Powerful People

So I was reading one of Daniel Goleman's posts on The Social Brain and he said something really interesting. He said:

'We are constantly impacting the brain states in other people. In my EI model, “Managing Relationships” means, at this level, that we’re responsible for how we shape the feelings of those we interact with – for better or for worse. In this sense, relationship skills have to do with managing brain states in other people.

This raises a question. Who sends the emotions that pass between people, and who receives them? One answer, for groups of peers, is that the sender tends to be the most emotionally expressive person in the group. But in groups where there are power differences – in the classroom, at work, in organizations generally – it is the most powerful person who is the emotional sender, setting the emotional state for the rest of the group.'

This has profound implications for those of us who provide any sort of service to others inviting them into better mental, physical , emotional and spiritual health. If we are aware of how our own brain-body pitches up in relationships then we are best placed to have that positive impact that we want and the client longs for.