Emotions In A Company

The myth of emotional detachment has been debunked by modern neurosciences, which demonstrates how emotions are one of the most powerful forms of communication, especially in the context of decision-making processes and human capital management.

Being a leader means mastering the art of persuasion, an element in which emotions play a leading role.

The emotional well-being and effectiveness of a working group depend on the ability to provide constructive feedback, capable of highlighting and welcoming critical issues and directing attention to the crucial aspects that need to be improved.

As all know, the task of a leader is, mainly, to be able to inspire and guide a specific group of people, in such a way as to best channel everyone’s skills in favor of their business.

Someone said that the leader is like a man alone in command, an expression that can probably represent the working situation of many people: entrepreneurs, managers, women, and men who have the responsibility of leading a group but who often have to act independently.

And also we are well aware that in recent decades numerous studies have highlighted the key role that emotions play, in the workplace, not only in terms of psychophysical well-being but also in terms of effectiveness and productivity.

As with every evolutionary leap, made by human civilization, religious, social, political, economic, and technological innovations appear, in the same way, new organizational models also appear. And the more time seems to depersonalize and commodify relationships, the more it is necessary to create emotionally intelligent environments, capable of hosting sincere relationships, made up of emotions and feelings.

In particular, it has been considered that even “the man or woman alone in command” experience emotions and feelings: they get angry, they rejoice, they feel envious, they worry, they are afraid, and so on.

Furthermore, the best leaders are precisely those who have been able to find effective methods to understand and develop their way of managing emotions, their own and those of others. Not only that, but the successful leader is aware that the mood of the team is largely influenced by their own emotions, because “everyone’s eyes are on the boss”.

In fact, every emotion, from the most negative to the most positive, if correctly interpreted and understood, can turn into an opportunity for growth for everyone, from the leader to colleagues who work in the same team.

In summary, a good leader must be able to manage all situations with “high emotional potential”. He must be able to direct emotions in the right direction, otherwise, everything he has undertaken up to that moment, whether it is fine strategies or brilliant monetary investments, will inevitably be affected.

Ultimately, we can agree that the leader’s emotions affect the group and that, therefore, it becomes essential for those who hold leadership roles to reserve part of their energies also for improving their own capacity for emotional self-regulation.

I believe that this can happen starting from an awareness, from a change of mentality that requires commitment and willingness to get involved as individuals, rather than as professionals. Also because the leader is the person who, more than anyone else, has an influence on individuals and their ability to give their best: the perception that people have of the corporate climate depends above all on the leader.

And precisely because many responsibilities weigh on leaders that can distract them from focusing on this aspect, it is necessary to be aware that their emotional state and, consequently, their actions have a weight on their collaborators and influence their performance.

The ability to manage one’s own mood and that of others is not a private matter, but becomes an indispensable soft skill for being good leaders. It is one of the capabilities that have an influence on profits and can therefore lead the company to success. Simply because everyone focuses their eyes on the boss, who, precisely because of the role he plays, has a greater influence on those around him. The leader has a great role in determining the emotional standard of the group: it is known that propagating positive moods has direct implications on professional results, while negative emotions constitute a factor of disturbance on a personal and professional level, since they hijack the attention away from work and, consequently, decrease productivity.

Incidentally, it should be remembered that within a group it is also possible that not only the “role” leaders are at the center of attention, but there may be inside the team, emotional “potential” leaders, able to handle the situation, above all if the role leader has little credibility.

Apart from this, there is no doubt that a leader who aspires to govern his team of collaborators effectively must acquire self-awareness and rethink his role also from an emotional point of view. Being able, in this way, even more easily to get closer to the emotions of the team members.

All of the above is what is commonly referred to as emotional intelligence.

However, being endowed with emotional intelligence does not mean showing off one’s feelings without any kind of filter, exposing them in a crude way and guided by the momentum, but rather it means controlling them, so as to express them appropriately and constructively, thus allowing a serene and effective collaboration.

We can therefore understand that emotional intelligence is a skill that is acquired and that improves as we gain experience in the social field, thus acquiring the necessary awareness, the ability to recognize one’s emotions, to understand how these could affect others and use this knowledge to guide one’s decision-making processes, as well as social skills, i.e. being able to better “read” the different scenarios and the different social situations in which one is immersed, managing to interact constructively with team members, persuade them, avoid disputes and guide them towards common goals.