Do companies really need more knowledge management or rather “emotion management”?
I am a convinced advocate of knowledge management in companies as the basis for functioning project, process and change management.
Without clean knowledge structures:
- errors are repeated
- changes fail
- learning remains accidental instead of effective
And yet knowledge management is still treated as a “nice to have” in many organizations. In most cases, there is a lack of time and resources and genuine top-down support from management levels.
An impulse from outside that made me think further.
The episode of Hotel Matze with Dr. Giulia Enders (“What does your body want to tell you?”) inspired me to think further.
A central idea from the podcast: The body reacts and sends signals long before we cognitively classify them. Those who ignore them pay the price later, and that’s exactly what I observe in organizations.
Companies manage knowledge, but emotions are neglected.
What emotions have to do with leadership and learning
In many companies, there is excellent analysis, planning and structuring, but hardly any emotion. Emotions are still considered unprofessional, (too) private or difficult to control. Yet they have long been controlling decisions, behavior and collaboration.
What must not be felt is shown differently:
- Uncertainty becomes resistance
- Fear of control
- Excessive demands lead to withdrawal
Not because people are difficult, but because their system is in survival mode.
Perhaps we don’t need either-or, but a new order.
Emotion management as the basis of modern leadership
I do not believe that knowledge management is outdated, but perhaps it is not the first step. Because without emotional security, knowledge remains ineffective and without contact to one’s own experience, learning remains abstract.
What if companies asked themselves more often?
- How safe do people really feel?
- What emotions shape decisions, especially the unspoken ones?
- What is known but not lived?
Mature leadership is (also) demonstrated by courageously addressing feelings. First and foremost your own.
“Here is the podcast episode that inspired me to write this article 👇
