Editor's note: This popular story from the Daily Briefing's archives was republished on May 17, 2023.

Leaders have substantial influence over their teams' moods and emotional states, which ultimately impact overall performance. Writing for the Harvard Business Review, Dina Denham Smith, an executive coach and founder and CEO of Cognitas, and Alicia Grandey, a professor of industrial-organizational psychology at Pennsylvania State University, explain why leaders' emotional labor is so important and how organizations can support their leaders in this capacity.

Effective leadership requires significant emotional labor

"Effective leaders have long managed the emotions they display at work," Smith and Grandey write. "They project optimism and confidence when team members feel thwarted and discouraged. Or notwithstanding their skepticism about the company’s strategic direction, they carry the company flag and work to rally the troops."

The emotional labor leaders perform is on par with that of frontline service workers who have to deliver "service with a smile." Effectively managing emotions is an essential and significant part of a leader's job since they can influence employees' moods and emotions, as well as their organizational performance.

Because of substantial changes in the work landscape over the last few years, leaders now must handle even more emotional labor than before. They are "expected to attend to employees' mental and physical health and burnout (while also addressing their own), demonstrate bottomless sensitivity and compassion, and provide opportunities for flexibility and remote work — all while managing the bottom line, doing more with less, and overcoming challenges with hiring and retaining talent," Smith and Grandey write.

According to Smith and Grandey, unless leaders receive sufficient support to offset the burden of emotional labor, they will be at an increased risk of burnout and other health issues. In addition, organizations could see a decline in productivity and performance, as well as high turnover in leadership positions.

How to manage emotional labor

To help organizations support their leaders in managing emotional labor, Smith and Grandey offer four tips.

1. Acknowledge that emotional labor is labor

"Recognition is the first step toward better performance and health," Smith and Grandey write, particularly since leaders "often underestimate and neglect to directly address their role's emotional labor."

To meet the emotional demands of their job, leaders may "surface act" and hide their true feelings to present a more positive front. According to Smith and Grandey, this can reduce a leader's "self-control resources," which makes them more likely to lash out, such as by making belittling or rude comments to coworkers. The stress of routine surface acting can also impact a person's health, increasing the risk of burnout, bodily aches, insomnia, and heavy drinking.

To better support leaders, Smith and Grandey recommend organizations assess the emotional culture of their workplaces and create psychologically safe environments where workers can be comfortable expressing distress without being considered soft or weak.

2. Model self-compassion from the top down

Although some leaders may be reluctant to practice self-compassion, research shows that leaders who do so have higher integrity, emotional intelligence, and resiliency.

"In short, they are better leaders," Smith and Grandey write, "and there's a trickle-down effect to their teams and organizations."

According to one study, leaders who practice self-compassion were more likely to help others with both task-related and personal problems. In turn, stakeholders considered these leaders more civil and competent.

Smith and Grandey recommend organizations educate their leaders on the benefits of self-compassion and encourage them to be patient and understanding with themselves when they don't handle something perfectly. Doing so will help leaders align their feelings with their expression and reduce the toll of emotional labor.

3. Offer training on how to handle others' emotions

Leaders are often expected to show compassion and understanding for their employees' frustrations, which can sometimes lead to defensive reactions or add to their own stress.

To help leaders handle "compassion fatigue and negative emotional contagion," Smith and Grandey recommend organizations offer trainings on new emotional skills, such as reframing emotions as information to be processed. This can help leaders feel more compassionate and showcase more servant leadership behaviors.

4. Provide leaders with peer support groups

Oftentimes, leaders feel isolated from others since, as one manager put it, "in the end, the final responsibility is always going to be yours."

To reduce loneliness and isolation among leaders, organizations should offer peer support groups where leaders can talk about their experiences and stresses. Some ways to do this include internal forums or through external peer groups such as YPO or Vistage.

According to Smith and Grandey, "leaders feel immense relief simply knowing they're not alone with their experience" and the support they receive can sustain them "through professional and personal challenges and [foster] their long-term success."

Overall, "it's time for organizations to step up and to stop dismissing this substantial emotional burden," Smith and Grandey write. "By recognizing emotional labor and providing proper education, training, and support, organizations can help leaders effectively handle this essential but often overlooked requirement of their role." (Smith/Grandey, Harvard Business Review, 11/2)