Read Time: 2 minutes.
Certain people and situations will trigger your emotions and emotions invoke action.
If this action is unbecoming of an executive leader, this will impact your career ambition.
In this week’s Leader of Choice newsletter, I will share with you tactical and strategic ways of managing your emotions to get the best out of you, others and your career.
An emotional week
What an emotional and draining week.
How’s yours been?
This week, I took over a new role which means:
- A lot to get up to speed with.
- Urgent demands with a lot of unknowns.
- People I’ve never interacted with.
- Longer hours, etc.
I’ve felt enthusiasm, pride, overwhelm, irritation, frustration, confusion and a whole heap more.
A fight with frustration
Although I managed to manage my emotions well most of the time.
In one circumstance my frustration came across with a person and rather than assess their explanation and understand it more, I dismissed it.
However, in the second meeting, I managed to intercept frustration and change my behaviour.
How?
Talking to my emotions
Well, the frustration kicked in, but I:
- Intercepted it and named it.
- Talked to it (weird hey) – “not this time frustration.”
- Kicked in my thinking brain.
- And changed my default behaviour.
This time, I asked a lot of questions and understood the other person’s perspective.
So how did I kick in my thinking brain?
I used a breathing technique where I focus my attention on the rising and falling of my stomach as I breathe.
I do this for a few seconds and the feeling in the pit of my stomach disappears and I start to think more clearly.
Recently I’ve been learning a lot more about this and started using more advanced techniques called PQ reps – positive intelligence.
Strategic Focus
Now, if the same people and circumstances are constantly causing negative emotions, the above will work, but it’s draining and unsustainable.
So, we need a strategic plan.
To counteract these common triggers, we need to assess:
- Can I avoid these situations and people going forward?
- Can I reduce being in these situations or interacting with these people?
- And if not what’s my plan to resolve this?
But don’t forget positive emotions.
We always tend to focus on removing the negative things in live, but neglect finding more positive things.
Now if you are experiencing positive emotions from situations or interacting with certain people, what’s you plan to get more of this?
Coaching Challenge
This week, I’d like you to:
- Test out the technique I’ve shared on changing your behaviour when a negative emotion kicks in.
- Notice which common situations and people invoke negative and positive emotions and create a strategic plan.
Your Virtual Coach
Nick