From Harvard Business Review
You may notice your employees hesitate when you ask them how they’re doing. Many of us have mixed emotions these days. And yet people often hesitate to share their ambivalent emotions with colleagues, fearing that they’ll taint the mood or appear emotionally vulnerable — like they don’t have it all together. As a leader, you can help your team embrace their ambivalence and even harness its benefits. Start by showing that feeling torn is okay and even encouraged. In one-on-one meetings, ask guiding questions to surface mixed emotions as a model for flexible thinking. For example, “Frances, tell me one thing you’re excited about regarding the rollout and one thing you’re nervous about.” You can also normalize emotional ambivalence by modeling it yourself. Instead of displaying relentless positivity in meetings, which can alienate people, explain when you feel more than one way about something. You might say something like “I'm excited about the opportunities coming up this fall, but nervous about how the Delta variant might disrupt our plans.” Doing so will help employees who are also torn feel seen, affirmed, connected, and less alone.
