Examining our Emotions & Attitudes: Part I

To adequately address the question “Now What?!?”, we need to be in proper Professional Health. We can determine our condition through an assessment of its four components: Actions & Behaviors, Emotions & Attitudes, Wants & Needs and Core Beliefs.

Previously, we identified Actions & Behaviors as primary indicators of our professional state.  These are the visible activities and interactions we participate day to day as well as the manner in which we conduct them. Believed to be purely rational and controllable, Actions & Behaviors are heavily influenced by the other aspects of our Professional Health.

Emotions & Attitudes are trickier to manage.

Emotions are defined as our state of mind derived from circumstances, moods or relationships. Emotions are subjective. Feelings can vary from situation to situation and differ from person to person. Our emotions can register a visible response in our behavior, body language and tone of voice.

Attitude is our perspective on a situation or person. Our outlook or way of thinking impacts our behavior. While emotions are visceral responses to stimulus, attitudes are more intellectual.

In corporate cultures, emotions are to be minimized and attitudes “checked at the door”.  As leaders, we can inspire the troops with passion but other feelings are remanded. Perspectives are to be objective and without personal bias.

Most of us become adept at hiding our emotions and quelling our attitudes. We play the politically correct game of saying the right thing and aligning with management rhetoric.

Not true?

Consider the last time you candidly admitted uncertainty about a decision or fear over a threatening business situation?  How often do you disclose your true feelings to an untrustworthy or selfish colleague? Do you share when you feel slighted or unjustly blamed or just “take one for the team”.

Dealing with our feelings starts with understanding them. Humans have a broad array of emotions.  The range we typically experience at work is more limited and can be categorize in four primary areas; Contentment, Apprehension, Confidence and Insecurity. 

For good Professional Health, we need an appropriate balance, preferably more in the Contentment and Confidence circles than the Apprehension and Insecurity arenas.

Take a moment to assess your emotional state at work. Which of these four circles lights up for you? Is the situation improving? Always the same? Deteriorating?

Unfortunately, acting the part of the impassive, unaffected manager does not eliminate our feelings. Suppressing or ignoring our emotions is unhealthy. Without a safe place to be vulnerable or open, we create a raging firestorm inside. The physical and mental toll wears us out and eventually surfaces through our Actions & Behaviors.

When we squelch our Emotions & Attitudes, we are not leading authentically. Our people miss out on our true self and the wise counselor and mentor we can become.

Emotions & Attitudes are tough to decipher. Where do they come from? Why are they so hard to control? What are the triggers for some negative reactions and how do manage them more effectively?

The next layers of our Professional Health hold the key to these and other tough questions. Exploring our Wants & Needs and solidifying our Core Beliefs are essential to better health and an effective approach to “Now What?!?”.