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Prime good feelings in followers.
EFFECTIVE LEADERS PRIME GOOD FEELings in those they lead. They create emotional resonance - a reservoir of positivity that frees the best in people.
This primal dimension of leadership, though often invisible or ignored, determines whether everything else a leader says and does will work well. This is why emotional intelligence -being intelligent about emotions -matters so much for leadership success: Primal leadership demands we bring emotional intelligence to bear. Emotionally intelligent leadership drives resonance - and thus performance.
Breakthroughs in brain research show why leaders' moods and actions have enormous impact on those they lead, and shed fresh light on the power of emotionally intelligent leadership to inspire, arouse passion and enthusiasm, and keep people motivated and committed. Conversely, toxic leadership can poison the emotional climate of a workplace.
What emotional resources do leaders need to thrive amid chaos and change? What gives a leader the inner strength to be honest about even painful truths? What enables a leader to inspire others to do their best work and stay loyal? How do leaders nurture an emotional climate that fosters creative innovations, all-out performance, or warm and lasting customer relationships?
For too long managers have seen emotions as noise that clutters rational operations. Today, leaders need to generate the emotional resonance that lets people flourish.
In a crisis, all eyes turn to leaders for emotional guidance. Because the leader's way of seeing things has special weight, leaders manage meaning for a group, offering a way to interpret or make sense of, and so react emotionally to, a given situation. One emotional task of leaders is to help people find meaning and sense - even in the face of chaos and madness - and to express the shared emotional reality so that the direction resonates at the gut level, putting into words what everyone is feeling in their hearts.
What would our lives look like if our organizations were naturally places of resonance, with leaders who inspired us - if these concepts of resonant leadership were founding principles? Hiring, promotion, and development would then focus...