RESONANT LEADERSHIP

A. Definition
What is Resonant Leadership?

Resonance is the capacity to synchronize with each other; therefore, resonant leadership is the
capacity to tune in to the needs of a team of people. According to psychologist and best-
selling author David Coleman, when talking about top managers, emotional intelligence (EQ)
is twice as important as skills + IQ. Effective leadership doesn’t have to do with who
invented a product, who is the smartest, or who has more skills; it is about the relationship
that a leader establishes with his or her team. Resonant leaders have a higher degree of EQ
and more abilities to connect themselves with their teams. They are more trusted by their
employees because they show empathy during times of downsizing, challenges, and personal
crises. They create harmony in a group and motivate workers to follow a vision, even when
the situation is tense.
Resonance is a powerful collective energy that reverberates among people and supports
higher productivity, creativity, a sense of unity, a sense of purpose, and results. Resonance
comes from our ability to use our own cognitive and biological systems to master skills of
self-awareness, awareness of others, empathy, and emotional intelligence.
Resonant leaders use emotional and social intelligence skills to renew themselves, create
positive relationships, and foster a healthy, vibrant environment to engage others toward a
common goal. They do this through mindfulness, hope and compassion.

Mindfulness: The awareness of what is really happening within your body, mind, heart and
spirit, while paying attention to what is going on around you.

Hope: Charting a course of action on clearly articulated goals, believing the goals can be met
and eventually reaching them with a sense of well-being.

Compassion: Compassion is empathy in action — not just caring, but helping others to
discover their dreams and helping to achieve them.

As importantly, Resonant Leaders manage negative emotions, using them carefully,

consciously and appropriately. Such leaders exude emotions that are contagious and affect all
around them. These leaders are consciously attuned to people, focus them on a common
cause, build a sense of community, and create a climate that unleashes peoples' passion,
energy, and unified spirit. They are able to remain calm and stay focused in order to manage
themselves and others effectively under stress and/or when dealing with ambiguous
circumstances. Resonant leaders also facilitate empowerment, acting in ways that leave the
people around them (colleagues, team members, employees, suppliers, community members,
etc.) feeling stronger and more capable. They encourage participation and teamwork by
staying intensely in touch with what those they lead are thinking and feeling to motivate and
energize them.

Resonant work environments support health and well-being, encourage collaboration and
innovation, engage and motivate employees, and ultimately lead to improved overall
performance.

B. 5 Reasons why resonant leadership works in the long

run
A resonant leader is someone who is capable of persuading employees that the goals
of the organization are also their goals and that the success of the company is a reflection of
their own sense of belonging to something bigger and more expansive than anything that they
could accomplish on their own. In other words, a resonant leader inspires those in the
organization to strive for something greater than themselves and outlines a mission that is
transcendent as well as lucrative.
It is important to point out that you can’t sell what you haven’t got, so if you don’t
have that vision, if you don’t have a mission that is transcendent or ambitious, then perhaps it
is time to get one. There is nothing more dissonant than trying to slap an inspiring theme on
an uninspiring task. (“Clean the bathroom and save the world” doesn’t quite ring true and
will only make the maintenance staff more resentful for being burdened with the added
responsibility of saving the world.) You can, however, turn what seems like drudgery into a
transcendent moment. “Our bathrooms are cleaner than your mom’s,” which brings a sense
of humor to an otherwise humorless job and has a clear objective that the maintenance people
can aspire to reach. Most of us have an image of the iconic mother who is trying to keep the
bathroom spotless for the guests. The Heath brothers (Dan and Chip) make this point in their
book Made to Stick and it is helpful to remember how effective it can be.
So, if you have a clear vision the next question is how you are communicating that
to your employees and your clients. The goal, according to Goleman and Bunker is to be as
genuine as possible in your communication, thereby getting the biggest impact with your
message. If you are still asking why you should be genuine, perhaps it would be helpful to
look to your employee turnover rate. If you have good retention of employees and find that
you are able to help your teams work through any resistance to change, if your feedback is
well-received and you have no problem communicating your vision to your company, then
perhaps you already are a resonant leader. If these things are not true for you, or if you see a
need to be better at them, then I suggest asking yourself these questions:
1. What inspires me about what I do? How do I share that inspiration with my
employees and my clients?
2. How honest and open am I about my weaknesses and strengths when I speak to my
clients and employees?
3. Do I listen?
If the answer to all three is “I don’t know” then you have an excellent opportunity to
become a more resonant and impactful leader.
A basic element of communication is that you have to reveal to your audience what you
would like reflected back to you. If you want your employees to be more open and flexible,
ask yourself if you are being open and flexible when communicating with them. If you want
them to listen and take ownership of the project, ask yourself if you are listening to them and
giving them the space to take it on as their own.
Knowing your strengths and weaknesses and being able to talk about them gives others
permission to own their own. The last thing that you want is for someone to lie about being
good at something if there is someone else who could do it better. If everyone had to be good
at everything, then there would be no need for a team.
Listen. Nothing opens up people more than the belief that their ideas and opinions are
heard. You don’t have to indulge every whim, but giving people the space to share where
they are at in a project or in a transition is vital to releasing the pressure that is inherent in
stressful situations. An empathetic leader in these moments can do amazing things for a
group that is trying to make big changes.
Know yourself, become aware of you impact on people and take the next step into more
effective and powerful leadership.
What makes a great leader? Is it the technical expertise? Is it the IQ? Does one become a
great leader by nature or after RECEIVING an MBA? We can PROBABLY agree that a
great leader is: somebody that BRINGS the best out of each person in a team, a person that
engages team members, somebody who evokes positive emotions, and inspires OTHERS; a
person that resonates with us.
Resonant leadership doesn’t always mean being nice; it means being assertive. It means
knowing your position, knowing what you want from that person or situation, and achieving
it without aggression while providing context, care, and understanding.
Is there any science behind this idea?
 Yes, there is. Neuroscience has studied the reactions of executives depending on the kinds of
leaders they have. In the study, Examination of the neural substrates activated in memories of
experiences with resonant and dissonant leaders i at the Cleveland Clinic, scientists showed
that executives that had resonant leaders were able to activate the social and approach
networks in their brains that were associated with positive emotions. Those executives that
had dissonant leaders suppressed the social networks in their brains, instead activating the
networks associated with avoidance behaviors and negative emotions. These activations are
unconscious; they occur in less than a second and sometimes even in less than one hundredth
of a millisecond.

