“I think the honeymoon is over,” my wife leaned over and whispered to me after watching our 13-year-old receive his first real rebuke from his new club coach.
After months of nothing but encouraging high-fives, supportive teaching moments, and cheers of “Buena, Lincoln!” every time my son did anything remotely praiseworthy; his coach’s red face and stern words made it clear that Lincoln had (ahem) failed to meet expectations on the previous play.
Did the coach momentarily lose his cool? Or was there something else going on?
In two recent studies analyzing Division 1 athletes and thousands of managers at a major consulting firm, researchers from the Wharton School and the University of Texas found that positive emotions from coaches and team leaders near the beginning of a team or project will improve team members’ individual performance.
But here’s the kicker:
Their performance got even better when leaders unleashed temporary bouts of negativity during the middle phases of a project/season.
Turns out that high-performing teams do need a honeymoon phase — an initial lovefest where the leader expresses unbridled enthusiasm about the team, and each individual members’ potential.
But like an all-inclusive trip to Sandals, it can’t last forever.
During the middle phases of a season or project, leaders should make it crystal clear when they are disappointed with a failure to meet the team’s high standards.
For Lincoln, the scolding stung. But we reminded him that it’s always good to know when your leader believes in your high potential…even when that message stings.
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If you want to learn more about the details of this study, follow this link to the actual publication in Organization Science.
