Agility And Emotion, The Two Winning Pillars Of Change
Written by: Andre Shojaie, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
In an increasingly uncertain economic context (health crisis, ongoing global conflicts, etc.), in order to remain efficient and relevant on the market, organizations are required to make many changes that are sometimes poorly experienced by employees and can disrupt the functioning of these. Resistance appears and harms the process of change. But in this type of constantly and rapidly changing environment, the challenge is rather to remain flexible. Leaders must therefore acquire specific skills enabling them to implement organizational changes in the best possible conditions.
Today's leader must show emotion and agility, that is to say, accept his emotions in order to take advantage of them to move forward. It is therefore not a question of rejecting all negative thoughts but, on the contrary, of learning to listen to them to determine what is wrong, then to transform them to better take the turns of life and achieve one's goals. For a leader, it is therefore a question of understanding a message beyond the emotion that carries it, then of adapting both his behavior and his reactions to it, without distorting his objective. In the end, it is a question of knowing how to detach yourself from this emotion in order to be able to find your natural balance.
Leaders with high emotional agility are more likely to create an environment of collaboration and trust, rather than a demanding and rigid climate. Ultimately, having emotional agility is about acting in alignment with the best of ourselves.
This emotional lever and this agility make it possible to consider certain practices from a different and evolving angle:
A human management of resources favoring benevolent management and horizontal management. In a world where one in four employees suffers from mental illness, where the sense of belonging and team cohesion is diminishing, where loneliness and physical distance have become the norm and where fear and anxiety are reaching alarming levels, giving employees the best tools to increase their emotional agility makes sense.
A new vision of leadership, which aims to release and develop potential. And ultimately allow the commitment, creativity and innovation of employees to flourish. The increase in performance cannot be done in the long term without regulating the emotions of the teams.
Adaptability is one of the most important aspects of leadership and emotional agility is a key performance factor that facilitates organizational change. Becoming more emotionally agile will make you a better leader, unlike remaining emotionally rigid which can compromise your ability to lead effectively and make the best decisions for your team. Companies that have not invested in the development of their managers' know-how will find themselves at the back of the pack. The exceptional leader will be the one who knows how to orient his leadership towards transformational leadership to put himself at the service of others and establish strong links with teams (emotionally agile) to facilitate the integration of change.
Andre Shojaie, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Andre Shojaie is a member of Forbes and a passionate transformational leader with 20 years of experience in business transformation contexts in Europe and Canada (regulatory framework, methodological framework, digital shift, business model).
He is CEO of HumanLearn to help people and organizations grow and create value through business, behavioral and emotional agility. As an Executive and Business coach, he has enabled several high potentials and leaders from around forty countries to accelerate and maximize their personal development and/or the performance of their company.
He is a frequently requested speaker at conferences and business meetings around the world. He sits on several boards of directors. His mission: Making us even more extraordinary and successful beings in an ever-changing world!
