Imagine you are the CEO of a large cooperation. You have a new regional manager who has drawn a lot of criticism from their employees since getting the position a few months ago, and you are asked to travel to the region to address the manager’s behavior and reduce the employees’ outrage. Consider two scenarios. In the first, individual employees have been feeling a lot of anger toward the new manager, but have not yet shared these feelings with each other. In the second, employees have already shared their feelings with each other and are expressing their frustration as a group.
Managing Your Team’s Emotional Dynamic
How leaders can apply the science of emotional regulation to help their teams stay on track.
January 10, 2023
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Summary.
Collective emotion, when a group of people shares an emotion, is often stronger than a single individual feeling that same emotion alone. So, how can leaders manage emotions, particularly negative ones, from taking over a team? Four strategies from psychology — situation modification, shifting attention or creating distraction, reappraisal, and response modulation — can help bring down the temperature.
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New!
HBR Learning
HBR Learning
Team Management Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Team Management. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Build a better team and achieve more of what matters.