In this busy-busy world, we almost never spend enough time on analysing our emotions and how they might affect our decisions. When it comes to your career this lack of emotional awareness can become really harmful. Here are four of the most common business mistakes we make when our emotions take over and a few tips to help you avoid them next time.
Making decisions while being angry
Uncomfortable emotions, like anger, make us more impulsive. How many times have you regretted a touch too snappy email? How many times have you had to rewrite the original email and strip it of any signs of annoyance?
Take a deep breath, go for a short walk and let your emotions settle down. Not only will it help you avoid heated conversations but will also protect you from taking too many risks in your job. That’s right, another PubMed research survey proves that we’re more prone to making high-risk, low pay-off decisions when we’re angry, irritated and grumpy.
Jumping in headfirst when you’re too excited
You might think – what’s wrong with being excited about a new job opportunity, big client or challenging project? You’re right, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being passionate about what you do! What excitement might affect in a negative way though, is your ability to access the chances of success and of anything going wrong.
Research published in Current Biology in 2011, showed that our excitement causes us to see the future in much brighter tones than it invariably turns out to be. Ever had this weird moment when after months of looking forward to a vacation you arrive at a beautiful resort and suddenly get hit by how ordinary and meh everything is? Like, it’s not bad but it’s definitely not as much fun as you expected? That’s exactly what we’re talking about! Overestimating the positivity of upcoming events.
What does it mean career-wise? You might allocate fewer hours to a task than it really needs because it doesn’t look that daunting at the moment. You might be convinced this new project will take your business to a new level whereas, in reality, it’s hardly even able to create any waves.
Next time when an amazing opportunity arises, do not hesitate to take a short pause and let the idea sink in first. Writing down a list of pros and cons might help as well. Approaching it with a clear head and a touch less excitement will protect you from making mistakes.
Closing the deals while being sad
Feeling down today? Try to reschedule your business meetings! Another research outcome – this time from PubMed, 2004 – explains how being sad makes it harder for us to handle rejections. Who wants to pile on all those negative emotions, right! That’s why we’d rather agree to whatever conditions our clients or partners are offering than insist on the preferable outcomes and face criticism or annoyance.
If postponing the negotiations is not an option, make sure you have very detailed, very specific points written down in advance. Your brain might still convince you to accept something less than what you’ve written but the points would be a great reminder of where you’d prefer to stand and will ease you into a process of successful negotiation.
Accessing risks with anxiety
It’s not always easy to define anxiety. What does it mean to feel anxious? Are you actually anxious or, perhaps, scared? Or stressed? Does the knot tighten in your stomach because of anxiety or just because you’ve skipped lunch today?
The reason it’s so important to notice and accept your anxiety at work is because it makes us more cautious, makes us play too safe. Even if it’s not work-related anxiety, it can still affect your business decisions. For example, if you’re worried about the health of one of your family members, you might decline an invitation to an important event or talk yourself out of taking on a cool new project. Your brain thinks you already have too much on your plate, so why pile on more responsibilities? The fact that these responsibilities will actually benefit your career suddenly become not that important at all.
If you’re able to name your anxiety and accept it, take a moment to evaluate the reasons for it and understand whether it has anything to do with the business opportunity in front of you or is it something else entirely and shouldn’t affect your decisions right now.