We have all worked with leaders who are emotionally unpredictable. Their reactions swing wildly based upon what has happened to them in the last few minutes. Their moods go up and down faster than the stock market, as they carry forward every interaction into the next one.
When we chose not to engage them or to have an important conversation until we know they are in a good place, we invariably allow them to control our behavior. We walk on eggshells until we can confirm they are smiling instead of frowning. Leaders with this style are hard to work with and even harder to live with.
Life is so much more difficult when we have to adapt to a leader or colleague who allows their minute-to-minute emotions to influence how they respond to everything. The lesson we can learn from these leaders is to guard against this emotional affliction and to lead with an even tenor and frame of mind. Emotional chameleons are the maladjusted lizards of leadership. Don’t become one. Even for a day. In words sometimes attributed to Voltaire: “The most important decision you make is to be in a good mood.”
