The emotions and cognitions during organizational change: The importance of the emotional work for leaders

This study looked longitudinally at both the emotional and cognitive reactions of the hospital executive during organizational change. The study examined the cognitive and affective experiences of ten hospital executives leading and implementing organizational change initiatives over a twelve year period. Our study demonstrates that management is not a purely rational activity, and explores the emotional experience of the leader through rich empirical accounts in a change context. The results indicate that not only employees have feelings that must be expressed and not suppressed during change initiative, but also the top leaders. The findings illustrate how top leaders experience significant emotional reactions as a part of their role leading change. This research answered a call to examine emotions during an organizational change process. This research illustrates the importance of recognizing and addressing the emotional work of the leader, particularly during times of organizational change. The research offers important considerations for those facing significant transformations. The study suggests that acknowledging and supporting the emotion work undertaken by leaders is important for the successful execution of the change initiatives. This study indicates that it is the leader who needs to be given support to express and acknowledge emotional reactions, both in terms of formal management development and organizational change training. The support is vital to retain long term commitment and motivation when implementing successive rounds of change initiatives This study illustrates how emotion work is an integral part of the role at this level, and that the demands of performing emotion work are heightened during particular stages of the organizational change process. Understanding the impact of emotions can improve leadership during times of transition which translates into less resistance, quicker engagement, and higher commitment.