My Reflections [Leadership Series: Part III (B)]
(Concept of Leadership & Role of Media)
“I haven’t consumed news since long and it has been a very good
journey. A car crash or a bomb explosion somewhere is not relevant to me, it
has no bearing on my life. I don’t need to know it. Such news causes stress. On
Twitter, I have may be 1,300 followers and I follow zero people because I don’t
want to know any news. News is to the mind what sugar is to body.”
~ Swiss writer Rolf Dobelli known for his books ‘The Art of Thinking
Clearly’ & ‘What Do You Do For A Living?’ on his well-known aversion to
news
When public figures like Rolf make a conscious
choice not to watch or listen to the news anymore, there must be no wonder why
some of us have a ‘love-hate’ relationship with social or mass media. This
single statement is sufficient to explain why something seen or read on social
media is enough to change our mood, why a small motivational video on You Tube
uplifts our spirits, why people prefer not hearing of tragedies or dramas
happening to others, why people get excited with more and more ‘likes’ on their
FB status, why people feel a sense of accomplishment to see more and more
‘shares’ on their posts, why people feel a little uneasy to witness some
hurtful comments on their ‘wall’, why people get enthusiastic while chatting on
Skype. There are so many emotions and expressions it can throw at you. And
without even realizing, you can feel a tsunami of moods in no time. And it’s
quite interesting to know that it works like a virtuous or vicious cycle.
Sometimes you feel yourself surrounded with information and inspiration,
simultaneously you feel fed up and bombarded by so much negativity.
No doubt, social media is highly contagious. Have
you ever observed yourself how you react or respond (smiling/ laughing/ feeling
tickled/ enthused/ motivated/ upbeat or just the other way round) whenever
encountered with social media and get emotionally captured (or tortured)? YES !
…that’s what many corporate houses, service providers and PR agencies are doing
on social media. Didn’t you realize that on the basis of this emotional
vulnerability of ours, they capitalize on our emotions and make the most of it.
They build their brands, market their products, attract our attention, change
our mind and get us hooked on to their ‘Emotional Contagion’. Because they do
know that emotions spread like wildfire and they do transfer from one person to
another. Like a ‘sponge’ effect, we borrow emotions from others even when we
are not seeing them face to face specially in case of social media.
 |
| No doubt, social media is highly contagious. |
Here this trait of ‘Emotional Contagion’ (Positive as well as Negative) of
Social Media has a great 'Leadership Lesson’ behind the curtains.
In fact, this great lesson is the core of what makes a leader great. Believe it
or not, leadership is more or less about the relationship between a leader and
the people around him or her. And emotions play a huge role here. There are
leaders with Positive Emotional Contagion and you share a connection
with them. They are communicative, upfront and always accessible. And you feel
excited in their presence. They make you feel amazing, powerful and euphoric
about you and your work. Their moving and positive words make your day
and fire you into action. They bring some sort of strength to the workplace.
They seem to trigger your positive emotions every time you share a word
with them. They are full of positive energy. They exhibit a go-getter
attitude. You sense an aura of authenticity, optimism and passion being around
with them. You exude extreme confidence in their ability to lead. You feel
super hyped and get ready to rock. Work seems fun and this really inspires you
to give your best shot.
And
There are also some other leaders who lead us to disaster. We seem to swept
away by their Negative Emotional
Contagion. We are never relaxed and are always ‘on our tense toes’.
They really drive our moods and behaviors accordingly. We feel demoralized and
disheartened. Their heavy interactions are enough to spoil our day. We sense
being hopeless and empty. We always get fearful to even our well planned deeds.
We seem to ride an emotional rollercoaster and it becomes hard to maintain our
strength.
Hence,
sometimes you will have to really pull yourself together and find a way to see
the brighter side. Again it’s
more about leading yourself at the very first place than leading others.
