Posted on Feb 6, 2013

The Value of Elation in Leadership

The value of elation means extremely happy and excited; a feeling of joy and pride; optimism.

Leadership Questions:

How do you show and share your joy and pride in your team?
What would happen if you showed some real excitement?
You know how it feels when you are firing on all cylinders. What are you doing to keep that feeling alive?
Remember the excitement and anticipation as a child of opening gifts at Christmas? How can you share that feeling with your team, your family, and members of your community, on a consistent basis?
Are you holding back on some optimism? Why?
Where is the safest place to shout for joy? How often do you visit that place?

The Elasticity of Elation

In economics, elasticity is the measurement of how changing one economic variable affects others. For instance, if you lower the price of bread by 20%, how much more will you sell? Economists have long studied these relationships to better understand cause and effect within supply and demand.

I propose the same holds true with our attitude.

The happier we are, the more positive (and productive) the environment around us. When our joy and pride increases, so does the joy and pride in those we interact. In other words, there appears to be a direct correlation between a shift in our attitude and the attitude (and outcomes) of those around us.

Leaders understand the power of elasticity of elation. Thus, effective leaders make it a top priority to feed themselves with positive inputs so that their elation energizes others.