Enhancing emotional range in strategic visioning

The role of emotion in work settings is increasingly being recognised. Decisions and actions operate in demonstrably different ways when operating in different moods. Work may however conspire to deny emotion: both in terms of its legitimacy within work practice and in terms of its value as a consideration in future planning. The present study hypothesises that much of strategic thinking, including strategic visioning, may operate within an artificially narrow emotional spectrum. It is postulated that it is possible to enhance the emotional range in the course of a strategic visioning process. It is hypothesised that the 'futures' envisioned through an enhanced emotional range will evidence a greater range of emotional considerations. An experiment is reported using guided visualisation with a mood induction procedure to test the hypotheses. Findings suggest that it is possible to assess the emotional range of strategic visions and enhance their emotional range. © 2008, Inderscience Publishers