When it comes to making decisions, most of us would assume that good information
and superior intellectual inquiry are more essential than positive emotions
to arriving at good decisions. Daniel Goleman would say we are wrong. Goleman
is a researcher, teacher, and author of Emotional Intelligence
(Bantam, 1995), Working with Emotional Intelligence (Bantam,
1998), and with coauthors Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee, Primal
Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence (Harvard
Business School, 2002). He says that emotions trump intellect.
Goleman
explains, "Every group - every team - has a mood." He suggests thinking about
the last time you got to a team meeting late. "You could probably sense the
emotional temperature in the room immediately." These are emotional realities
and profoundly affect the quality of the thinking, decision making, and
contributions of individuals and of the group.
Goleman further
explains that no matter how hard we try, our brains are not capable of leaving
our emotions at the door of the meeting. In short, the human brain is wired
for emotions to command attention.
Emotions are in what he refers
to as an Open Loop System that is regulated both internally and externally
in our relationships with other people. If there is someone in a meeting
who is upset or angry, and that emotion is not dealt with, it can affect everyone
in the room. The opposite is also true of course; someone with an extraordinary
sense of humor can quickly get the room laughing. Any emotion is contagious.
The leader in the group must tune in to the emotional reality
present and direct the shared emotions so that the individuals can make
higher quality contributions and the decisions that result are the best.
To learn more about emotions and decision making, read the
entire Leadership
Brief Online.
