Balance, Grasshopper
Building a startup can be an emotional roller coaster. When passionate entrepreneurs personally have a lot at stake in a new venture, increased stress and setbacks can mean higher levels of emotion in the work environment, and critical team relationships can be put to the test. Passion can be a double edged sword when things don’t go well because it can fuel anger and resentment between team members who disagree with one another (regardless of how much they individually care about the group’s collective progress). Emotional suppression to avoid conflict, however, shouldn’t be the goal. Every feeling has its value and significance, and conflict is necessary and healthy. Ideas, direction, plans etc. all need to be challenged constantly (in a healthy way) for the group and the business to improve what they do and how they do it. Finding the right emotional balance for each situation to ensure that conflict is constructive rather than negative is important. Leaders (especially) should focus on setting an example of displaying appropriate emotion, feeling proportionate to each new circumstance. When emotions are too muted they create dullness and distance in teams; when out of control, too extreme and persistent, they become pathological. The right balance keeps teams engaged and challenging one another’s ideas in constructive ways.
