Preparing for a speech to the leadership of an organization facing major restructuring, I asked the meeting planner for background on the audience.
"We've presented all the facts," she replied. "But it would be much easier if everyone weren't so emotional!"
In the business world, it seems, people are supposed to think logically and act rationally. Steeped in this belief, leaders quantify everything possible and try to present information in ways that help employees make objective decisions.
Emotions are not supposed to be part of the equation. But employees bring emotions to the workplace. And the more I study the psychology of people at work, the more I see how emotions are integral to everything that happens in an organization.
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. This makes it clear that mental processes we're not conscious of drive decision-making, and logical reasoning is really just a way to justify emotional choices.
Emotion gets our attention. Emotionally charged stimuli persist much longer in memory, and people remember the emotional components (fear, joy, surprise, anger, embarrassment, etc.) of an experience better than any other.
Emotions dictate actions. Since our past experiences carry an emotional charge that is encoded in memory, we subconsciously assess situations based on past emotions – and are then motivated to act on those we have labeled "good" and reject those deemed "bad."
Emotions drive performance. Positive emotions increase energy, learning and motivation. Worry, resentment or boredom decreases physical and mental energy and impairs mental agility. And when the pressure becomes excessive, soaring cortisol levels combined with adrenaline can actually paralyze our mental functions.
Emotions can even highjack negotiations. When we negotiate in a positive mood, it increases our tendency to select a cooperative strategy and helps us to avoid the development of hostility and conflict. Negotiating when angry makes us less likely to accurately judge the interests of opponents and less likely to achieve joint gains.
Emotions are highly infectious and "catching" them is a universal human phenomenon. A research study had nurses record their moods each day at work for three weeks. It found that the mood of different teams shifted together over time. It also found this same tendency of emotions to move in a lockstep fashion in teams of accountants.
Emotions flow most strongly from the most powerful person in the room to others. We monitor our leaders and are extremely sensitive to what the boss says and does. Researchers have found that when business leaders are in a good mood, members of their work groups experience more positive emotions and are more productive than groups whose leaders are in a bad mood.
So I made sure my harried meeting planner understood that, sure, we all want change to make logical sense. But we also need – and it's a primary need – to view challenges and solutions in ways that validate and influence the way we feel about our organizations, our jobs, and ourselves.
And that involves emotions. Because, as I told her, emotions have already been driving or inhibiting the organization's successful transformation.
Carol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D. is an executive coach and international keynote speaker at corporate, government, and association events. She's the author of "The Nonverbal Advantage: Secrets and Science of Body Language at Work." To contact Carol about speaking or coaching, call 510-526-1727, email CGoman@CKG.com.
