The Green Sheet Online Edition

April 22, 2013 • Issue 13:04:02

Inspiration

Use your emotions, not vice versa

As payment professionals, we all know how important it is to be in top form when interacting with merchants, partners and colleagues. We are, however, all emotional beings who experience a wide range of feelings. Often the emotions we experience are positive; they can energize us and spur us on to new heights in business and personal endeavors. Conversely, negative emotions sometimes arise that can cause us to make poor decisions, leading to actions that are detrimental to our well being.

Following are examples of situations in which strong emotions frequently surface:

• Your business is at a point where you need to let some people go. It could be that you are consolidating certain functions to create a more efficient organization, or maybe your company is relocating to a new community and not everyone on staff can move to the new locale.

• One of your colleagues is behaving in ways that make other people uncomfortable, perhaps drinking daily while on the job, or having angry outbursts while on the phone that everyone in the office can hear.

• You've just gotten some bad news, such as a loved one has been diagnosed with a serious illness or a teenager in the family has started skipping school.

Act when you're calm

When faced with circumstances like these, notice how you are reacting, allow yourself to experience the feelings that arise, but to be guided by them only if the actions they are pointing you toward are likely to lead to a satisfactory outcome.

It is gut-wrenching to lay off an employee, especially if the individual has been a loyal, productive member of your team. It's also difficult to confront someone who is behaving inappropriately in the office. And when you're experiencing personal difficulties, it takes extra effort to continue to perform at a high level at work.

There are no pat answers that soothe situations like these. But one thing is certain. You must deal with your emotions before you take action. Depending upon the situation, it could mean taking a few minutes to pause and think things over before you act, or it could mean consulting outside professionals to help you deal with the problem at hand.

So take your time, consider the emotionally charged situations that arise carefully and be respectful to all involved. Then you should be able to look back on your career with pride, knowing you made consistently clear decisions that were both smart and humane.

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