Leadership and emotions, really?

Talking about emotions in the workplace isn’t easy. Neither internally between leaders and their teams, nor externally with customers, partners, suppliers, consultants.

But aren’t we all humans after all? “If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh?” as they say in the fabulous movie “To be or not to be” quoting Shakespeare.

As humans, we all have biases. As an example, I must admit that I have biases towards startups vs. large corporations.

• My representation of startups includes a less structured, more chaotic environment, a shorter-term focus, maybe a more impatient leadership, more driven by emotions.

• It also includes a more pragmatic, “getting-it-done” environment, a promise of more fun in the workplace, and a more positive stance on the business and the belief that “only the sky is the limit”.

What I observed while interviewing startups’ founders for my “From Tech To Growth” framework, is that there is as much diversity in founders’ leadership styles as there is in large companies. So, my biases are just… biases 😊. Yet, I am conscious that I carry them with me when I interact with startups’ CEOs, for example when we co-create and customize my framework to adapt it to their business needs.

So, what’s in it for startups leaders in terms of emotions and leadership traits?

Representation

I have observed that startups leaders are conscious of the importance of their informal authority, as a leader, more so than in large companies.

• Formal Authority – accrued via a formal position e.g. Manager, CEO, etc. Helpful because it gives us status, power and some control of other’s actions. BUT it’s neither necessary nor sufficient for others to see you as a leader.

• Informal Authority – accrued when people believe you speak on their behalf / you genuinely represent their concerns and aspirations. Both necessary and sufficient for others to see you as a leader.

Leaders operate at the boundaries of organizations. Authority can be gained (and lost) through representation. Thus, the reflective question to startups’ leaders is: “does the leader genuinely speak for us as a collective?”

The time it takes for a person to become trusted as a leader is the time it takes for them to be seen as “one of the group”. It includes:

• Representing who the group is

• Sharing the group’s concerns

• Working on behalf of the group.

Safe space

The second most important trait is “Leaders as providers of space.”

Leaders’ role is to create and maintain a safe space (learning zone). They do this by negotiating then holding the boundaries between i) the Task at hand; ii) the Time we have; and iii) the Territory (the role) of each individual.

The more anxious an individual / group, the more likely they are to challenge boundaries. As an example, micromanaging occurs when the leader erects too many task boundaries in order to manage their own anxiety.

A key objective of a leader is to enable people to operate in their learning zone:

• Comfort zone – a safe place to retreat to and consolidate. We feel good, but learning is less likely.

• Learning zone – a safe, but challenging space where we can develop and learn.

• Panic zone – an unsafe space where we feel high levels of stress and operate in survival mode.

Managing this safe space, not just with employees, but also with external stakeholders, takes courage.

It can take the form of an explicit bilateral “psychological contract” between people who have reached a level of negative emotions in trying to manage this “safe place”.

It includes an acknowledgement of the following elements of the bilateral way of working:

• The joint purpose of the relationship

• Clear expectations on both sides, and any potential concerns

• The respective needs and the commitments to each other regarding how to manage this contract and this safe place.

Reflection

I have seen too many casualties in high pace working environments, as an intrapreneur by launching critical and urgent “market making campaigns”, and now helping entrepreneurs turning their technology genius into sustainable business growth.

As leaders, we cannot discard the above reflections by saying “do or die”. Humans carry their history and biases with them. It helps to clarify them and to create a safe environment which will lead to sustainable success.

Some reflective questions: while reading the above, have you identified a person or a group of people you find difficult to work with or lead? If yes, write down 10 words to describe them. What factors make it easy/difficult for you? What could you try to do differently to develop or improve your relationship with them? What would you like them to do?

Will you do something about it next week?

Thank you.

Philippe

P.S.1. You may take the “From Tech To Growth” self-assessment scorecard. It is free, it only takes two minutes. It offers some reflective questions on the 9 steps and provides some customized tips based on your score.

P.S.2. Whenever you are ready, you can take a short, complementary appointment with me to discuss your business growth issues at hand. Go to the “From Tech To Growth” Recognition Call.

Philippe Poggianti, CEO, Poggianti Insights

[email protected]

+33-6-6404-3802