Chapter Two: Resonant Leadership
This chapter just digs a little deeper into the defining characteristics and effects of resonance and dissonance in leadership. Resonance, it explains, comes from the notion of sound or music. When frequencies are in aligned there is harmony. Dissonance represents a state where there is a lot of "signal noise." These two states have a marked effect on the way people perform at work. The authors talk about the vital importance of people's ability to connect with others at work. Everyone likes to be part of something bigger than themselves, so it a good feeling when a team project comes together well and the various people involved (assuming they feel a connection to each other) can celebrate and feel good about it together. These positive feelings of connection drive people to achieve more together. On the other hand, if the leader creates an environment of dissonance, people will simply go "through the motions of their work...doing merely a good enough job rather than giving their best." This statement resonated with me (no pun intended) as it is very similar to the notion I shared in the opening post about my leadership style being linked to principles of positive and negative reinforcement in animal training.The former has no ceiling to the heights people (or animals) will go to achieve more. The latter works well and quickly, but it typically results in people doing just what they need to do to avoid the punishment, so there is a limit to the heights they can achieve.
As the chapter began to dive into dissonant leadership, I was surprised to read of a study of more than a thousand US workers which found that 42 percent reported cases of yelling and other types of verbal abuse in the work place. 30 percent of the people studied admitted to having yelled at co-workers themselves. The company I work for is quite large and has it's share of challenges but we have an organizational culture that simply does not allow for such behavior. I've been working there in one capacity or another, for 16 years so it's hard for me to imagine that kind of behavior happening at work. The authors discuss the toxicity this causes and how it can pervade a person's work space, as well as their home since they can't just shake it off at 5pm. The results are employees who are burned out, dispirited, and looking for another job. Or worse, staying in a job they hate and adding to the organizational dissonance. The authors compare these types of leaders to the "dementors" in the Harry Potter books who drain all the peace, joy, and hope from people. I found that to be a fun diversion in an otherwise stoic book (so far).
The remainder of the chapter talks about the important balance between the emotions and intellect in leadership. Often intellect it touted as a key predictor of success or failure in leadership. While a leader must have certain knowledge, skills, and intellect to run a team, a big brain is simply not enough. They talk about the fact that thinking brain (frontal cortex) evolved from the emotional brain (limbic system). During times of emergency, the emotional centers of the brain always get control of a situation. If there's a fire, we sense the threat and jump into action to get ourselves and perhaps others out of harms way. However, the leader never learned or can't remember the safety protocols in a fire, then their emotional drive to act has no direction. The most successful leaders, they say, are the ones who most perfectly balance these two parts of the brain. I know I've seen this in action and I'm sure most others have too. You want a leader who knows more than you and can teach you, or a leader who is great at what they do and can perform at a very high level. But you also want a leader who is in touch with you and your needs as well as those of the overall department. Too much intellect and high performance in a leader who burns every bridge they cross is not good. Too much affiliation and emotional support from a leader who cannot get their job done effectively is similarly, not a good thing. The person who balances these two and makes good choices with both ends of the spectrum in mind is a successful and well-respected leader.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Chapter One: Primal Leadership
The first chapter of the book opens up by explaining the double meaning of the title. "The emotional task of the leader is primal--that is, first--in two senses: It is both the original and the most important act of leadership." It goes on to talk about the notion that since organized human civilization began people have needed a leader they can follow and look to for support. This chapter also introduces two terms that appear frequently throughout the book.
Resonance is when a leader drives positive emotions in the people who follow them, bringing out their best.
Dissonance is when a leader drives negative emotions in the people who follow them, which undermines people's ability to perform at their best.
The chapter also talks a lot about the open loop of the limbic system, which controls our emotions. This emotional center is considered an open loop because it is impacted by external factors. As others demonstrate strong emotions (positive or negative), our own limbic system reacts and often comes in line with the emotional stimuli around it. So, if you're relaxed and happy walking into a meeting but everyone else is angry and stressed out, you will begin to feel that way too after a period of time in the room with these other people. It refers to this as 'contagion.' All the discussion of brain physiology leads up to the notion that while we all impact each other emotionally, the boss is the one who has the most impact. People are always looking toward the boss for direction. His or her behaviors have the strongest effect on those in the room or in the office.
