Contagious Leadership – Emotional Intelligence and its impact on Team Performance

In today’s business world, hard skills are no longer seen as the sole key to success. While in the past there was no room for emotions in the workplace and the importance of soft skills was largely underestimated, they have come to be considered as indispensable and well worth striving for – and rightly so, I believe.

Just think about your own experiences. Wouldn’t you agree that your emotional state greatly influences your thoughts, attitude and behaviour and consequently, your personal wellbeing, your relationships and your performance both at work and in your private life?

This is why Emotional Intelligence (EI), the ability to identify, assess, and manage emotions in a positive way, is extremely valuable for every individual. EI not only includes being able to “read” others’ emotions, and react accordingly. It is equally, if not more important, to understand and control one’s own emotions. And self-awareness doesn’t stop there. It is also essential to understand in what way and to which extent your own emotions impact others, especially if you find yourself in the role of a leader.

Neuroscientific research has proven that emotions, positive and negative likewise, can “rub off“ on others. This phenomenon is called emotional contagion. The psychotherapist Elaine Hatfield, PhD, and her colleagues discovered that “all of us imitate facial expressions, postures, and voices of the people around us. Those expressions trigger certain emotions - the same ones experienced by the person we mimic. But the process happens so fast, we're completely unaware of it”.

Hence, the emotions conveyed by one person can spread like a virus and infect others. Think about your own experience as an employee: Doesn’t it lift your mood and don’t you feel much more appreciated and motivated if your boss has a positive attitude and encourages you, rather than constantly focusing on what you did wrong? Did you ever notice that your colleague’s anxiety started to make you shift from one foot to the other, because you were starting to grow nervous yourself? – Now, judging from your answers, what implications should these findings have on your behavior as a leader?

As a leader you need to be even more aware of the contagious effect of emotions, because your team will look towards you, and your emotions are likely to spread quicker and more persistently than others’. Making derogatory or negative comments and having an unwelcoming attitude can get down the whole team, leaving each team member feeling drained, unmotivated, or even reluctant.

However, when talking about emotions, their viral nature can actually be something very positive and useful. If you learn to harness and emit positive energy as a leader, you can foster enthusiasm, put your team members at ease and make them feel appreciated and encouraged. By doing so, one person can positively influence each individual team member and improve the dynamics and the performance of the team as a whole.
Mastering EI and harnessing the forces of positivity will lead to enhanced results and greater business success and it will make you a highly valued leader in any business sector.