulness after a while as the children will get used to it. On the contrary, if a parent never shows any anger, their children will not listen to them and will not take them seriously.

• Vulnerability

This emotion offers a leader the ability to be viewed as a human. Through being vulnerable, a leader allows his teams to comprehend that mistakes are part of work. They show them that they can fail well and that it’s only a part of the process. In turn, it encourages them to take the initiative and easily make decisions. Having said that, one must be very careful about not to be excessively vulnerable as the team may think of them as being.

• Excitement and hope

This emotion is what is vital for a leader to bring his vision to life. The leaders must be able to light up the room full of hope by exhibiting an excitement in what is to come. However, they must apply an appropriate level of excitement to every task at hand; if they are always super excited, that emotion will get on the nerves of the team and make them resent it a little since they are never able to match that persistent level of excitement themselves.

• Emotional intelligence

Great leaders know empathy and have the skill to read people's minds, needs, and desires. This lets them speak to these needs as well as to fulfil them, if possible.

When employees feel that they are understood and empathised something, a strong bond is developed between both sides, based on trust and confidence.

• Respect & Courtesy

Great leaders don’t finish last; instead, they finish first. Treating all employees with respect is the most vital leadership trait. And courtesy is the gift that keeps on giving back. Indeed, a leader also faces the people who don’t deserve respect, but they must deal with them. However, dealing with such people becomes much easier and if they have got a reputation for honesty, respect, and courtesy.

Ignorance and arrogance kill your leadership as they are the signs of insecurity.

The concluding thoughts

Indeed, there are still a lot of questions regarding the association between emotion and persuasion. The leaders must pay attention to their emotions. Leaders who show emotions wisely have great social skills, which make them the excellent team players as they can to move an agenda while keeping focus at the same time being aware of the emotional climate of the company to respond to it effectively. These leaders are excellent at networking, making connections, and bringing people together for mutual success.