Emotions in Leadership

"We hide emotions to stay in control, look strong, and keep things at arm's length," observed Doug Sundheim, in his article "Good Leaders, Get Emotional," in Harvard Business Review (August 15, 2013). "But in reality, but doing so diminishes our control and weakens our capacity to lead because it hamstrings us. We end up not saying what we mean or meaning what we say. We beat around the bush. And that never connects, compels or communicates powerfully.

"Yes, being too emotional in business can create problems.  It clouds objective analysis, screws up negotiations, and leads to rash decisions. But in nearly two decades of working with leaders, I've found that showing too much emotion is far less of a problem than the opposite - showing too little.

"Emotions are critical to everything a leader must do: build trust, strengthen relationships, set a vision, focus energy, get people moving, make trade-offs or tough decisions, and learn from failure. Without genuine emotion these things always fall flat and stall. You need emotions on the front end to inform prioritization. You need it on the back end to motivate and inspire."

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