Leaders often view emotions in the workplace as disruptions.

Leaders who treat emotions in the workplace as signals to engage and support can respond more effectively.

Seeing employees as "ingroup" members shifts how a leader responds when they're under stress.

What makes a great leader? Many organizations tend to select leaders who can get things done. They produce outcomes on schedule and on budget with minimal fuss.

This outcomes-focused approach to leadership has resulted in some counterintuitive trends in studies of leaders. Research has found that leaders, particularly at high levels such as CEO, tend to score high on psychopathy, which manifests as a tendency to prioritize their own goals and outcomes without considering the impact on other people. These types of leaders can be effective at creating change, but often at a price for the people and the organization as a whole.

Growing awareness about the cost of this type of leadership to retention and productivity has led organizations to restructure around a “people first” approach. In this emerging view, great leaders must have the key skill of supporting their teams, especially during times of stress when emotions run high. People naturally vary in their ability to take others’ perspectives and support them, a skill often included under the broader umbrella of emotional intelligence. This skill can also be intentionally developed through practice and habit-building.

The Perception of Ingroup vs. Outgroup

Decades of studies in psychology have shown that we respond differently to people who are part of our “ingroup” versus the “outgroup.” Exactly who qualifies as ingroup or outgroup is not based on objective standards; it is based on perceptions and can be changed just by randomly placing people on teams together. For leaders, shifting perspective to view your employees as members of your team can change the outcome of stressful and emotional interactions from friction points that degrade or destroy trust to ones that build loyalty and connection.

The meaning of emotional expressions fundamentally changes when it comes from an ingroup member versus an outgroup member. Consider an employee who is feeling happy because they have succeeded and accomplished a goal at work. They signal their joy through smiling, an open posture, and social engagement. When you see those signals from an outgroup member, you likely perceive it as rejection or exclusion. (Think of times when you’ve been around a group of people smiling and laughing together at an inside joke that you don’t understand, making you feel like an outsider.) Those same signals from an ingroup member, in contrast, create joy and a sense of community and belonging. (Think of times that you’ve been part of the group laughing together and felt deeply connected to the people around you through shared history and experience.) A leader who views employees as members of their team shifts from a response of defensiveness or downplaying the success to celebrating and taking pride in the success as a shared victory. This positive response from a leader can build community and engagement on the entire team over time.

This shift in perspective can be even more critical when negative emotions are experienced in the workplace. Negative emotions reflect that the person is failing or frustrated. A leader who views their employees as outgroup members will respond to these emotions with avoidance or dismissiveness. When employees are seen as ingroup members, leaders will respond to the negative emotions by trying to help recover the goal or work through the obstacles. Every leader has probably experienced an employee, maybe one who is typically calm, who suddenly comes in hot, angry about a recent decision or change, throwing accusations about what happened and why, blaming you and everyone else. It is very easy to view that person as an outgroup member in that moment—their anger places them in opposition to you and to others in the group. If you view them as an outgroup member, you are likely to either confront them or reject them, perhaps blaming them for the situation or dismissing their concern. In contrast, if you view them as an ingroup member, you will likely try to work through the underlying concern as while repairing the working relationship. If your team member is experiencing frustration, it means they are not able to accomplish their goals, and their goals are your goals. As their leader, if you can work with them to find a solution, it reduces their anger and also signals to the employee that you care enough about them and their concerns to try to fix problems. Leaders who can make this shift move their status from being an obstacle and part of the problem to collaborating on a resolution.

Sadness and anxiety are also commonly expressed emotions in the workplace. People feel sad when they lose at something important or fail to achieve a goal, and it is signaled through a defeated posture, frowning, and sometimes crying. An outgroup member responds to this moment of weakness by taking advantage of the person or avoiding them. An ingroup member, in contrast, perceives the signal as a need for help and support. Leaders who see the expression of sadness as an opportunity to help can shift the employee from a feeling of defeat to potential success due to the support from their leader. Similarly, people feel anxious when an important goal is threatened and might be lost. In the workplace, this can be a specific goal, such as an upcoming high-stakes presentation, or a more general one, such as remaining employed during a financial strain in the organization. It’s often expressed through widened eyes, heightened tenseness and arousal, and sometimes jittery or fidgeting behaviors. An outgroup member will respond to these signals with avoidance. An ingroup member is likely to seek out closeness and mutual support. Responses to these negative emotions from failure or threat can be critical to building strong teams over time—who wouldn’t want to work for a leader who is there when you need them?

Perspective-taking Improves Engagement

The skill of perspective-taking, particularly during emotionally stressful moments, is key to successful leadership over time. It changes the responses of the leader from someone who is an outsider to someone who is part of the team. This simple shift, even though it is just in mindset, creates situations where employees can feel safe, valued, and supported. Such an environment, in turn, results in greater engagement and productivity. Making this shift also has the benefit of keeping leaders calm in situations where emotions are high and people are under stress.

If you are in a position of leadership, it benefits you and your organization to intentionally practice viewing your employees as team members who are part of your group and your success. Building this habit positions you to respond effectively to stressful situations and create strong teams. Great leaders are often defined by how they respond when things go wrong—so be ready for it.

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