OLEAD409:

Lesson Overview

Emotion is an important aspect of leadership and helps to determine leadership effectiveness. To a great degree, leadership involves emotional management and emotional exchanges between leaders and subordinates.

This lesson discusses the concept of emotion, its features, and the importance and role of emotion in leadership effectiveness and development.

Reading Assignment

• Ashkanasy, N. M., & Daus, C. S. (2002). Emotion in the workplace: The new challenge for managers. Academy of Management Executive, 16(1), 76–86.
• Coutu, D. L. (2004, Oct.). Negotiating without a net. Harvard Business Review, 80, 49–54.*

Lesson Objectives

When you have successfully completed this module you should be able to

• define the concept of emotion;
• differentiate between emotions and moods;
• discuss what function emotion serves;
• identify the source of emotion; and
• apply concepts about emotion to leadership issues.

To continue to the next page, click on the arrow pointing to the right at the top or bottom of the page (on the right side).

Why Emotion?

Historically, the role of emotion in management and other aspects of organizational life has been largely ignored. Emotion was often seen as a source of irrational behavior, and conventional wisdom advised managers to create an emotion-free environment to eliminate disruptive behavior which interfered with productivity.  

In recent years, however, this has begun to change. People now realize that emotion is a necessary element within the workplace. Depending upon how it is managed, it can have a positive influence on performance.

Watch the video below, then think about the relationship between what Bennis discusses in the video and this lesson's readings. Click the white arrow to launch the video.

What is Emotion?

Affect is a generic term that encompasses a broad range of feelings that people experience, which includes both emotions and moods. Compared to moods, emotions are intense feelings and/or reactions that are directed at someone or something. However, emotions and moods can influence each other.

A Basic Set of Emotions

© iStockphoto/Thinkstock

Although there are different ways to categorize emotions, there is general agreement that there are six universal emotions:  

1. happiness;
2. surprise;
3. fear;
4. sadness;
5. anger; and
6. disgust.

Sources of Emotions

1. Personality. People differ in their intensity of emotional experience as a function of their personalities. Positive events, for instance, are more likely to contribute to positive moods and emotions among extraverts than introverts.
2. Stress. Stress can determine a person's  emotional state; for instance, fear, sadness, and anger.
3. Social Activities. Pleasant social experiences tend to elicit positive emotions.
4. Age. Negative emotions are less evident as people grow older.
5. Gender. Compared to men, women are more emotionally expressive, experience emotions more intensely, report more comfort in expressing emotions, and read nonverbal cues more accurately.  

 

External Constraints on Emotions

Two types of environmental factors, organizational and cultural, influence the emotions people experience and display in the workplace.

1. Organizational Influences
   
   
   1. There is no universal agreement about which forms of emotional expression are allowed (or not) in organizations. Organizations have different values and standards concerning this matter. 
   
   
   2. In the United States, many organizations discourage expressing negative emotion such as fear, anxiety, and anger.


2. Cultural Influences
   
   
   1. In the United States, employees in service industries typically are expected to smile and be friendly when interacting with customers. In other countries such as Finland, The Netherlands, and Israel, such displays of sociability are considered to be unduly familiar.
   
   
   2. Differences in understanding what constitutes appropriate displays of emotional expression tend to be less pronounced within cultures than between them.

Emotional Intelligence

As discussed above, emotional management is an important aspect of leadership; how a manager handles this is, in large part, a reflection of his or her emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence encompasses non-cognitive skills, abilities, and competencies that allow you to handle those environmental demands and pressures (these can trigger forms of emotional arousal, a possible source of dysfunctional influence).  Emotional intelligence operates in two domains: the management of your own emotions and those of others.  Leaders are not always fully aware of this duality and what it requires of them.

Emotional intelligence has four dimensions:

Emotional Dimensions

Emotional self-awareness:	the degree to which you understand your own emotions and feelings;
Emotional self-management:	the degree to which you are able to manage your own emotions and impulses;
Emotional self-motivation:	your ability to persist in the face of setbacks and failures; and
Other's emotional management (empathy):	the ability to sense others’ emotional states and to respond appropriately.

In the video below, Maureen Rabotin discusses emotional intelligence in the workplace. Watch the video then think about the relationship between what Rabotin discusses in the video and this lesson's readings. Click the white arrow to launch the video.

Emotion and Leadership

Emotion can have a profound affect on your attitude toward work, performance, and leadership development. The role of emotion is becoming increasingly important in how we understand organizational decision making; the view that emotion disrupts the process is now largely passé. Emotional management is also very important is negotiations as Coutu (2002) has observed. Leaders need to use emotion, as well as rational and intuitive processes, when making decisions and exercising positive influence on organizational performance. 

Furthermore, a leader should be able to use emotion when speaking to emphasize what he or she is saying. It is not an exaggeration to say that emotion is often the critical element that results in followers’ acceptance or rejection leaders’ messages. Emotional management is also very important is negotiations as Coutu (2002) has observed.

Finally, it is important that a leader not underestimate the importance of facilitating subordinates' emotional expression in ways that benefit both performance and interpersonal relationships in the workplace.

Activities

1. Weekly Online Discussion

   Write a thoughtful, well-considered answer to one of the two questions below and post it to the class discussion board. Your post should be 400–600 words in length. Postings and responses will be evaluated using the following grading rubric. This is worth 100 points.

   • Why is emotion management or emotional intelligence important for leadership development?
   • How can you detect and manage other’s emotions in work settings?

   Read the responses your classmates have posted to the question above. Then prepare a carefully thought-out and critical response to one of your classmates' answers and post it as a reply to that student's post on the discussion board. Your post should be 300–500 words in length. This is worth 100 points.

   Posting your response to the threaded discussion forum.

   Note: You may wish to compose your answer first in a word processing program and cut and paste that answer into your post to the Lesson 6 Discussion Forum.

   If you are the first person to respond, don’t worry. You do not need to respond to anyone else, just yet. Once your classmates have begun to post their responses, make sure you respond to their thoughts by posting any comments or additional thoughts you may have.

   This post, in conjunction with your original post a response to another student's message, will be worth 200 points. A good response should fully address all components of the question, make direct reference to the assigned reading, and demonstrate an appropriate understanding of the concepts under discussion. It should also be clearly organized and use proper spelling and grammar.

   Submit your response and respond to peers on the Lesson 6 Discussion Forum.

2. Emotional Intelligence Essay

   Finish the online self-assessment of emotional intelligence, and write a thoughtful, well-considered essay, in which you answer the following question:

   1. How do you plan to increase your EQ? Please come up a few specific and actionable strategies.
    

   Your essay should be 500–750 in length. It should be complete, reasonably free from errors, clearly organized, and well thought out. It is worth 200 points.

   Submit your completed essay to the Emotional Intelligence Essay Drop Box.