It’s 9:17am, you’re late for the first meeting on your calendar – between traffic and the coffee stain on your new silk blouse, it’s a wonder you made it to work at all! Now cue your co-worker who looks at his watch and says, “Nice of you to join us.” You’ve powered through your morning and now its time to enjoy that granola bar, orange, and the sparkling water that you stashed away in your office drawer. As you make a move to nosh, the budget approval email comes in. Your Director lets you know she’s confused by the numbers you submitted, and overall, expected more from a seasoned professional like yourself – “let’s make some time to discuss.”
Before you shatter your phone over your laptop or draft that strongly worded reply, remember that reviewing your snap reaction is always a great Emotional Intelligence exercise. Your greatest gain as a professional is to take time to check yourself. “Why do I feel like this in this moment?” Your greatest loss is to react in a way that is impulsive or emotionally charged. Some things you can’t take back. When you feel the need to bring your blood from ‘boil’ to ‘simmer’, use the 6 second rule: Count to 6 before you respond and use that time to do a quick analysis of the situation. After you’ve counted to 6, thank your co-worker for being patient and delaying the start of your morning meeting. After you’ve counted to 6, let your Director know you’re open to review the numbers and apologize for any confusion – “more details to come.”
Telling your co-worker where to go and how fast to get there, or letting your Director know how you really feel about this stupid budget plan may feel amazing – but is also the quickest way to turn your Taco Tuesday into Termination Tuesday. The more you practice developing high EQ, the easier those tense situations become to handle.
Let Your Big Debut help you be the EQ maverick in your workplace!
