“Everything you do affects other people down the line!’ were the words that bellowed, angrily, from Dick’s reddened face as he pushed the team to work faster with fewer errors.

It was four o’clock in the morning and I was packing trucks at UPS during the peak holiday season.  The kids were young and I had taken an extra job to pad my wallet before “Santa” had to deliver.

Dick was right.  If the scanners at the beginning of the line didn’t scan properly, the packages wouldn’t be sent to the right trucks.  If the truck packers didn’t pack properly, the drivers wouldn’t be able to deliver.  If the drivers didn’t deliver on time, customers wouldn’t get their shiny bobbles for the holidays.  If customers didn’t get their shiny bobbles from their loved ones, relationships could be damaged (okay, I’m speculating on this last one).

It was a ripple effect of one relationship impacting another’s ability to effectively do their job.  What Dick didn’t realize was that he was the key to making it all work smoother. He was the first pebble in the ripple.  His attitude, as leader, was the key to getting it done faster, better, and with less errors but his continual angry bellowing, mistrust, and stressed out demeanor sent the wrong ripple.

This is due to a phenomena called emotional contagion, a condition where we actually “catch” the emotions of the people around us.  You can think about it like this:

You’re in a great mood.  Your spouse (or significant other) comes home and starts yelling at you.  You then get mad and yell at your kid.  The kid kicks the dog, the dog bites the cat, and the cat pees on your pillow.  The emotional cycle is complete.

Happens every day at work, doesn’t it?

So, how can you, as a leader, start the right ripple with your team and not be a Dick?

Tell don’t yell.  Yelling in anger increases stress, fear and actually decreases motivation.  Tell people the expectation in a positive tone.  Keep it upbeat.

Show don’t blow.  If errors occur, don’t blow up.  Show your team the way.  Work alongside them and coach them through the process.

Smile a while.  If you’re in bad mood when you leave the house before work, think of something positive on your way there and smile.  Positive and negative emotions can’t occupy the same space at the same time in your head.  The single easiest way to shift your own attitude is with a smile.  Then, when you get to work, share it.

Laugh with the staff.  The pace or amount of work may be grueling and stressful but, when you get a break, share a laugh with the team.  It could be as easy as telling a funny story or the something you saw on your way to work.  Regardless, laughter bonds people and makes you more human (and approachable) as a leader.

I’d like to say that Dick was, at his core, a decent guy.  That wasn’t the case.  Our kids were in the same pee-wee football league and he was just as angry there.  I finished up the season packing trucks and then went to my regular one job grind.  But, I went back loaded…loaded with another set of great examples of what leaders shouldn’t do to motivate the team.

In the end, you get more from your team when you give them more.  More coaching, more positivity, and more ways to do better on their own.  Don’t be Dick and run your team into the ground, be the positive ripple that starts a wave of creativity, productivity, and loyalty.