Leading with Emotion: The Unexpected Key to Building Trust, Innovation, and Success in Business
Emotion in business, what is it good for? Absolutely, everything. As leaders of engineers, we love to think of ourselves as logical and analytical professionals driven by logic and data. Of course, quantitative measures have great value, especially when looking at simple 0/1 (yes/no) issues. However, all of this breaks down when problems become complex and multiple people are involved with their own agendas.
Emotion is a central part of every human being. Passion drives us through challenges, whether from fear or excitement. Emotion also dictates how well we work with an individual: whether we respect and enjoy their company or resent and dread working with them. By mindfully leveraging emotion, we can steer these dynamics towards more positive outcomes, fostering a more harmonious and productive work environment.
Sartre is one of my favorite philosophers. He does not believe in free will. He says we will pre-reflexively do whatever we are going to do based on our nature, nurture, and knowledge. Pre-reflexive tendencies refer to our automatic, instinctive responses to situations, which are influenced by our past experiences and learning. I disagree in part. If you fail to be self-reflective, you absolutely will be run by your pre-reflexive tendencies.
Your brain is not hard coded, though you should learn from your mistakes. As an Autistic person, I have had to learn social cues from scratch. Every time I have an interaction that does not go the way I want, I ask myself what I can do in the future to achieve a better outcome. Suppose you practice self-reflection and work toward meaningful change in your interactions. In that case, I guarantee you will see considerable positive results and be recognized as someone who improves, an extraordinarily rare quality.
Business is all about networks of people; no one is an island. Every interaction you have in your networks has the potential to be very influential, positively or negatively. So, how can you leverage these interactions to maximize positive outcomes and foster a culture of success?
Empathy is a powerful tool in business. Making people believe you do not care about them or their feelings upsets them. It builds resentment, distrust, and potentially an active advisary. Fortunately, this is relatively easily avoidable. By demonstrating empathy, you cannot only avoid these negative outcomes but also build trust and rapport with your team.
Whenever possible, make sure the other person feels heard through active listening and dialogic consulting. Offer to include them in the decision-making process. You will be surprised, most people don't have input, but just want to be asked for input. Once the decision has been made and is being executed, check back in with your team for feedback, especially if things are going well. I used only to check in when things were going badly, which created a negative assumption. Once I learned to ask about positive outcomes as well, I got rid of the negative assumption, and people also started to enjoy my presence more as we mutually celebrated these wins.
Ultimately, emotional intelligence is not a soft skill but a critical leadership tool. Leaders can build stronger, more trusting relationships with their teams by cultivating empathy, practicing self-reflection, and actively listening. Emotion is a powerful driver of behavior, and when leveraged thoughtfully, it can transform team dynamics, foster innovation, and create a culture of success. Leadership is not just about logic and data; it's about understanding and connecting with the people who make the business thrive.