The Power of Emotions: Your Secret Weapon in Business Leadership

Introduction

Hello and Welcome! Welcome! This is Jayme Dill, and this week we're going to be talking about the power of emotion and how as a leader you can utilize that to be a great strength instead of being utilized by that and having that become a great weakness.

A Common Leadership Challenge

So last week, this actually came up because last week I was sitting down and in a meeting with a founder who has recently stepped into the CEO role, which is very exciting. The company is growing really quickly. Awesome. And we were talking about ways to bring more energy and spark into their leadership style. And then they said something that is not something I haven't heard before, but it did stop me and shift the direction of our conversation. And what they said is, "Jayme, I've always thought that emotions really don't belong in business, and I've been trying not to be emotional, and now I feel like you are guiding me towards emotion."

The Reality of Emotions in Business

And they said this with some skepticism, “can I really trust this crazy coach, Jayme?” So I actually took it very seriously, but I also had to smile internally to myself because after three decades of coaching business leaders and being around business, I've heard and truthfully experienced this sentiment myself, and I've heard it countless times. It's practically a mantra in certain business circles, keep emotions out of it, stay rational, be objective. It's becoming much more common to accept emotion. We are seeing a lot of trainings on emotional intelligence and exactly what I'm talking about today, how to utilize the power of emotion instead of being utilized by powerful emotions.

The Unavoidable Truth

So it's becoming more common than it was 30 years ago when I started to understand the power of emotions. But I still want to dive into it today because here's the thing, emotions are already in your business, whether you're acknowledging them or not. They're in you, in every decision you make, in every conversation you have, and they're in all the relationships that you're building.

The Real Question

So the real question isn't whether emotions belong in business, they're there. It's how we can harness them effectively. So think about the most inspiring leaders that you've known. Were they emotional robots or did they know how to connect with people? And was emotion part of that connection? Of course it was, right?

Personal Experience

And I am raising my hand here. I have been so guilty of this. When I first started going out and doing speaking engagements I had this picture of who I needed to be. I was much younger then. I was in a very male dominated field, and I decided I needed to be that buttoned up, polished, unemotional, rational person. And that is absolutely part of who I am. But also, as you guys know, if you've been listening to me, so is emotion, right?

The Cost of Suppression

So instead of trying to be buttoned up, ignoring the emotion, and creating what we're trying to avoid in emotional dysfunction when we do that, teams become disengaged. Communication breaks down. We get a lot of that quiet quitting. There's a lot of reasons for quiet quitting, but this is one contributor. Trust erodes. Why? Because we are humans.

Navigating Emotions Skillfully

The key is not about avoiding, repressing or suppressing emotion. The key is, instead, learning to navigate emotion skillfully within yourself, within your team, within whoever the heck you happen to be in a relationship with. This means:

• Recognizing when passion and enthusiasm can energize your team

• Understanding when frustration and disappointment need constructive expression

• Reading the emotional temperature in a room

• Managing your own emotional responses to serve rather than sabotage your goals

The Power of Emotional Intelligence

As far as the founder I mentioned earlier, we went on to have a conversation about emotional intelligence isn't about being soft. It's not about losing your edge or over emoting. It's about being smart. It's about understanding that business is fundamentally about people and people, like I said earlier, we're emotional beings, like it or not.

Looking Forward

So next time you catch yourself thinking emotions don't belong in business, or you catch yourself trying to suppress your emotions, try reframing it. The question isn't whether emotion should be part of business leadership. Like I said, they already are. The question is how can you be more skillful at understanding, listening and then channeling emotions to create better outcomes for you, for your business, and for your people?

Remember, successful business and leadership isn't built on the absence of emotions—it's built on the intelligent expression of emotions.