As a leader, dealing with issues is a daily occurrence. There are always fires. Some of them are large and some of them are small. Sometimes your reactions are near perfect. After you handle something well, you may be looking around for someone to high-five (or at least elbow in COVID times)! But, there are other times where you want to climb into a hole after you handled something completely wrong.
People can say that “business is not personal” all they want. But as long as there are people conducting business, it actually IS personal. And that certainly applies to leaders.
What are you carrying around right now that will affect your decisions later today? Did you take some time this past weekend to burn off some steam or center your thinking? Or, did you re-run your concerns from last week over and over in your head, leading to increased confusion instead of clarity?
Ultimately, your frame of mind is going to have a major impact on the next issue that comes across your desk. When people react poorly to a situation, it is usually not because of that particular situation. It is a response to something that happened days, months or even years ago that is dredged up in this current event.
The solution? Deal with the pain when the pain happens. Don’t let it simmer only to explode at a later date. Only then can you make your response less personal, and more objective.
Compare the times you have responded well to times you have not. What were the key differences?
What kind of situations do you find it hard to let go of?
What can you do to deal with those situations in a thoughtful, positive way before they build?
Be well!
Chuck Ross
John Maxwell Certified Coach, Trainer, Speaker, and DISC consultant
Author: Change? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!?
530-277-6161
