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In the realm of leadership, adopting a positive demeanor is often emphasized, as exemplified by the widely-discussed approach of Ted Lasso, a renowned coach from the Apple TV+ series. This optimistic mindset is not merely about being cheerful; extensive research underscores that such positivity can significantly elevate individual performance within teams. This understanding has led many organizations to implement emotional intelligence training for their leaders.
However, recent findings from Texas suggest that an element of negativity, strategically employed, can also enhance performance. The effectiveness of this strategy appears to hinge on the timing of emotional expressions and the nature of prior interactions between leaders and team members.
The study titled “Timing Is Everything: An Imprinting Framework for the Implications of Leader Emotional Expressions for Team Member Social Worth and Performance” was published in Organization Science. According to Constantinos Coutifaris, an assistant professor of management, the timing and type of emotions leaders convey are crucial for unlocking team members’ potential.
Coutifaris and his co-author, Paul Green, noted that while positive emotional expressions can indeed enhance employee performance, previous studies often overlooked the significance of when these emotions are expressed. Collaborative work with Jacob Levitt and the late Sigal Barsade from The Wharton School employed two distinct studies to examine the impact of leaders’ emotional expressions at different phases of team dynamics.
The first study focused on NCAA Division I student-athletes and their coaches, while the second involved employees and managers at a prominent consulting firm. The research categorized each study period—whether it be a sports season or a calendar year—into three distinct phases: beginning, middle, and end.
The researchers discovered that positive emotional expressions from coaches or team leaders at the outset considerably improved individual performances. Notably, when leaders expressed occasional negative emotions during the middle phase, the improvements became even more significant.
In a survey involving 245 varsity athletes assessing the emotional expressions of 86 coaches, findings indicated that:
A 1-point increment in early positive emotional expressions by coaches led to a 3.3% increase in individual athlete performance. Moreover, when coaches presented “more frequent than average” negative emotions midway through the season, the 1-point increase in prior positivity resulted in a 4.4% enhancement in performance.
Despite the seemingly modest figures, the researchers reported that negativity at the midpoint actually amplified the effects of earlier positive expressions by 33.3%.
In the second study, performance evaluations analyzed through computational linguistics highlighted the frequencies of positive and negative word usage shared with 9,968 employees throughout the year. Once again, the results revealed that moments of leader negativity during the midpoint markedly improved the positive impacts of early expressions by 40.8%.
While the results emphasized the importance of positivity, with positive word usage averaging 5.5% in initial reviews compared to just 0.5% for negative expressions in the middle phase, the overall conclusion was clear: a touch of negativity can significantly magnify the benefits of earlier positive reinforcement, as stated by Green: “The big surprise for me was that negative emotions are pretty valuable. They help people improve.”
The researchers believe that this phenomenon can be understood through the lens of psychology, particularly imprinting theory. This theory posits that early emotional experiences significantly shape an individual’s future attitudes and behaviors. Previous studies have shown that employees often interpret their leaders’ emotional expressions as indicators of their social worth, influencing their performance accordingly.
When leaders begin with a positive tone, team members are less likely to interpret subsequent negativity as disrespect but rather as a constructive critique aimed at regaining the leader’s respect and enhancing their position within the team.
Coutifaris emphasizes the need for leaders to be deliberate in their emotional expressions: “If they want their team members to perform at their highest potential and feel valued, it’s essential to foster positivity early in the relationship. This sets the stage for the effective use of negative feedback later on.” He suggests that early positive expressions create a foundation that allows leaders to invoke diverse emotional responses at crucial moments to drive continuous team improvement.
More information: Jacob S. Levitt et al, Timing Is Everything: An Imprinting Framework for the Implications of Leader Emotional Expressions for Team Member Social Worth and Performance, Organization Science (2024). DOI: 10.1287/orsc.2023.17390
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