Superpower

Have you ever noticed how contagious emotions are?  That social collective action that happens when strong emotions are expressed?

I’m sure you’ve observed that if one person starts complaining, everyone starts complaining.  We’re all guilty of it – sitting with a few friends at a coffee shop, and one of us mentions something about the inequity we’re experiencing at home with our partner and household chores.  Next thing you know, everyone has a story to share about being overburdened or doing more than their share of the housework!

We’ve all seen the same thing in the work environment, among “professionals”.  I can remember plenty of examples of meetings in which someone started complaining about the incompetency of another department and people jumped on the bandwagon with their own complaints.  Pretty soon, if you believed all the stories, you’d want to fire the whole department!

Or with our kids: How many times have you heard one young child in a group say they don’t like a particular food on their plate, and then other kids are piping up that they don’t like that food either.  Within minutes, the whole group needs different food!

Next time you’re in that situation, of negative emotional contagion, inject strong positive emotional energy into the conversation.  Make a practical suggestion.    Inject a success story.  Counter a negative observation with a positive one.  Play the glad game.  Find the good.

Now watch how the conversation shifts.  Notice the destructive turn constructive.  See the damaging turn creative.  The harmful turn productive.  The undesirable turn valuable.  The negative turn positive.

This is your superpower!  As a leader, people watch you more closely.  Your emotions are more contagious than others’.  Get out there and change the world!!