A smile for everyone

Article by Diego Ingrassia – “A smile for everyone” – April 2020_HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW

The path to recognising emotions as an essential component of our intelligence has been, at least within our culture, long and difficult. For a long time, in fact, emotions were regarded as a disturbing factor, an annoying ‘disturbance’ that the wise and balanced man had to know how to control. We could have written ‘person’ instead of ‘man’, but we are hardly beginning to say that now, it certainly did not belong to that culture. Starting from the school benches, we were taught that a rational, clear-headed and detached mind was the best requirement to successfully tackle studies and, one day, work. Little room was always left for emotions, because they were at odds with the idea of efficiency. To be called ’emotional’ was tantamount to being considered weak, and therefore unfit to face life’s challenges.

More recent studies have overturned this view, to the point of making us realise that it is emotional intelligence that explains the effectiveness of many of our behaviours. The attempt to be able to keep reason and emotions separate is therefore not just a concept that belongs to the past, it is a misconception, not least because it is impossible to realise.

Being educated in emotions, being able to develop emotional intelligence, therefore becomes an important goal to achieve. It helps to develop more empathic communication, capable of defusing destructive emotions and directing them towards more functional emotions and behaviour. Of course, emotional education is not only for children, it should concern everyone, both in private and professional life: we have been convinced of this for a long time.

And finally something new is starting to happen. In many organisations we can observe a renewed interest in people’s well-being, and companies are increasingly asking us to help their managers develop ’emotional competences’ to improve their ability to handle potentially stressful and conflictual situations.

Knowing the origin and physiology of emotions allows us to increase our emotional awareness and use the most appropriate strategies to avoid automatic and uncontrolled reactions. We can learn to recognise our employees’ emotions and help them to express their full potential because a conscious leader must be able to act on emotional components and inspire people so that they can broaden their vision. The future demands that we know how to develop skills that match our values.

It is on the wave of this spirit that we have decided to make our own contribution: to organise an event that is intended to be both a reflection and a meeting between managers who have the courage to think about these issues and the future in a different way. Together we will also have the opportunity to give concrete help to Operation Smile Italia, a medical humanitarian organisation that works with children with cleft lips, to give them a smile again.

Many studies confirm that facial expressions play a central role in emotional experience, as it is through them that we communicate our mood and emotions. When facial muscles contract in a certain way, they send a vital signal to foster empathy. Every face is different but the muscles needed to transmit these signals are universal, suggesting that the human face has evolved to communicate these messages, which are essential for healthy relationships. Surgically reconstructing the smile of these children means re-establishing a physiological and emotional balance that allows them to fully experience all emotions and be happy.

On 12 and 13 November, we decided to cross paths in Stresa, at Villa Aminta, for a training event that could change the lives of many children and nurture our values. Speakers who are experts in emotional intelligence and storytelling, with scientific and corporate backgrounds, will meet with top managers from the most important multinational companies to nurture and develop skills that can sustain their “reputation” in an increasingly complex market.

For info: www.unsorrisoxtutti.it