In my own leadership development classes, we refer to this as the idea that every leader is telling a story about what they value and believe whether or not they mean to or even realize it. Actions speak much louder than words. A leader may view themself as being very open and warm, or committed to work and passionate about their career. Maybe they see themselves as someone who loves to develop people, or as a highly efficient leader. All of this internal characterization means very little if our external behaviors don't align with the way we perceive ourselves. We tend to judge ourselves by our intentions, while others judge us by our actions, since they see our intentions. A great challenge to a leader is to take a week to step outside of themselves and 'observe' all their behaviors at work. Do they observable behaviors support the story you think you're telling? Or do they undermine that story?
The rest of the chapter references quantitative research that demonstrates the business results behind positive leadership. There are studies quoted about cardiac unit death rates with nurses who demonstrate positive vs negative emotions with their patients; and CEOs and their top management teams who regularly demonstrate positive emotions and behaviors and the correlated business results of the company. They talk about studies which have shown that 1% increase in positive service climate between happy employees and customers results in a 2% increase in revenue for the company. The bottom line for this chapter is about setting up the framework that the better leaders (at all levels of the organization) are able to demonstrate positive emotions in the workplace, the more successful the company, it's employees, it's customers, and it's bottom line business results will be.
The first chapter of the book opens up by explaining the double meaning of the title. "The emotional task of the leader is primal--that is, first--in two senses: It is both the original and the most important act of leadership." It goes on to talk about the notion that since organized human civilization began people have needed a leader they can follow and look to for support. This chapter also introduces two terms that appear frequently throughout the book.
Resonance is when a leader drives positive emotions in the people who follow them, bringing out their best.
Dissonance is when a leader drives negative emotions in the people who follow them, which undermines people's ability to perform at their best.
The chapter also talks a lot about the open loop of the limbic system, which controls our emotions. This emotional center is considered an open loop because it is impacted by external factors. As others demonstrate strong emotions (positive or negative), our own limbic system reacts and often comes in line with the emotional stimuli around it. So, if you're relaxed and happy walking into a meeting but everyone else is angry and stressed out, you will begin to feel that way too after a period of time in the room with these other people. It refers to this as 'contagion.' All the discussion of brain physiology leads up to the notion that while we all impact each other emotionally, the boss is the one who has the most impact. People are always looking toward the boss for direction. His or her behaviors have the strongest effect on those in the room or in the office.
In my own leadership development classes, we refer to this as the idea that every leader is telling a story about what they value and believe whether or not they mean to or even realize it. Actions speak much louder than words. A leader may view themself as being very open and warm, or committed to work and passionate about their career. Maybe they see themselves as someone who loves to develop people, or as a highly efficient leader. All of this internal characterization means very little if our external behaviors don't align with the way we perceive ourselves. We tend to judge ourselves by our intentions, while others judge us by our actions, since they see our intentions. A great challenge to a leader is to take a week to step outside of themselves and 'observe' all their behaviors at work. Do they observable behaviors support the story you think you're telling? Or do they undermine that story?
The rest of the chapter references quantitative research that demonstrates the business results behind positive leadership. There are studies quoted about cardiac unit death rates with nurses who demonstrate positive vs negative emotions with their patients; and CEOs and their top management teams who regularly demonstrate positive emotions and behaviors and the correlated business results of the company. They talk about studies which have shown that 1% increase in positive service climate between happy employees and customers results in a 2% increase in revenue for the company. The bottom line for this chapter is about setting up the framework that the better leaders (at all levels of the organization) are able to demonstrate positive emotions in the workplace, the more successful the company, it's employees, it's customers, and it's bottom line business results will be.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)