Emotional management, which focuses on the need to respond productively to everyday emotions, is one of the areas that has been receiving more attention in the corporate universe, especially in times of crisis, such as the one we have experienced in recent years with COVID 19 .
In this article we will understand the meaning of emotional management and how it interferes in the daily life of a professional, be it a mere collaborator or a leader. We will see how important it is for all of us to exercise emotional management on a personal level and also in the work environment. We will also see the main techniques that we can use to manage our emotions in an efficient and healthy way.
emotional management
The first image that comes to mind when we think of managing emotions transported to the corporate world is that of the leader sitting in his chair thinking about how to solve the day-to-day problems of a company.
There are problems of all kinds and the way in which the manager reacts to the problems presented makes all the difference for the future of the company.
Thinking like this, we can understand emotional management as the ability to analyze, reflect, understand and evaluate one’s own emotions, intelligently and efficiently directing one’s actions and attitudes within the work environment.
Emotion management underpins the responses given by leadership to problems that arise at all times within the work environment.
Emotional management, therefore, does not deal with the elimination of feelings, but with the productive and healthy confrontation of these emotions in everyday life.
In short: emotional management allows you to understand the feelings and emotions involved in the different situations of everyday life, in order to deliver more productive responses, make wiser choices, make smart decisions and interfere in a positive way in the work environment. .
It is perceived that it is a job that involves a reasonable ability to think strategically and to exercise emotional intelligence, one of the skills most desired by recruiters when hiring.
In this way, if it is not possible to recruit an entire team trained in emotional management, at least it is important, even strategic, that the leader be able to manage emotions in an intelligent, efficient and strategic way for the company’s demands.
The importance of emotional management
It is necessary to understand that mental health is one of the most current and important topics in the corporate universe. He has been responsible for thousands of casualties in the work market, in addition to being responsible for greatly increasing the rates of health problems in the workplace.
Thus, exercising emotional management is not only important, but essential for a company to be able to develop in a sustainable and healthy way.
Providing its employees with an environment of well-being at work, with a focus on mental health and emotional management is a company obligation in the 21st century.
Emotional management and turnover
Thus, an efficient management of emotions manages to avoid one of the major problems that companies currently have, which are the high turnover rates, the famous in and out of employees rampant, which increases costs and generates a great loss of time for the sector of HR.
Emotional management and low productivity
If leadership does not efficiently exercise emotional management work, the tendency is that their team will not be able to react positively and productively to the inevitable problems of the work environment, thus generating a decrease in productivity, which affects the entire production chain: less production, less profits, more costs.
Emotional management and absenteeism
Another effect of poor management of emotions in the work environment is the so-called absenteeism, which is the absence of employees for long periods or not, for various reasons.
It also happens when the worker arrives late or leaves before the end of the day. This is a standard of conduct that only brings harm to the business, and that may be being generated by poor management of emotional management by the leadership.
Thus, emotional management is important for several reasons:
Team motivation
A well-developed leadership in the area of emotion management allows you to understand the problems and feelings of your employees, thus creating intelligent and balanced strategies to resolve the most important issues, creating a relationship of trust in the team with the leader, and motivating employees to exercise their functions .
Work environment marked by well-being
A healthy work environment, with assertive communication and efficient emotional management, generates motivation, engagement and productivity in employees.
It is important for any company to promote a good work environment, avoiding unnecessary conflicts and communication failures, as these are elements that create an unbalanced environment, generating tension and poor results.
Smart solution to problems
A leader who exercises emotional management in the work environment will be much better able to respond intelligently and strategically to day-to-day demands and to the problems that constantly arise.
A leader who knows how to manage problems based on managing emotions manages to transform mistakes and failures of his collaborators into opportunities for individual and team growth and maturation.
The main techniques to develop emotional management
Yes, the most important question we have right now is: how to control emotions and respond positively to everyday problems? How to lead a team based on the idea of emotional management?
Let’s understand now what we should do:
practicing empathy
One of the most important steps for a leader to be able to exercise emotional management well is to exercise empathy on a daily basis, that is, creating connections with his collaborators, seeking to understand problems, emotions and feelings.
It is the famous “put yourself in the other’s shoes”, without prejudice and always focused on creating a healthy, balanced, well-being environment, generating a positive movement in the work environment.
Practicing the feedback
Feedback culture is one of the best tools against the recurring problems of emotional issues. Thus, having a productive, assertive and balanced communication generates better responses from your employees to the problems that arise.
Always seek to offer productive opinions and always be able to listen to doubts and opinions, always reacting in an intelligent and balanced way. A balanced and healthy environment starts from the example of its leadership.
Avoid hasty and strategically wrong decisions
It seems obvious, but it is very important to look at the whole picture before making certain decisions. Many times an action can be productive in the short term, but it can generate big problems in the future, and when you analyze it more rationally, you realize the big mistake it is to make such a decision.
Emotion management aims precisely at that, understanding the right time to make such a decision, based on an intelligent, balanced and beneficial line of conduct for everyone in the company.
Encourage self-awareness
Having a team of employees who exercise self-awareness is an important step towards more efficient emotional management.
Create dynamics, spaces within the work environment and encourage employees to exercise techniques that can help their emotional intelligence. Encourage walks, yoga and other tools that help manage emotions.
Behave calmly and teach by example
Employees are often reflections of their leaders. Because of this, if you want to have a team with emotional intelligence, you must create a conducive environment, and above all, set an example for everyone.
In this way, exercise leadership from a calm, sober behavior and always behaving like a true leader, being purposeful, argumentative, mediating and encouraging good conduct.
Make your team understand that emotional management can only be put into practice based on desirable behaviors, such as calm, sobriety, tranquility and intelligence.
Monitor your tone of voice and take deep breaths whenever necessary
Many times the leader says something, but his external tone of voice is different. It is necessary to monitor everyday situations, such as your tone of voice when talking to individual employees or with the team.
It is necessary that the tone of voice corresponds to what is being said, so as not to generate noise, communication failures, and confusion of understanding. So that this doesn’t happen, it’s worth always exercising the breathing technique. Take a deep breath and seek the focus you need to communicate in a balanced, clear and productive way.
Conclusion
We saw here the need we have to exercise emotional intelligence, mainly to respond well to the problems that life sends us on a daily basis.
For a manager or leader, it is essential to develop good emotional management, as it will be based on it that a leadership will be well accepted or not by the team of collaborators.
And you, have you developed emotional management well?