For 50 years, management theory and practice have adopted a technical, analytical approach in which the role of the so-called soft factors like emotions and feelings has largely been denied. That trend is now being reversed, with both academics and managers recognizing the powerful role that emotions play in shaping corporate behavior. The real challenge, however, is to link emotions to performance goals and objectives. The leadership task is not just to make people happy in the hope that happy people will do the right things. The central leadership responsibility is to ensure that the company’s vision and strategy capture people’s emotional excitement, engage their intellectual capacities, and produce a sense of urgency for taking action. In essence, it is a task of unleashing organizational energy and marshaling it in support of key strategic goals. (See “About the Research.”)
Four Energy Zones
Research suggests that the best leaders first mobilize organizational energy, then focus it.1 But how to define a force like the wind, both invisible and powerful? Organizational energy is seen only in its effect: the force with which a company functions. Just as burnout is said to have three dimensions (emotional, cognitive and physical), so is organizational energy considered the interplay among a company’s emotional, cognitive and physical states.2 Though difficult to directly observe or... To read the complete article, login or sign-up using the form below.
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