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damaging at the end of the three months received scores 13% lower than those
as it was at the beginning. However, the in the control group. Why? Previous
leaders were completely unaware of the research has shown that when leaders
negative dynamic. evince positive emotion, subordinates feel
Lorenzo Lucianetti, Devasheesh Bhave, good and therefore perceive the bosses as
Michael Christian, and I found similar charismatic. If we don’t get enough sleep,
results when we asked 88 leaders and their we’re less likely to feel positive and less
subordinates to complete daily surveys able to manage or fake our moods; it’s
for two weeks: When bosses slept poorly, very difficult to pull ourselves out of an
they were more likely to exhibit abusive insomnia-induced funk.
behavior the next day, which resulted Furthermore, leaders who discount the
in lower levels of engagement among value of sleep can negatively impact not
subordinates. When the boss doesn’t feel just emotions but also behaviors on their
WHEN LEADERS SHOW rested, the whole unit pays a price. teams. Lorenzo Lucianetti, Eli Awtrey,
Sleep also affects managers’ ability to
Gretchen Spreitzer, and I conducted a
UP FOR WORK UNRESTED, inspire and motivate those around them. series of studies of what we termed “sleep
In a 2016 experiment, Cristiano Guarana,
devaluation”—scenarios in which leaders
THEY ARE MORE Shazia Nauman, Dejun Tony Kong, and communicate to subordinates that sleep
I manipulated the sleep of a sample of
is unimportant. They may do so by setting
LIKELY TO LOSE PATIENCE students: Some were allowed to get a an example (for instance, boasting about
sleeping only four hours or sending work
normal night’s worth, while others were
WITH EMPLOYEES, randomly assigned to a sleep-deprived e-mails at 3 am), or they may directly shape
employees’ habits by encouraging people
condition in which they were awake about
ACT IN ABUSIVE two hours longer. We then asked each to work during typical sleep hours (perhaps
WAYS, AND BE SEEN AS participant to give a speech on the role criticizing subordinates for not responding
of a leader, recorded those talks, and had
to those 3 am e-mails, or praising
LESS CHARISMATIC. third parties evaluate the speakers for individuals who regularly work late into
the night). In our studies, we found that
charisma. Those who were sleep-deprived
SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 2018 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW 141 
