Drawing on the title quote from Thomas Sowell, an American economist, economic historian, social philosopher and political commentator, we see heightened emotions from all sides of the current situation. What we don't see as much is the underlying facts supporting the views loudly expressed across the various news platforms, both traditional and non-traditional. It is the facts that leaders must consider when making their key decisions and address as many of the positions loudly expressed as possible. As we wrote about
previously, we don't disagree on the facts, we disagree on the interpretation of the facts, usually with a strong emotional attachment.
This situation is a good reminder for leaders to understand the impact of emotional Intelligence on their ability to lead today’s workforce. We reminisce of the days past where nobody cared how we felt about a situation. Today’s workforce, and society by extension, is very different in that feelings are more overt and openly communicated. The four elements of emotional intelligence (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship management) are a reminder to manage our own emotions as leaders with a keen eye on the relevance of the emotion to the current situation. It also reminds leaders to acknowledge other’s emotions even though they may ultimately be a barrier to a sound business decision.
Along these lines is a common trap that we see leaders fall into and that is reacting to the reactions of others. What can start out as a rational dialog about what is happening in Washington can easily evolve into an emotionally charged argument where sides are taken and emotions run higher than usual. What happens is the discussion becomes one of emotional reactions to the other party’s emotions to the point that the original point of the discussion is lost in the noise. At this point, there is very little value in discussing the facts involved in the discussion, a situation leaders must see unfolding and avoid to be effective.
A topic we’ve written and spoken widely about is the leader’s ability to critically think. We define critical thinking as the process where leaders question their own assumptions, as well as those of others, using a mix of research, analysis, questioning and exploring new ideas to inform in a way not restricted by the subjective perspectives of peers and/or the status quo. Subjective input to most discussions is emotionally based and thus, while certainly containing some element of fact, may provide a skewed interpretation of those facts. One of the easiest ways to manage this for leaders is to be well read on all sides of an issue so they mitigate the wide array of interpretations as well as their own biases on the subject.
Jay Goltz, the author of
The Street-Smart Entrepreneur, is quoted in the book saying, “Lesson #18: Emotions can be a leadership asset and a management liability”. When leaders are looking to inspire their teams and rally the organization around a cause, vision, mission or purpose, emotions are quite useful to achieving that end. When the necessary facts are in play to make the right business decision, these same emotions can become a liability as they cloud the objective decision-making process. It is the artful balance leaders must take between emotions and facts to help their teams stay focused on the strategy and achieving desired results!
How are you effectively managing emotions and facts on your teams? If you’re not sure,
we can help!
Lead well!
