Have experiences forced you to view situations or people with skepticism?
Old emotions arise when a situation feels like past experiences that caused unnecessary stress. However, I need to be guarded. Not everything is as it seems, but experience has me questioning the motives of others. I feel the need to react, as I have in the past. Is it a fight for what is right or is it a misunderstanding of the motives of others? It would be a mistake to react without a true understanding of an individual or situation. Experiences from my past have made me react to things inappropriately before having all the information and believing that circumstances are similar. This week let us dive into this thought process, by overcoming a poor experience and controlling our responses.
Often, leaders jump to conclusions. We assume we know the reasons people act the way they do but we really know extraordinarily little about them. I have been guilty of thinking I know what people believe or why they react the way they do. I would guess other leaders have felt the same. It is difficult to separate our beliefs from what we perceive to be true of people. We would be astounded at how little we do know about the thoughts and beliefs of others. Guard your mindset and restrain yourself by not jumping to conclusions.
Leaders need to allow time to understand the people and situations in an organization. Everyone in our organization we lead has values, and unique personalities. Additionally, they too have had experiences that make them believe and act the way they do. We need to see our people as valuable assets to our organizations, who are rich in experience. Trust the individual’s opinions and actions.
Leaders must control their emotions and react appropriately to the various situations that come before them. Many events occur in the tenure of a leader that fill the organization with drama, mistrust, and fear. When we experience this within our organizations, we become cautious and fearful that it will occur repeatedly. This causes our emotions to be on high alert, and the mistrust and drama creates an environment that is restricted. The moral and bottom-line is affected negatively when these things are ignored and allowed to grow in an organization.
Leaders might never admit the fears of running an organization and the perspective of those we lead. Fear is the underlying issue for every leader. When we see people or a situation in a negative light, it is because of fear. Fear we will lose control or fear we will not get our way. Fear is the perfect blinder to progress and improvement toward our goals. We need to let go of being right, and seeing our peers as inadequate. We must understand that the answers to our questions are best developed by everyone. Correcting your responses to fear will serve you well in future endeavors.
When have you made judgements of a situation before having all the facts?
Do you understand the various personalities of the people in your organization?
Have your emotions ever interfered, and how have you corrected your responses?
Have you made an honest assessment of your fears and how they make you react?
Leading others is hard but leading ourselves is even more difficult. There is a lot to do overcoming our thoughts and beliefs. As a leader, we must control our responses and improve our views of others. Stop reacting and wait for clarification in all situations. Thanks for checking in this week and I hope you have control of your mind, and you are reacting appropriately. Please leave a response that will contribute to the good of this conversation.
Steven C. Bucks- Leading Conversations
~Maxwell Leadership Certified Team Member~
