With the enterprise investment landscape presenting a barren vista and business confidence diminished, the challenges of restoring our individual self-belief and of building our capacity to inject enthusiasm and energy into our organisations are colossal. And it is in such circumstances that the mettle of leadership is forged. Indeed sustaining motivation in the face of adversity is a particular distinguishing feature of leaders who accomplish long term success.
Experiencing feelings of anxiety, uncertainty and even genuine terror is entirely routine in difficult circumstances. What is not commonplace, however, is the degree to which individuals harness the potential of such unpleasant emotions to expand their individual motivational capability and amplify their capacity to move forward towards new prospects.
Our emotions are bodily and mental states that are capable of allowing us to initiate or resist change in our lives. They can be regarded as boundaries that mediate between the environment and our behavioural responses and they serve important functions in determining how we respond to the challenges we encounter daily.
From an organisational perspective, emotions can prompt specific actions through their effect on physical, mental and social processes, so that the emotional response of individuals to dramatic events can have wide ranging implications in the workplace. How we listen to and interpret the messages offered by our emotions can determine or deter our capability to achieve success. So why is it that so little attention is paid to the issue of emotion in our workplaces and why indeed is there a widespread tendency among managers and leaders to regard displays of emotion with suspicion, derision and disapproval?
The answer to this conundrum has much to do with the alpha male tradition that pervades many organisations which suggests that "big boys don't 'do' emotions", but it also has strong links to our business education systems.
Some time ago I was facilitating a leadership development workshop dealing with the subject of motivation, at a well-known business school. Midway through the morning session one of the female participants asked me if I considered that emotions had a role to play in the workplace. She explained her query by stating that her (male) boss, who had recently been awarded an MBA degree by one of Europe's leading business schools, was adament that, as she paraphrased it, "emotions have no place in organisation life". She added that while she held her boss and his business knowledge in high regard, she found his certainty on this issue unsettling.
While I was intrigued by the question, I was hardly surprised by its underlying rationale.
Considering:
· That there is such a high preponderance of males in the upper echelons of our organisations,
· The longstanding tradition of rationality existing in business environments , and
· The almost relentless emphasis on short-term profit and productivity in many companies
it is hardly surprising that people issues are frequently pushed down the organisational agenda. And it is these very people issues (and not engineering, financial or marketing matters) that contribute to the culture and climate that provide the oxygen and lifeblood of a business - its emotional core
This is not to suggest that business education does not focus on people management issues. On the contrary, the educational programmes in most academic settings provide a host of courses in human resource management, industrial relations and organisational behaviour. But, a review of the contemporary syllabi of most of leading business schools indicates an almost total absence of any reference to the emotional dynamics that are central to the functioning of our organisations.
Without some understanding of such issues, little wonder that the tradition of "no emotions wanted here" prevails.
So, is there a place for emotions in organisation life? Simply put, how can organisations function without them? Organisations devoid of emotions are barren and desolate places. Without emotions, how can the people in organisations dream, hope, strive and endure? And how can they struggle, celebrate, rejoice and enjoy?
For sure, in today's difficult times the need to focus on profits and profitability is essential. But in such times emotions such as fear, uncertainty, and distress are elevated and motivation levels diminished accordingly. And unless leaders harness their own capability to help their people to move with hope through the dark days, then opportunities to maximise the potential of their organisations will be constrained.
The idea of 'servant leadership' put forward by Robert Greenleaf requires courage, understanding and commitment. It is an idea that requires leaders to do what Nelson Mandela sees as imperative – helping the people to go where they need to go. And it is one that is most needed during these dark and uncertain days.
Such leadership is born of compassion, it is built upon a commitment to bringing out the best from our people, and, most importantly it is fashioned in the furnace of emotion - where:
"People remember what you make them feel,
long after they have forgotten what you made them think".
