Being a leader isn’t easy, nor is it a question of in-born natural talent. Most of what you need to know is learned on the job, in response to a variety of pressures and expectations. Consistently effective management requires a high inner stability, making emotional health one of the most critical leadership attributes to keep an organization running well.
Studies and statistics tell us the woes of employees dealing with leaders who make life difficult. The rates of disengagement and turnover attest, in part, to how leaders can make work an undesirable experience. Leaders who cause cultures to have low morale, disunity or distrust are likely to have deficient emotional health. Often this condition stresses the emotional health of everyone.
If you were to take a step back, would you be able to sense any emotionally difficult aspects of your leadership role? Would you say they inhibit your performance, or the performance of those reporting to you?
Anyone can allow emotions to override discernment or rational thinking. But when this happens to a leader, unfortunate consequences can result from compromised solution generation and decision making. Therefore, leaders at all organizational levels must master appraisal and expression of emotions.
This is one of the most challenging areas of leadership. In addition to technical skills and people skills, emotional skills require the deepest self-discovery. They require an accurate self-awareness that often calls for honest feedback from others.
Let’s face it, while we’re often quick to critique others, being on the receiving end involves an entirely different set of emotional and psychological skills. Many leaders I know are uncomfortable with emotions in business. In truth, every human interaction is emotionally charged — especially at work. You can try to ignore this reality, but do so at your own peril.
What do you think? As a leader, how is your emotional health? I’d love to hear from you. You can call me at 561-582-6060; let’s talk. And as always, I can be reached here or on LinkedIn.
