How Moods Impact Results
Daniel Goleman
Director of Daniel Goleman Emotional Intelligence Online Courses and Senior Consultant at Goleman Consulting Group
Emotions are highly intense, fleeting, and sometimes disruptive to work; moods tend to be less intense, longer-lasting feelings that typically don’t interfere with the job at hand. And an emotional episode usually leaves a corresponding lingering mood: a low-key, continual flow of feeling throughout the group. Although emotions and moods may seem trivial from a business point of view, they have real consequences for getting work done.
A leader’s mild anxiety can act as a signal that something needs more attention and careful thought. In fact, a sober mood can help immensely when considering a risky situation – and too much optimism can lead to ignoring dangers. A sudden flood of anger can rivet a leader’s attention on an urgent problem – such as the revelation that a senior executive has engaged in sexual harassment – redirecting the leader’s energies from the normal round of concerns toward finding a solution, such as improving the organization’s efforts to eliminate harassment.
While mild anxiety (such as over a looming deadline) can focus attention and energy, prolonged distress can sabotage a leader’s relationships and also hamper work performance by diminishing the brain’s ability to process information and respond effectively. A good laugh or an upbeat mood, on the other hand, more often enhances the neural abilities crucial for doing good work.
Both good and bad moods tend to perpetuate themselves, in part because they skew perceptions and memories: When people feel upbeat, they see the positive light in a situation and recall the good things about it, and when they feel bad, they focus on the downside.
Beyond this perceptual skew, the stew of stress hormones secreted when a person is upset takes hours to become reabsorbed in the body and fade away. That’s why a sour relationship with a boss can leave a person a captive of that distress, with a mind preoccupied and a body unable to calm itself: He got me so upset during that meeting I couldn’t go to sleep for hours last night. As a result, we naturally prefer being with people who are emotionally positive, in part because they make us feel good.
Learn more about my research findings on emotionally intelligent leadership in my upcoming digital audiobook Leadership: The Power of Emotional Intelligence – Selected Writings. The print edition is available now from More Than Sound.
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Daniel Goleman’s upcoming book FOCUS: The Hidden Driver of Excellence and CD Cultivating Focus: Techniques for Excellence are now available for pre-order (publication date is October 8).
His more recent books are The Brain and Emotional Intelligence: New Insights and Leadership: The Power of Emotional Intelligence – Selected Writings (More Than Sound).
Leadership: A Master Class is Goleman’s first-ever comprehensive video series that examines the best practices of top-performing executives.
owner at Simpson Funeral Home
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Retired
9yGreat article!
Administration/HR
10yPositive psychology by Dr. Seligman head of APA will get you and your team motivated and enthusiasm is key!
Human Resources Business Partner
10yWhat about the Boss who is actually suffering from certain mood flicks??? What if the Boss tries to avoid the communication just in order to shirk from his/her responsibilities??? Work also hampers if there is zero communication between the employee and the Boss and it also affects the environment of the workplace. i guess such personalities are timid and they feel a sense of insecurity even in expressing their suggestions in front of their seniors. The are so concious about losing their job as if it is the only and the last one which they ever had. Does such Boss have some choices??
We help Organisations increase key business outcomes by building high performing leaders, teams and people. Recipient of 8 International and National Awards in leadership and team development & executive coaching
10yThe power and impact of emotions on ourselves and others has never been fully appreciated, until recent times, with the likes of researchers such as Goleman. It is interesting to note, when I am working with countless organisations, how still (even today) there seems a lot of confusion in companies as to the real impact that emotions have throughout all levels. The main focus has been on completing tasks (after all, is that not we are paid to do?) but little understanding how emotions are motivating, inspiring and also play a role in communicating to, and relating well with others. Do you feel that most organisations with which you deal have a sound understanding of the concepts of emotional intelligence or about they still struggling with it?