個案總覽

Numerous studies show that close to two-thirds of U.S. employees are bored, detached, or jaded and ready to sabotage plans, projects, and other people. Why so much unhappiness among professionals who have the capacity to shape their work lives? The author highlights three of the most common reasons--ambition, doing what's expected of us, and overwork--which seem productive on the surface but are harmful when taken to the extreme. To break free of these "happiness traps," you first have to accept that you deserve happiness at work. Then you can use your emotional intelligence--particularly emotional self-awareness, emotional self-control, and organizational awareness--to understand which trap has ensnared you. Finally, you must actively seek meaning and purpose in day-to-day activities, foster hope in yourself and others, and build friendships at work.

The French all it bien dans sa peau, and it is a quality that every leader needs to be effective, that is feeling good in his or her own skin.

All of us struggle from time to time with the question of personal meaning: "Am I living the way I want to live?" This type of questioning is healthy; business leaders need to go through it every few years to replenish their energy, creativity, and commitment--and their passion for work. In this article, the authors describe the signals that it's time to reevaluate your choices and illuminate strategies for responding to those signals. Such wake-up calls come in various forms. Some people feel trapped or bored and may realize that they have adjusted to the frustrations of their work to such an extent that they barely recognize themselves. For others, the signal comes when they are faced with an ethical challenge or suddenly discover their true calling. Once you have realized that it's time to take stock of your life, there are strategies to help you consider where you are, where you're headed, and where you want to be. Many people find that calling a time-out--either in the form of an intense, soul-searching exercise or a break from corporate life--is the best way to reconnect with their dreams. People no longer expect their leaders to have all the answers, but they do expect them to try to keep their own passion alive and to support employees through that process.

You've heard about the importance of emotional intelligence in the workplace--that there's an incontrovertible link between executives' emotional maturity, exemplified by such capabilities as self-awareness and empathy, and their financial performance. Now, new research extends that base. Drawing on two years of research, the authors contend that the leader's mood and his or her attendant behaviors have enormous effects on bottom-line performance. Accordingly, top executives' primal task is emotional leadership. In other words, before leaders can turn to setting strategy, fixing budgets, or hiring staff, they must first attend to the impact of their moods and behaviors. To help them do that, the authors introduce a five-step process of self-reflection and planning. Executives should ask themselves: Who do I want to be? Who am I now? How do I get from here to there? How do I make change stick? And who can help me? Working through this process will help leaders determine how their emotional leadership is driving the moods and actions of their organizations and how to adjust their behavior accordingly.