When is Being Influential a Bad Thing?

According to the article in the NY Times, being influential can be a bad thing—at least when you're in a bad mood. Check out Sunny or Cloudy, Moods Cast an Influence in the Career Couch column by Phyllis Korkki.

It's not your imagination.  When you're in a bad mood or a good one, you influence those around you. Ms. Korkki notes, "in groups, people unconsciously tend to mimic the demeanor of those around them."   If you're a business owner, your negative tone could be sabotaging the creativity of your colleagues! 

When you are the chief promoter, strategy planner and content producer, you need to make sure you are leading your troops to victory. It's easy to obsess and focus on what's wrong to the exclusion of what you and others are doing right.   

The good news is, you can make negativity work for you when you have a killer deadline at hand.  Jennifer George at Rice University tells us that, "people in bad moods tend to be more realistic , more self critical and more attuned to detail."  So you can use a bad mood in a positive way if you work at it.  Nobody said management was easy.