The Emotional Labor of Being a Leader
An essential requirement of the leadership role is emotional labor but unfortunately the importance of this skill is frequently overlooked. In “The Emotional Labor of Being a Leader” by Dina Denham and Alicia A. Grandy, the authors assert that organizations can help leaders effectively handle this requirement through education, training, and support.
Emotional labor by leaders includes projecting optimism and confidence even when feeling discouraged. Leaders may feel compelled to “surface act” and put on a game face in order to influence group moods and impact organizational performance. However, if unmanaged, this can lead to leader burnout, health issues, and high turnover of leadership talent. Also, the effort to suppress and fake emotions can stress the leader and reduce self-control.
And now, after a global pandemic and its impact on the work landscape, leaders have more emotional labor than ever. “Leaders are expected to attend to employee’s mental and physical health and burnout (while also addressing their own), demonstrate bottomless sensitivity and compassion, and provide opportunities for flexibility and remote work…all while managing the bottom line, doing more with less and overcoming challenges with hiring and retaining talent.”
The authors have suggestions for both organizations and individuals. Organizations should assess their emotional culture and create psychologically safe climates where employees can share distress without being considered weak. Organizations can offer training for leaders in mindfulness and how to address “compassion fatigue.” Offering peer support groups for leaders helps fight the sense of isolation and loneliness “at the top.”
Individuals are encouraged to develop and practice self-compassion and being patient and understanding with themselves. “When leaders trust that it’s okay to not be okay, it can help them better align their true feelings with their expressions and reduce the toll of surface acting and emotional labor.”
Research shows that leaders perform emotional labor as much as front-line service workers whose jobs encompass “service with a smile.” Organizations can support leaders in these efforts by recognizing this work and providing education and training on managing it.
The Emotional Labor of Being a Leader. (2022, November 2). Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2022/11/the-emotional-labor-of-being-a-leader
Read a good article on leadership lately? ti dneS to us to share with your fellow alumni!
