I am reading a great book given to me by Alan Mulally (President and CEO of Ford Motor Company) on the principles for achieving excellence in managing projects, teams, and organizations. There is a section in the book that talks about arousing passion in people. Allow me to give you a short excerpt:

“I got a bit upset about something at work, and my boss told me that I should leave my emotions outside when I came to work. Yet in the next breath, he wanted me to be motivated to do my job. What he overlooked is that emotion and motivated have a common root, Old French emouvoir, “stir up,” and Latin emovere, “move out” (Barnhart, 1995).”

So what do you think? Did the author make a valid point/comparison? Can you be motivated to do your job without showing emotion? When is it okay to display emotion in the work place? This calls for some good old fashion discussion…so let’s talk about it!