ALL COMPANIES NEED SOOTHING SOMETIME

If that title makes you cringe in its wrongness or softness, you probably are blind to your leadership need for soothing and, in turn, your company's need for soothing as well.  Soothing means "gently calming or reducing pain and discomfort".  Sound better?

As THE top leader or a top leader, you can get so accustomed to the tension and discomfort you carry that you don't see the need for getting things calmed down and reducing organizational pain.

Today's work force is often scared, tired, cranky, and tired of being whipped around by changing strategies, sudden new leadership and profound lack of alignment in their work. And, unbelievably, most just want to do good work without the craziness.  I bet it's true for you too.

What seems to work to soothe when you can't change the dynamics at play?

It is so easy we don't do it. DEEP LISTENING to understand the frustration.
ACKNOWLEDGING the reality of your associates in every way you can.  You don't have to do a huge change to soothe.  You have to 'GET IT'.
You have to EXPLAIN THE PAIN so that people KNOW WHY it is worth living through. It helps if you KNOW YOUR OWN DISCOMFORT so that it doesn't trigger impulse reaction like anger and so you don't begin to disconnect from your people to avoid pain.  

Organizations are a collection of people.  Of course, it creates group emotion or tone.  And so many companies are in pain.  I would call "soothing" a leadership skill.