Passion has the
potential to be a powerful strength. When harnessed positively it is
demonstrated in enthusiasm, productivity, influence and collaboration. But, if passion is triggered negatively, the
effects can be far more damaging. Negative emotion at that level of intensity
will have a physiological effect on the host and an emotional consequence for
anyone standing in their way.
As a
"passionate" person myself I am prone to extremes of emotion and, despite my best efforts, I don't always manage to protect the by-standers. As a child at home or a junior consultant the
only consequences I faced were reduced pocket money or a lower feedback score,
but now I find myself in a different position and therefore need to be even
more mindful of the fallout of my unharnessed passion.
I was interested
to watch a film by Dr Robert Sapolsky that explored the effect of hierarchy on
stress levels in baboon troupes. Over 30 years, his research demonstrated that
the higher up the structure the male baboons ranked, the lower their stress
hormones. But the females and junior
males in the troupe who bore the brunt of their aggression experienced much higher
stress levels, high blood pressure and reduced immune efficiency. He also recounts the experience of one troupe
who lost all of their alpha males and as a result the group as a whole became
much less aggressive and experienced much lower stress levels.
In another
species, Bonobos use their passion only for good. Physical contact is used to
resolve conflict, calm aggression and increase inclusion.
Dr Robert got me
thinking about humans and how we exhibit stress in the work place and the
impact that expression has on others around us.
I don't think it can be true that Leaders in an organisation experience
lower stress levels than recent graduates. However, I find it easy to believe
that the impact of one's mood on others has a much greater impact downwards
than upwards (in terms of years' experience, not hierarchy!)
How can we
protect against this? How can
organisational culture prevent stress negatively impacting more junior members
of staff?
We are each
responsible for our own behaviour towards others, but we cannot control how
others will react to our behaviour. The
baboons saw a chain reaction of negativity within the troupe, from one baboon
to the next throughout the hierarchy. As Leaders at ANDigital, where we intentionally want to create a culture of low
stress and high collaboration, we need to learn to anticipate how others will
react to out behaviour and work hard to put the good of the team before
ourselves. It isn't easy. We won't always get it right. But having the humility
to accept our mistakes and learn from them is a good starting place.
After all, we're
only anthropoids.
