Managing emotions in a team setting can be a daunting task. Explore the dynamics of anger, frustration, and resentment, and learn how to navigate these complex emotions to foster a healthier, more productive work environment.
Anger and resentment across your team can make an already stressful leadership job feel worse
How you respond to your employees’ frustrations is critical to ensuring negative emotions don’t limit your effectiveness
- As your team’s leader, you aren’t in charge of keeping everyone happy all the time – but you are responsible for building a culture of trust and psychological safety
Redesign Team Goals Together
Once you have de-escalated emotions by inviting dialogue and learning about the source of their anger, you can initiate methods to channel their frustration toward more constructive outcomes
- By co-creating objectives with your team that expand their capacity and set them up for success, you transform frustration from a negative emotion to a positive and productive one
Build Deeper Trust by Owning Your Part
As a leader, how you engage with your team individually and collectively can either exacerbate tension or improve trust.
- Use your team’s anger and stress to develop yourself as a better leader, which in turn lowers resentment and anger levels.
Balance Your Emotions First Before Reacting to Theirs
Before impulsively reacting to their anger, you must stabilize your mood
- Focus first on stabilizing your own emotions
- Depersonalize how you receive both the direct and indirect feedback that your team is angry
- Perceive these inputs as data, not danger
Lean into Their Anger with an Intent to Learn
After accepting the feedback that your team is frustrated without judging them or yourself, you can address it with a clear mind and an open heart
- Don’t suppress their anger or ignore it
- Ask for more information
- Reframe the concept of anger at work so you and your team can handle it with sensibility, not dread
