The Stories We Tell: Why Cognitive Distortions Matter for Leaders

"This study explored whether leaders’ thought patterns (specifically cognitive distortions) and emotion regulation strategies (specifically cognitive reappraisal, cognitive defusion, and expressive suppression) relate to their work experiences. Findings suggest that leaders’ cognitive distortions are related to their work experiences and that emotion regulation strategies can help leaders mitigate the effects of cognitive distortions. More specifically, the results of this study offer the following insights: • Leaders’ cognitive distortions related to all examined workplace topics (role ambiguity, role conflict, social support, perceived organizational support, job satisfaction, and burnout). • Leaders’ use of emotion regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal and cognitive defusion) mitigated the impact their cognitive distortions had on burnout, specifically. • Attempting to suppress emotional responses was relatively ineffective compared to the other two emotion regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal and cognitive defusion). These insights suggest that certain emotion regulation strategies may be helpful in ameliorating the deleterious effects of cognitive distortions on leaders’ burnout. The current paper provides an overview of the different cognitive distortions and emotion regulation strategies explored and includes advice on what leaders can do to more effectively notice and manage cognitive distortions that emerge during distressing situations. "