Managing Your Emotions – three Key Tips

Today I’d like to talk about emotions and being able to manage them effectively so you can be more effective as a leader and as a manager.

Managing Your Emotions: A Key Leadership Skill

Managing your emotions is more than a personal development trend—it’s a critical leadership capability. Emotions have long served us as an evolutionary survival tool. Back in the days of the savannah, emotions kept us alert to threats. They helped us avoid danger and take quick action when it mattered most. But in today’s business environment, where physical threats are rare, we still experience the same emotional responses. And this is where emotional intelligence becomes essential.

Understanding and managing your emotions allows leaders to remain composed, make better decisions, and foster strong relationships. In complex and high-pressure workplaces, being able to recognise and regulate your emotional state can significantly enhance performance and wellbeing—for you and those around you.

Why Managing Your Emotions Matters

While emotions like fear or anger once protected us from harm, in modern leadership these same responses can derail effective communication and decision-making. We often feel intense emotions when there’s no actual danger—only perceived threats such as a missed deadline, challenging feedback, or team conflict.

So, what’s happening in our brain during these moments? Why do we get so emotionally charged, even when the stakes aren’t life or death?

The answer lies in how we interpret our experiences. Emotional triggers are often rooted in meaning—what we believe is happening, or what we think it says about us. This is why managing your emotions requires a deeper awareness of your thoughts and interpretations.

Name It to Tame It

One powerful technique is to label your emotions. Are you feeling numb? Frustrated? Resentful? Humiliated? Or perhaps incandescent with rage? Identifying the specific emotion you’re experiencing enables your brain to move out of survival mode and into problem-solving mode.

This cognitive shift activates your prefrontal cortex, helping you pause, reflect, and choose a more constructive response.

Reframing for Perspective

Once you’ve named the emotion, you can reframe it. Ask yourself:

• What else might be going on here?
• How might others be feeling in this situation?
• How will I feel about this in five days, five months, or five years?

These questions create distance from the heat of the moment and allow your rational brain to take the lead.

From Threat to Reward

By managing your emotions, you shift from an adrenaline-fuelled threat response to a calmer, more creative reward state. This enhances your ability to generate positive solutions and maintain strong, forward-looking leadership.

Final Thoughts on Managing Your Emotions

Leadership today is not about suppressing emotion but understanding it—managing your emotions with clarity, self-awareness, and empathy. By doing so, you not only improve your own effectiveness but also set the tone for a healthier, more resilient team culture.

With best regards,

David Klaasen

Talent4Performance help business leaders clarify complexity. We inspire people and drive continuous performance improvement, so they can convert thinking into action and results.

©David Klaasen – 2023