Psychology of Leaders and Leadership, Vol 29(1), May 2026, 26-55; doi:10.1037/mgr0000177
The fundamental paradox for emotions at work involves the tension between emotional control versus emotional authenticity. We present emotional self-leadership (ESL) as a complementary perspective on emotion self-influence at work, to help address this tension, comparing and contrasting ESL with other work-related emotion concepts (e.g., emotional intelligence, emotional labor, and emotion regulation), in terms of source of motivation, authenticity, and scope of influence. The theoretical foundation of ESL is then articulated in terms of the degree of one’s self-influence, origin of influence, and incentives. Our article culminates in a theoretically derived model of ESL targets and strategies, which is intended as a guide for leaders (and other employees) across levels, industries, and countries. To these ends, we argue that ESL provides a means for leaders and other employees to manage an array of emotional paradoxes more effectively and thus improve both intra- and interpersonal outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)