Do emotions belong in the office?
This is a false question.
While many people hold an illusion that professional conduct has no place for emotions, citing tropes like "leave that stuff at home" — the reality is that emotion pervades all of us at work.
We may try to hide it and answer "fine" when asked how we are doing, but we cannot simply turn off our feelings because we walk through the office door.
It is better leadership to realize that each day you and your team come to work with a new set of underlying feelings that color all of your interactions.
One person is thrilled about a new purchase while another is having trouble with a child. A third person is worried about a big, unexpected bill.
Even when we attempt to present a "professional" exterior, these emotions influence us.
Better to acknowledge this reality and learn to manage an emotional workplace and workforce.
Fear, in particular, warrants special mention. People who are afraid are less creative at work and take fewer risks. If your team members live in fear of negative feedback or losing their jobs, you will get far less from them.
Care for your people's emotional health and watch them thrive.
Audience Insights
Additional ideas worth considering from my LinkedIn audience:
David Anderson shared: “I distinctly remember early on at Amazon going into a manager's 1:1 meeting. He asked me how I was feeling, I said "fine". He asked me to rate how happy I was with my job at this very moment on a scale from 1-10. I said a 5 (I'm glad I had the guts at that moment to be honest). This lead to a fantastic discussion about why I wasn't actually feeling great at that moment, and helped me work through some things. There are times people need to swallow their natural emotional reaction to things, but absolutely we can't pretend they don't influence us.”
100% is relative, not absolute. Realize 100% looks different each day.
“People are not machines...we should expect performance variability and meet them where they're at.” — Adam Grant.
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Level Up is a newsletter from retired Amazon Vice President Ethan Evans that breaks down how he succeeded and how you can get to the next level.