Let’s analyze why resonant leadership works in the long run, and why this style of leadership
is more efficient and lasting.

Reason #1 – Resonant leaders prevent burnout

We feel burnt out when we are fatigued, cynical, and inefficient at work. Sometimes it
happens because we are not being heard, other times because we have worked too hard and
haven’t been recognized, and sometimes it happens because there are too many changes and
we cannot handle them anymore.
A resonant leader will prevent burnout by building a positive work environment. How?
According to Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee in their book Resonant Leadership,ii an
effective leader will create a resonant relationship via mindfulness, hope, and compassion.
Let’s see how these concepts influence leadership style:
 Mindfulness: A regulation of emotions will help avoid burnout. The leader will see the
issues, problems, and challenges of projects from a calm and accepting perspective. This
sense of serenity will be sensed by team members and adopted. This doesn’t mean that the
leader is not going to react; he/she will react from a very steady and strong position.
 Compassion: Practice active listening and speaking from the heart. The leader will not only
practice empathy but will also be caring, so team members feel like a part of the team.
Burnout and loneliness sometimes merge together; if team members feel that their manager
truly understands them, there will be less possibilities of burnout.
 Hope: The leader will, constantly and creatively, remind us of the meaning of our work. If
we have a very clear idea of why our work is important, burnout will have no chance.
Reason #2 – Their teams are more motivated
The number one motivation, the one that lasts throughout the years, is to share the vision of
the organization. Resonant leaders help us understand the purpose of what we do, and
they are constantly reminding team members why they are important in achieving the vision
of the company or team. Regular repetition of why we are there, why the organization was
created, and how it is helping others brings a higher meaning and hope to team members.
Effective leaders use this context to increase motivation and to make employees thrive in it.
An effective leader will be emotionally intelligent, aware, and mindful so he/she can
understand the emotions that are spreading within the team and work on them. We have to
keep in mind that emotions, both positive and negative, are contagious. When a leader is
authentically motivated, the team will also become motivated as these emotions quickly
spread. Neurological studies show that this contagion spreads in milliseconds, and it is also
unconscious.
Reason #3 – Their teams are more committed
Resonant leaders are empathetic, understanding, and they deeply care about others. Think
about your life: when somebody shows that they really care about you, how do you react?
That’s right; you give them your best. What happens when you feel like part of a group or
team that you like? How do you react? You try to not let them down. This is why, by
showing care and promoting the team identity, companies with resonant leaders are more
committed to the mission and goals of the organization.
Tense and scared employees can be very productive in the short term, but their results will
not last. When a leader creates an environment that promotes empathy, where emotions are
well managed, people have self-awareness, and social skills are embraced, the team feels trust
and feels comfortable taking healthy risks and learning flourishes. On the other hand, when
emotional intelligence is not used, team members feel fear and anxiety; two concepts that go
against the idea of commitment, sustainability, and efficiency.
Reason #4 – Resonant leaders get a better response during tough times
Opposite to what some may believe, when there are layoffs and changes in an organization,
teams with resonant leaders respond better and are less stressed by the changes. When a
leader is empathetic, genuine, authentic, and acts with integrity, team members will recognize
that transparency and value it. They will feel close to that person and deal with the changes
together. At work, similar to a friendship, when somebody is there during the hard times, you
create a bond with that person and you will always stick with him/her. This is why resonant
leaders have lower turnover rates, and their teams perform better.
A study published by the University of Alberta in Edmonton (Canada)iii shows that nurses
with resonant leaders that experienced intense stress during reorganization and layoffs were
less stressed than the rest. When these nurses had negative feelings, they felt that they could
talk to their managers, who responded with empathy and support and provided them with the
sensation that they were not alone in the chaos they perceived. Here, the three elements of a
resonant leader come into play: compassion, mindfulness, and hope. Nurses with dissonant
leaders felt exhausted four times more frequently than the nurses with resonant leaders
and reported three times more often that the needs of their patients were not being met. This
study helps us to understand how crucial the style of leadership can be in high-stress
workplaces, times of crisis, or during changes in the organization.
Reason #5 – Resonant leaders build sustainable teams
Resonant leaders tend to inspire others by creating and maintaining resonance. Most of the
time, when you leave a meeting with an efficient leader, you feel charged up, thrilled, and
inspired. From that conversation, the manager also feels fulfilled and recognized, thus
entering an endless circle of motivation and satisfaction that will lead to a sustainable team.
Even when the leader feels stressed and exhausted, if he/she has been doing a good job in the
past, the energy from the team will get back to him/her.
We feel attracted toward resonant leaders, and we want to be around them. They give
meaning to our jobs, they recognize our talents, and they show us the path through
empowerment. On the other side, we tend to be repelled by dissonant leaders, and when that
happens, we leave the company. Some say that you don’t leave a company; you leave a boss.
In the case of downsizing, what teams are the ones that are going to stay? The most efficient
and productive ones will. Who will have the most productive team? Will it be the scary boss
that got the best results for the company during the first quarter, but has an entire new team
every 6 months because people don’t want to be around him/her? No. It will be the boss that
has built a strong team, created a positive environment, motivated his/her workers by
reminding them about the purpose of the organization, and has been consistent in productivity
and improvements. That is the team that will stay; the really sustainable one.

