Being a great manager isn’t easy. Not only do you have to bring the right amount of experience and subject-matter expertise to the table, but you also have to be a strong leader. It’s the latter part of that equation that can be difficult, as the concept can feel a bit ambiguous. After all, there isn’t one formula for leadership greatness; it can vary somewhat from one manager to the next.
However, there is one thing that your success as a manager could potentially depend on; your ability to control your emotions. This doesn’t mean stopping yourself from feeling how you feel, just ensuring that you don’t allow them to control your actions or make your decisions for you.
If you want to understand why keeping your emotions in check can make a difference, here’s what you need to know.
Decision-Making
Your emotions can impact your judgment. For example, if you are feeling angry, you might use your power as a manager to lash out at someone, even if it harms your team or company.
Learning to keep your emotions under control ensures that you don’t make decisions that aren’t based on logic or what’s best for the organization. You’ll learn to recognize how you are feeling and actively work to keep those influences from altering your decision-making capabilities. That way, you can always do what’s best for the situation and not just what may feel good at the moment.
Perception
When your emotions run rampant, they can affect how you see the world. For example, if you are upset by an employee’s mistake, that feeling could alter how you view other events. You might be pessimistic or more judgmental about the work of the rest of your team, causing you to be overly critical or to start micromanaging, even if they are performing to a suitable standard.
By learning to control your emotions, you can make sure a single negative incident doesn’t color how you view unrelated activities. You can resent your perspective and adopt a better mindset, ensuring your perception of everything that happens after isn’t unfairly tainted.
Steadiness
Certain emotions are incredibly powerful. Anger, fear, and hate are hard to stop from bubbling to the surface, particularly if you allow yourself to feed into them. This can make you rash or unsteady, causing you to lash out or become unpredictable.
However, it is possible to prevent this from happening. By taking a step back, acknowledging what you feel, and then setting those emotions down, you can remain calm. Not only will that steadiness lead to better decisions, but it also increases the odds that your team will trust your judgment, even when you’re under pressure.
Ultimately, learning to control your emotions might be critical for your success as a manager. It’s wise to learn to set your feelings aside when the need arises. Otherwise, you might make choices you later regret and hurt your career.
If you’d like to learn more about becoming a great leader, the staff at CPS Recruitment can help. Contact us to speak with a member of our skilled team today and see how our management expertise can benefit you.