"Leaders bring the weather."

Every person in every leadership workshop I've facilitated resonates with this quote from Bob Anderson, founder of the Leadership Circle Profile. They know exactly what it means.

They've worked for the manager who walks into work stressed and watched everyone in their path tense up. Many have also worked for a leader who walks in steady and calm, and watched the team relax. That's the weather. And every leader brings some.

Where does the weather come from?

Thoughts generate emotions. Sit with an emotion long enough, and it settles into a mood. And the mood you're carrying is the weather you walk into work with. None of this happens on purpose. But a rough commute, a difficult call with a client, a nagging thought about a decision you haven't made yet can affect your mood by the time you walk through the door. And everyone can feel it without you saying a word.

We dress for the weather. Teams respond to it the same way.

If it's raining, you automatically grab a jacket. Teams do the same with their leader's mood. Tense leader, people get careful and stop raising problems. Flat leader, energy in the room drops to match. Calm, present leader, people loosen up and think better. No one is told to do this. It just happens.

Emotional contagion is real.

Moods are contagious. Be around a grumpy person long enough and you'll soon feel grumpy. Be with a happy person and feel their joy. Leaders need to know this because it's their job to create the conditions for maximum performance from every team member.

The leader's weather isn't a private experience — it's the forecast for everyone else's day.

It's not about faking sunshine every day. People will soon enough see through it and you'll lose their trust. The job is to notice what weather you're bringing before you walk in and whether that is the weather your team needs to achieve their tasks that day.

What weather are you bringing in today?