Watch Out for Emotional Contagion
by Miki Saxon
Whether you are a in a position of leadership, one of the go-to people on your team or on the lowest rung of the ladder you need to know about emotional contagion and how your moods affect those around you.
Although much of the research has focused on bosses, everybody is a carrier and anyone can ignite an epidemic.
There is documented evidence for what all of us who have been exposed to “glass half empty” people already know—negative emotions can bring a group down faster than bad ventilation during flu season, whereas a sunny outlook can lift us beyond what is reasonable.
Yes, it’s difficult to be upbeat when you walk out of a meeting with an enraged client, or a design review for a project about to go over budget or a difficult conversation, but if you don’t you’ll bring down those around you and that can blow off an entire day, week or even longer.
For decades, I’ve used a simple approach learned from a book by Napoleon Hill and reiterated by others in various forms.
“Act enthusiastic and you will become enthusiastic.”
Sounds simplistic, but often simple is best—you’re not trying to solve the cause, but to mitigate the effect.
That means you need to stay aware of your own mood.
Long ago I realized that judging my mood based on its effect was a bad idea—by the time I had the feedback the damage was done.
After a lot of trial and error the easiest and most accurate method I’ve found of catching my mood early is to stay conscious of my facial muscles, wrinkled brow, smile, frown, etc., because my muscles react long before I’m aware of the mood that is affecting them.
I’m not sure why it took me so long to realize that, except that the obvious often zips right by us.
Image credit: alasis on flickr
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