Leadership Insights
from the Untangle Doctor®
Blog Post Archive
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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Power of Emotional Contagion
I have been closely following the news about the invasion of Ukraine with horror, and like so many, have been in awe of President Zelenskyy’s leadership. As an Associate Professor, I oversee a Master's of Leadership program at Golden Gate University and designed most of the courses. Because of my fascination with neuroscience and its application to leadership behavior, I've included that information in many of our courses.
One of the topics that we cover is emotional contagion. We start that discussion by describing mirror neurons. Mirror neurons were discovered quite by accident by Italian researchers. The story goes that they were researching Macaque monkeys. The monkeys' brains responded not only when they picked up food but when they saw a researcher pick up an ice cream cone. The experiment was replicated in humans. Researchers further discovered that the mirror neurons fired even before observing a specific action.
The Two-Faced Backstabbing Tangle
I coined the "Two-Faced Backstabbing Tangle" after experiencing a particularly painful personal interaction. Naming it led me to reflection and discovery and the recognition that this is a common phenomenon. I also discovered some ways to mitigate its impact. In my capacity as an executive coach and consultant, I have seen this nasty tangle snarl teams. Here's the story of its origins, its biological underpinnings, and how to not get snarled in the emotional pain this nasty tangle can inflict.
Strong Leaders are Win-Win Negotiators
There has been a lot in the public press flouting the negotiation skills of a certain elected leader. We have observed public bullying, insults, and threats masquerading as “good” negotiation ploys. The results of these ploys have not, as far as I can tell, yielded any measurable good deals.
Avoid Team Tangles–Call Pinches Before They Escalate
Are you or your team experiencing frequent pinches? The unwillingness or inability to verbalize and share missed expectations, or pinches, tangles team relationships and slows down productivity.
I learned about the "pinch model" many years ago while working at Wilson Learning. I have found it incredibly useful and n ow use it in my MBA classes and with clients. The Pinch Model was developed by John Sherwood and John Glidewell and then Sherwood and John Scherer expanded it further.