Business, Emotions, and New Normal.
By Sabah Khan
It is said that there is no place for emotions in business. I find this adage intriguing. Business is done by human beings, and human beings have emotions, and these emotions make us who we are - humans.
In the current situation of health scare and economic recession, most of us are in our homes either working from home, studying or just staying safe at home, for social distancing. This sudden change in daily personal and professional life has certainly lead to waves of emotions. This transition to a new normal is stressful.
Since business is done by human beings and humans have emotions, the stress of this transition has not eluded the business world, no matter the poker face of the boss or the employee. With companies closing down, job losses, the accumulated tension at home, whether working or not, whether living alone or not, doesn’t matter the age or gender, or any parameter as such, we are going through mostly the negative emotions. Anger and sadness are front runners in this race. “I don’t want to understand you, I want you to understand me!”
Yet, it is now, more than ever, that we need to keep our emotions in check. Rightly, it’s not humanly possible to always control our emotions. If we could, we would not be humans, we will be robots and being a robot is not that great really. That’s why billions of monies are being spent on research on artificial intelligence. Don’t believe me? ‘Google’ it.
What is the need of the hour is to accept our situation, accept our emotions, acknowledge our negative emotions, caused because of the stressful situation. In the unfortunate event where we let our emotions lose, certainly reflect back when the waves calm down. If we were in the wrong, said stuff or took decisions under unruly emotional influence, then as humans, accept our mistake, make things right if possible. If not, as a human trait, apologize. It shows our humility and strong character, garnering more respect for us. Even in business.
In fact, sometimes it is not about whether you are right and the other person is wrong, it’s about letting it go and maybe using the golden words of silence, to alleviate the tensed situation from erupting like a volcano leading to an unwanted regretful turn. Here, it’s not about being smart, it’s about being wise. This helps in the long run.
In my opinion, as businesses are done by humans, it is important to have emotional integrity and integrity in all aspects of business. History is replete with instances of organizations that function based on these two traits survive and thrive against all odds, no matter the economic turmoil, no matter how big or small the business. Likewise, organizations who lacked these, no matter how big an empire, fall.
I think it is important to inculcate both emotional integrity and integrity from a young age. Besides genetics, life experiences profoundly shape us as we grow. Sowing this seed in young minds will bear the fruit of an evolved, better human being and hence better businesses.
As the gender diversity increases, it is also imperative to be sensitive to the mindsets of the different genders and sexual orientations. Business can flourish under any gender and orientation, it's the sound leadership that steers the ship forward.
The way leadership is executed and the decisions made is different based on the leader's experience, where gender based upbringing plays an ingrained role. Often, a certain behavior in a male leader is seen as him being wise, smart and charming and the same behavior in a female leader is attributed to her being strong, insensitive and over-smart. Such perception bias is exhibited by both men and women observers.
The inherent subconscious emotional responses to a situation by each gender could be similar or different in varying degrees and hence, in the growing gender diverse businesses, it's imperative for a leader to have all inclusive discussions and brainstorming sessions. All should be encouraged to participate and be heard as most women and few men don't feel their opinion is worth it. This behavior calls upon both big and small organizations to include such training and development exercises as part of induction and ongoing trainings to make the employees more confident, which will lead to better work engagement and performance.
As we continuously learn further about emotions and their importance in human life, we need to do businesses keeping our human element in mind, without prejudice, with objectivity, with an open mind, with acceptance. I believe that is the way forward, in the new normal.
