How Women Can Show Passion at Work Without Seeming “Emotional”

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Here is an excerpt from an article written by Kathryn Heath and Jill Flynn for Harvard Business Review and the HBR Blog Network. To read the complete article, check out the wealth of free resources, obtain subscription information, and receive HBR email alerts, please click here.

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For women, matters of perception are tricky, but here are some things you can do to minimize miscommunication and put your passion to work for you.

Be intentional. If you use your passion to make a point, do so deliberately as opposed to in-the-moment. How? Plan your argument in advance, and generate support before meetings so your passion won’t take others by surprise. We also tell women to use language that is passionate but a tone that’s moderate. In other words, remain in control so that people focus on the content of your argument and take it seriously.

Know your audience. Claudia’s executive committee was stacked with number crunchers and business analysts. She acknowledges, in retrospect, that they are swayed more readily by figures than by pure debate. She might have held the floor longer if she had begun her remarks with quantitative facts. For instance: “The sales numbers are down 6% this quarter; so let’s start by examining the sales strategy. Here’s what I have in mind…”

Use other tools of influence. Combining passion with logic, specificity, creativity, and experience can be more effective than relying on passion alone. If some colleagues, male or female, don’t respond to passionate appeals, they may respond more favorably to a different tactic. In addition, the versatility signals that you are in control of your emotions and able to switch gears in order to effectively make a point.

Support what your gut is telling you. If you feel passionate about something, say it proudly and then proceed to back up your feelings with facts. The people around you are more likely to be swayed by your open declaration if it’s clear that you have reason and logic on your side. They might even find your passion contagious.

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Here is a direct link to the complete article.

Kathryn Heath is a principal of Flynn Heath Holt Leadership. She is a co-author of Break Your Own Rules: How to Change the Patterns of Thinking That Block Women’s Paths to Power (Jossey-Bass, 2011). Join the conversation on Twitter: @FlynnHeathHolt.

Jill Flynn is a founding partner at Flynn Heath Holt and a co-author of Break Your Own Rules. Join the conversation on Twitter: @FlynnHeathHolt.

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