Emotional Agility for Changing times
In complex and fast-changing economies, the ability to manage one’s thoughts and feelings is essential to organizational success. Numerous studies show that emotional agility helps people alleviate stress, reduce errors, become more innovative, and improve performance.
To build a critical skill of emotional agility focus on the following 4 practices:
- Recognize own patterns
The first step in developing emotional agility is to notice when you have been hooked by your thoughts and feelings. This is not easy to do but you can likely recognize when your thinking has become rigid and repetitive. You have to realize you are stuck before you can initiate change.
- Label own thoughts and emotions
Second, when you are hooked, the attention you give to your thoughts and feelings is not objective. The simple act of labeling allows you to see your thoughts and feelings for what they are: transient sources of data.
- Accept them
Third try to respond to your emotions and ideas with an open attitude. Pay attention to them and allow yourself to experience them. This is the acceptance phase. If you can accept your anger and bring your curiosity to it, your leadership skills will be enhanced.
- Act on own values
Fourth, recognize that thought flow endlessly, and emotions change like the weather but values can be called on in any situation, at any time. When you unhook yourself from your difficult thoughts and emotions, you expand your choices, and can choose to act in a way that aligns with your values.
Finally, focus on the concept of workability: Is your response going to serve you and your organization in the short and long term? Will it take you toward being the person, the coach, and the leader you most want to be and live the life you most want to live?
Just take an few minutes and reflect on that.
(Book: Agile People Principles)
