How can you manage your emotions as a leader?

As a leader, managing emotions is crucial. Practice self-awareness to understand your emotions, and take time to reflect before reacting. Encourage open communication within your team, and be empathetic to others' emotions. Develop a resilience to handle stress, and seek constructive outlets, such as talking to a mentor or practicing mindfulness, to maintain emotional balance in leadership situations.

As a leader, managing one's own emotion and others' emotion is paramount. But, it starts with knowing yourself (strengths, weaknesses, self awareness and self control). To know your emotions, 1. you can do a self assessment of the emotions affecting your actions. 2. Asking the people you know to give you genuine feedbacks of the emotions that needs to be controlled and managed. 3. Asking your families to give you feedbacks on the emotions that is exhibited by you to be improved. 4. Have faith in GOD and practice the habit of calmness, rationality, honesty, trustworthiness. 5. Watch and read different researches, studies and literatures of how to manage emotions, enhance people & social skill, communication skills, sympathy and empathy.

Personally and professionally, the tenets of Stoicism, embodied by Marcus Aurelius, guide my leadership style. Maintaining composure amid challenges, I approach difficult situations with calm rationality, fostering constructive dialogue. Focusing on the controllable enables me to channel energy into actionable solutions, crucial in adapting to unforeseen obstacles. Stoicism's reminder of impermanence tempers emotional responses to successes and setbacks, providing a steadfast anchor in the dynamic realm of educational leadership. Through these principles, I not only foster a resilient mindset but contribute to a positive and constructive educational environment.

As a leader, I prioritize emotional intelligence to navigate challenges effectively. I practice self-awareness, acknowledging and understanding my emotions. This enables me to maintain composure and make thoughtful decisions. I also encourage open communication within the team, fostering an environment where emotions can be expressed constructively. By empathizing with others, remaining adaptable, and seeking feedback, I create a positive and resilient leadership approach that benefits both myself and the team.

Certainly! Managing emotions as a leader involves understanding and acknowledging your emotions while learning to regulate them effectively. This includes recognizing triggers, practicing self-awareness, and employing techniques like mindfulness or taking breaks in high-stress situations. Cultivating empathy towards others' feelings, fostering open communication, and resolving conflicts constructively are pivotal for maintaining a positive team dynamic. Seeking support when needed, managing time efficiently, and continuously learning about emotional intelligence and leadership further aid in navigating emotional challenges

I used to try to distract myself from some of my emotions. What I find helpful now is to sit with my feelings and emotions and get curious. What is my body trying to tell me? What do I need to pay attention to? I find deep breathing, mindfulness and movement allow my emotions to shift rather than staying stagnant in my body.

It's important to remember that we are not our emotions. I consider our emotions to be a guidance system. Getting curious about how our emotions are guiding us or what they may be telling us gives us insight into our beliefs.

One of the most effective ways of regulating your emotions is to explore what thoughts or interpretations stand behind the emotional state. Explore at least 3 more alternative interpretations that are different from your initial one. For example: You got upset because someone didn't reply to your message. Your initial interpretation: They don't care about me or don't want to talk to me. Alternative interpretations: They didn't notice my message. They are busy and planning to reply once they have a moment. They don't know what to reply and feel lost.

Step 1: Slow down your breathing: 2 breaths in (fill your lungs) and one very slow exhale. It tricks the nervous system into thinking you're safe (which you usually are - we're just not very good at distinguishing a real threat from a lion, from a 'scary' email! - the fear response is usually the same!

Settling our emotions may mean allowing them to exist until they lose their intensity. Only then can we begin to explore the meanings or lessons behind our emotions.

In my experience as a mental health clinician, I often impart and teach the simple technique of “Name It to Tame It” to my clients in helping them effectively self-regulate. This technique, pioneered by the great Dr. Dan Siegel, involves noticing and labelling emotions as one is experiencing them. This very act of identifying and naming intense emotions, such as fear, anxiety, sadness and so forth, has the effect of reducing the potent impact these emotions are having on our brains and bodies (scientifically proven). Dr. Siegel discovered that naming our emotional responses re-activates the pre-frontal cortex of our brains, which is the part responsible for our executive functioning and affect regulation. It’s simple, quick, and effective.

One of the most important human need is to be heard. It is also one of the most unfulfilled. When you empathize with other's emotion, it lowers their resistance and prevents any arising conflicts. It neutralizes the energy and gives way for rational thinking. When you genuinely listen, acknowledge and understand others' emotions and where they come from, you built trust and authenticity in a relationship. It also changes the dynamic of the issue at hand, making the interaction collaborative rather than competitive.

I feel Empathy is an essential and a great way to handle the emotions of the other person. In my opinion, effective listening and giving a sense of trust makes the way for the other person to open up and share the insights on how they feel. Often by just carefully listening helps and resolve many issues which would otherwise create trouble in personal and professional relationships. Listen-absorb-feedback and/or forward (by way of directive questions) are the key ingredients to be an effective leader.

This particular facet of managing one’s own emotion, can sometimes be forgotten when trying to approach a team member or a workers concern. It really helps to take a step away from your own perspective of things. Not only to help you respond to an issue or situation but to provide yourself a better chance at fully understanding what’s going on before getting annoyed or frustrated because you don’t agree with what laid out. Trying to remember this will show its worth in how you verbally and physically respond to these situations. Ultimately helping you clear path to a root cause.

Our emotions are always telling us something - positive or negative. I find it helpful to be curious about what our emotions are really telling us.

I have found journaling first thing in the morning is really helpful as this allows you to express yourself freely. For me this includes expressing gratitude, a positive mantra and goal setting for the day. I also find stretching for 10 mins in the morning allows any stagnant energy and emotions to move through the body. Mind and body are interconnected and this often gets forgotten. If we are feeling strong emotions then these may need releasing within the body rather than the mind. Movement including stretching is a great way to release these.

Something to consider is being very mindful of not bypassing our own emotions, especially as a leader. Bypassing them means pushing them away, ignoring them or numbing them (through overwork, substances, shopping, anger bursts etc). It certainly is possible to ignore emotions over weeks or months, however that's a short term solution as it has well-documented side effects. When expressing emotions at the workplace, do so appropriately, with kindness. My chosen approach is to first process everything with a coach, and then deliberately and intentionally bring it to the table. When I'm clear-headed and centered, as opposed to in the heat of the moment. As a leader, it is important to find what your healthiest expression of sharing is.

Managing emotions as a leader requires hardcore patience, observation without judgement, empathy(being aware that the others are in discomfort) and making an effort to understand where the other person is coming from. Assessing the situation without taking everything personally normally helps me come back to myself and understand my emotions more. It then gets easier to manage them.