Heather Dranitsaris-Hilliard

Leaders no longer have the protection of a structure of given authority behind which their vulnerabilities remain unseen. The new social norms have transformed organizations into social democracies where leaders are expected to reveal themselves and their irrational side to their staff, to enhance their awareness and sensitivity to group dynamics, and to increase their ability to communicate affect. In summary, it requires them to be emotionally astute and self aware.
Part of the new reality of organizational life is that organizations are emotional places simply because they rely on human beings to function. The notion that adult humans are emotional beings who experience love, hate, fear, and envy who are prone to pleasure and pain, and who have a need to express these emotions in the context of their work, has become more acceptable. It is also recognized that the interpersonal nature of organizations results in the inevitable arousal of emotions such fear, anxiety, and envy resulting in competitiveness, rivalry, conflict, dominance and submission.
Although emotions are central to human behavior and experience, scientific theory and research dismissed their relevance during most of the last century. Previously, this area was less pertinent, as the focus of leadership was on systems, structure and function, and the dynamics of how these interacted with the external environment. Emotions were viewed as immaterial to and interfering with the achievement of objectives. The focus has shifted dramatically during the last 30 years, however, and we have observed increased interest in emotions in a number of disciplines, including leadership behaviour. As a result, the role of emotion and interpersonal effectiveness in leadership success has taken on a greater level of importance.
Despite this shift, there is still a long road ahead. While the rational mind of leaders accepts their importance in theory, and gives intellectual assent to their importance, emotions are still not understood, nor are they utilized to the benefit of organizations. Emotions continue to be repressed or controlled within leadership teams and within organizational cultures. Although Emotional Intelligence is popular as a leadership development concept, it is rarely utilized as a mechanism for exploring the emotional life of the leader and organization. In addition, the leader’s beliefs about emotional expression and the potential negative consequences of changing their own behaviour gets in the way of harnessing the power of emotions and the energy they produce in the service of the corporate objectives. As a result, emotions continue to be judged and marginalized, with little focus on understanding the relationship between an emotion and the behaviour it evokes, nor on the impact emotions have on decision-making, employees, culture and organizational success.

Cheers,
Anne Dranitsaris, PhD