Did you just accidentally delete an important file, causing you to lose 5 days of work?
Did an employee just make a mistake that will cost the company thousands of pounds to fix?
Was a VIP client just rude to you in front of your entire team?
These are all scenarios common in the office, which is a place that is often stressful and nerve-wracking.
However, managers do not have the luxury to lose their cool and risk looking unprofessional, even in stressful situations.
As such, they need to practice the following strategies to keep calm:
Stop Yourself
The most important piece of advice when it comes to controlling your emotions is learning how to stop yourself before you say or do something that you will regret.
An effective leader will be able to control their anger, which is best done by shutting yourself down in a stressful situation where you feel out of control.
Whether someone has said or done something, or the anger is out of frustration, let your common sense kick in and give yourself time to think about your next plan of action before you react.
Stop the Guessing Game
A common factor that leads people to spiral out of control and waste their nerves is playing the guessing game and asking yourself the “what if” question.
What if I will look like a failure?
What if I lose my job over this?
These are all typical questions that can give us anxiety and cause us to lose our cool.
Train your mind to stop with the what ifs and concentrate on the current situation.
By assessing the pros and cons, you will be able to focus on the positives, thus quickly improving your mood and managing your emotions.
Work on Coping Skills
We can do our very best to control our anger, but when we feel overwhelmed in the moment, it is much harder to do.
It’s no secret that the office can be a place of angst, which is why it is imperative that managers work on coping skills that will help them maintain their calm and cool throughout the working day.
Different things work for different people, but some popular strategies for good mental health include a healthy and well-balanced diet, exercise and meditation.
Spending time relaxing with family and friends and doing tasks that you love can also play a big role in helping you control your emotions.
If you’re interested in managing your stress levels better then we offer a 1-day stress management training course. It’s full of tips and strategies to help you at work and at home.
Everyone feels stress. And leaders must be able balance both eustress and distress effectively. It’s about how you cope with it that matters!
Thanks again
Mark Williams
Senior Management Trainer and Consultant
Updated on: 31 July, 2018
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