MANAGEMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF EMOTIONS

Column “PSYCHOLOGY OF EMOTIONS” by Diego Ingrassia – “MANAGEMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF EMOTIONS”
for PSICOLOGIA CONTEMPORANEA – Odio Amore – no. 272, March-April 2019 – GIUNTI EDITORE

It is widely believed that in the next ten to fifteen years we will witness radical transformation processes in the world of work; as we know, all this is linked to technological innovation, digitalisation and increasingly driven forms of automation linked to advances in artificial intelligence.
For those who, like us, have been involved in training for many years, it is of great interest to try to understand how organisations will react to this phenomenon, even if some trends can already be glimpsed and, as is often the case in a world that travels faster and faster, they are characterised by strong contrasts.
On the one hand, there is a demand for maximum efficiency, especially with regard to time resources. In this perspective, training must also be fast, concise, incisive, concrete, in short, immediately applicable in everyday reality.
Micro-learning, distance learning, short meetings on specific topics aimed at solving problems are the solutions that try to interpret these needs in the best possible way.
Understandable needs, but also the sign of a ‘stressed’ organisational culture that, fearing the obsolescence of knowledge, favours speed and the continuous search for the new at the expense of depth and consolidation of skills.
This is why we do not feel any wonder when we receive requests from many quarters aimed at seeking balance and wellbeing in people: mindfulness, emotional awareness, non-violent communication, etc.
These are probably premonitory signs of a season of great change, during which we will have to care even more about people, in the search for the best balance between emotions and reason.
Interest in emotional aspects is indeed on the rise. There was a time when managers were required to leave emotions out of the work and only deal with concrete matters and results; today, fortunately, the scenario has definitely changed, with many studies now confirming that certain aspects of emotional intelligence are predictive of effective performance.
But above all, the strategic importance of the presence of emotionally intelligent managers within the organisation, capable of managing their own and others’ emotions, attentive to what happens in the relationship dynamic and aware of the value of the non-verbal component of communication for an effective and constructive management of their collaborators has been understood.
It is therefore important to summarise the most important aspects attributable to this competence:
– knowing one’s own and others’ emotions
– knowing how to manage them;
– motivating oneself;
– knowing how to use these skills in relations with others.

Awareness of the strategic importance of these skills cannot, however, be limited to isolated cases.
Emotional competence must become widespread knowledge and awareness, capable of permeating the entire organisation.
In order to succeed in building emotionally intelligent work groups, it is essential to work to promote a change in the organisational culture, and to do this one must be able to generate more open and flexible models of confrontation and communication, renounce easy shortcuts, be willing to accept greater complexity, nurture listening, mutual trust and a climate of greater cooperation within the organisation.
In overseeing these processes, the role of human resources managers becomes decisive; they also have the responsibility to act as ‘sponsors’ in the creation of a new managerial culture. This is an important awareness, which becomes crucial when the scenario is marked by profound changes, a climate of uncertainty and increased complexity. All around us there is a world that is changing at an impressive speed: technological innovation, the effects of globalisation, an increasingly complex and multi-ethnic society, the enormous amount of information to be managed, frenetic communications increasingly inattentive to the emotional-relational component.
Situations that understandably generate fear and a sense of inadequacy in many people, who fear they do not have sufficient resources to adapt to changes of such magnitude.
When the reality to be faced takes on these connotations (and it is happening more and more often today), it is no longer possible to rely on ‘common sense’ or the impromptu sensitivity of the willing person on duty. We must be willing and able to explore social contexts, organisational and personal cultures, cognitive processes and relational styles different from our own.
Understand values, motivations and expectations for the future.
It is undeniable that changes of this magnitude will require a greater effort to adapt than hitherto.
Will we be able to reconcile the demands for efficiency that will come from organisations engaged in innovation processes, with the needs and motivations of the people involved?
Often ‘change management’ processes fail precisely because they are deaf and blind to listening to and managing the subjective component of emotions.
The emotional dynamics that run deep are sometimes so intense that they sabotage the most strategic transformations.
The world of training is faced with a great challenge; it has always played an important and strategic role in organising and facilitating processes of change by making major changes comprehensible and acceptable.
For this to continue, emotions in the workplace must be recognised and listened to.
Today we have the knowledge, the skills and the support of scientific research to be able to do this: to transform what for too long has been seen as a critical issue to be defended against, into a valuable resource to meet the challenges of the future.