Centered Leaders Pay Attention to Emotion

Do you ever wish that your team members were a little less emotional? Do you ever find yourself wondering why people are so upset?

We want to be productive. We want to get things done. We do want to achieve our goals. Sometimes emotions get in the way.

The very same emotions that get in the way can also propel us toward our goal. There is energy there. Maybe it's misdirected. Maybe it's obtrusive. Probably, it's inconvenient. But there is solid useable energy.

Listen. Pause. Breathe into it and out of it. Let another person's emotions be there own. You don't need to adopt or adapt it. But before either of you can move on, you will need to accept it. Validate it and move forward. There are better things ahead -- it just will take even more listening, suspending of judgement, and work.

Logic has very little influence over emotion.

We need to understand how that emotion feels.

-- Douglas Brent Smith

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