Emotion regulation as leadership

Leadership is an essential process in organizations in which leaders shape how their followers feel, think, and behave in pursuit of organizational effectiveness (Dinh et al., 2014). Over the last decade, research has emerged that centers the role of emotion and explains the emotional mechanisms involved in leadership influence (Haver et al., 2013; Humphrey et al., 2016; Jordan & Lindebaum, 2015; Kaplan et al., 2014; Shao, 2024). With a focus on leaders’ attempts to shape their own feelings or the feelings of their followers, in this chapter, we present and critically discuss the accumulated empirical evidence regarding leader emotion regulation in organizations. Our review focuses primarily on providing a comprehensive understanding of how and why leaders engage in emotion regulation at work and the consequences of their doing so, for themselves, their followers and teams, and their organizations. We conclude by highlighting issues deserving attention in future research.