Look at the picture of the dog on the right-hand side of the screen. Doesn’t that pup look happy? Turns out attributing emotion to pets isn’t quite accurate. We think they look happy, mainly because we attribute happiness to a smile. First thing you learn in dog training is that dogs do not have human emotion, and you have to separate emotion out when training. Emotion can be an obstacle, not only in pet training, but the workplace as well.
As humans, unless we are emotionally aware, we allow our emotions to guide our reaction to events. These emotions then dictate how we act and in turn reveal to others what type of person we are, or at least the type of person we portray. In the workplace, the very emotions we value personally might actually hurt us professionally.
As leaders it is important to learn to separate out emotion when analyzing work events and decisions. This can be easier said than done as a lot of us take work personally. However, the first step is simply realizing you are basing decisions on emotion, or your gut reaction. Each time you take some extra time to consider your emotions, you create practical and valuable decision making habits. Before you know it, you won’t have to think twice next time you are in a decision making situation.
Another great way to start separating your emotion from workplace decisions is to view the situation you are faced with from the eyes of a coworker. This can help you think outside of your personal emotional lenses and may help to reveal to you a new perspective.
Removing personal emotion from your decision making does not remove emotions from the workplace. As you learn to seperate your personal emotions from workplace decisions, you make decisions with the collective workplace emotions in mind. So go ahead and give it a shot, or if you are already doing this, what other tips might you have to help manage emotions in the workplace?