C. Can you be a resonant leader?

If you want, you can become one. The capacity of being a resonant leader is not something
that you are born with. It is something that we must learn and practice through the years; it is
a style of leadership that can be trained and acquired through consciousness.
 Emotional intelligence has no gender. EQ is measured by a range of factors including self-
awareness, the capacity to manage your emotions, innovation, empathy, and social skills, and
so far, studies show that both men and women are in very similar EQ ranges.
It’s never too late to be a resonant leader as long as you sincerely make an effort. Sure, it
takes time but the results will be rewarding. If you are learning how to be a resonant leader,
let us know how’s things going on for you. If you are already one, we would love to hear of
your tips!

D. 5 Traits Of Resonant Leadership

Resonant leadership not only promotes positive relationships, but also drives productivity and
boosts employee engagement.
Here are five key qualities to help develop resonance in your leadership style.
1. Self-awareness

It is important to know your strengths and weaknesses, and that your motives for driving
progress in the workplace have the right intentions.
Self-aware leaders are honest about their limitations, but avoid being highly self-critical or
overly optimistic.
They know how they come across and aim to establish genuine relationships built on
openness and trust.
2. Authenticity

According to businessman and author, Bill George, charisma, image and style have been
“replaced by character, humility, and service”.
Perceptions of leadership have changed, and people no longer buy into the crafted image of
omniscience.
Employees connect with leaders who show their human side and aren’t afraid of showing that
they have weaknesses as well their strengths.
3. Empathy

According to Goleman, empathy has three components:

 ‘cognitive empathy’ – which is simply having an awareness of how people feel.
 ‘emotional empathy’ – when we get a sense of feeling what someone is going through.
 ‘empathic concern’ – where we are moved to help others when needed.
Being able to emotionally connect with others is powerfully resonant, as doing so lets people
know that you understand them and are concerned for their well-being.
4. Relationship management

This is where we provide a positive influence on others, help them to develop, effectively
manage conflict and change, as well as establish teamwork and build bonds.
We all thrive on healthy connections and so team members will be much more likely to
respond to leaders who are able to nurture valuable relationships with others.
5. Social awareness

As well as establishing relationships with others, resonant leaders are aware of how their
organisation is functioning and are able to meet the needs of their clients or partners.
They do this by being attuned to how people are feeling, which allows them to say and do the
right things at the right time in order to assuage frustrations and offer calm reassurance.