Paul J. Zak, PhD, Professor, Claremont Graduate University

Fear or love?  At the most basic level, these are a leader's choices when seeking to motivate followers. Most managers, perhaps due to some hangover from the eighteenth century, lead by fear because, well, it works. Fear may not be explicit, though some managers still scream and yell, but it is often implicit in the "do this or you're out" approach.

Today, we hear a lot about seemingly squishy leadership approaches like "empathy," "humanity" and even "love."  Many business leaders I know would be happy to be Mr. or Ms. Nice at work but they have a feeling that this leadership style is not going to get the job done.  Or, at least that has been the prevailing wisdom.

Ilene Marcus, Author, Managing Annoying People: 7 Proven Tactics To Maximize Team Performance

How can leadership be a better job?  As a boss, all eyes are on us whether we like it or not.  Our key responsibility is to embody the soul of our company’s efforts; to display the values and commitment of our brand proposition.  That’s our job no matter what is going on in our head, our personal life, or with our feelings.  When we are distracted, reactions become visceral.  Acting on instinct is usually primal.  If you can’t identify the emotion, especially in a business setting, your expressions signal your customers, funders, board, and team.   What do they signal?  That’s the billion-dollar question.  What do your reactions convey to those you are leading?