New research from Lindy Greer, faculty director of the Sanger Leadership Center, professor of management and organizations at Michigan Ross, and Sanger Research Lab member Christina Bradley (PhD ’26) explores how emotional acknowledgment shapes team dynamics—and performance.
In a paper accepted for publication in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, the researchers examine how team members respond to one another’s emotions. Their findings suggest that higher-ranked team members are more likely to acknowledge the emotions of those below them, reinforcing existing norms around hierarchy.
However, the research also highlights a key opportunity: when lower-ranked team members acknowledge the emotions of higher-ranked colleagues, it can shift team dynamics. These moments of “positive deviance” encourage reciprocity, helping teams build stronger emotional cultures and ultimately improving performance.
The findings point to a simple but often overlooked behavior—acknowledging emotions—as a meaningful way to strengthen team interactions and outcomes.