Emotional Agility at Work, Why You Need It

Reading time 4-5 minutes

Business culture has historically perpetuated that uncomfortable thoughts and feelings have no place in the office. We should only be stoic or optimistic, we should only project confidence and never show negative emotions.

Keeping emotions down in the workplace gets in the way of our ability to look after people effectively, but also hinders our ability to adapt to changing circumstances.

I’ve been working on an article around Emotional Agility at work for a publication, and these are a couple of my favourite answers I feel would be helpful for you guys (they’re all helpful of course, but I’ll share the full article when it’s out)!

Enjoy!

What does it mean to have emotional agility or emotional flexibility?

Being emotionally agile is to have the ability to adapt to your feelings and thoughts as they occur. To be able to step out from our initial feelings and thoughts and see situations from more than one perspective. It allows us to respond with flexibility, creating space between impulse and action, to act in alignment with our own values and aims.

For instance, choosing to see the silver lining in challenging situations is an example of emotional agility in practice.

How can emotional agility amongst leaders help build a positive work culture within that organization?

Emotionally rigid leaders tend to react to their impulses hastily, instead of responding with intention. Which can turn challenging situations into ones of high stress and emotionality. When that happens often enough, it becomes part of the working culture: Constant "fire-fighting", high stress, high emotionality, and impulsive actions that don't necessarily fit into long term goals.

When leaders are able to manage their own emotions and thoughts effectively, they are better able to respond in a way that is aligned with values (both personal and organisational). Instead of getting drawn into the unavoidable ups and downs of the marketplace, emotionally agile leaders are able to act calmly and with intention, creating a working environment that is calm and values-led.

Additionally, when leaders are better at handling their own emotions, they are typically more understanding and compassionate of the emotions of others. They are better able to provide care, and support, to the people in their charge, cultivating emotional agility into their teams and working environments.

Emotionally agile leaders are better for their people, as well as for the organisation!

Everyone processes their emotions differently. How can we practice emotional agility to handle different personalities at work? How can we handle our own emotions and be mindful of the emotions of others around us?

By accepting exactly that! Everyone processes their emotions differently. How we process information, the emotions that arise, and how we respond to them is different from how others might. So instead of imposing our personality or preferences on others, we need to approach all emotions with acceptance, curiousity, and understanding.

The difficulty in handling the emotions of others typically stems from the belief that some emotions are good and others bad, some emotions are wrong and others are right. This promotes rigidity and conflict. Instead treat every emotion, whether yours others', not as good or bad, right or wrong, but just as information that will help us move toward resolution.

All healthy human beings have a constant stream of thoughts and feelings (especially at work) and it's the brain's job to use those thoughts and feelings to make sense of the world, to avoid threats, and solve problems. So at work, it is only natural that there will be intense emotions that arise. We need to accept that all thoughts and emotions need to be invited into the fray, in order for us to connect, work, and make decisions effectively.

Approaching all emotions, and everyone, with acceptance, curiousity, and understanding helps us not only accept and be mindful of the emotions of others, but allows us to leverage them.

How do we cultivate emotional agility/flexibility amongst our team members?

To cultivate an environment of emotional agility, we need to create a culture where all emotions are met with acceptance, curiousity, and understanding.

1. Communicate Openly & Honestly: Create a culture where team members feel safe sharing their emotions and thoughts. A large part of whether people feel safe to share, is how they have experienced sharing to be received in the past. So ensure discussions are always led with non-judgement and understanding.

2. Lead by Example: Authenticity and vulnerability encourages others to do the same, but somebody has to go first. Leaders can demonstrate emotional agility by openly acknowledging their feelings and how they are dealing with them.

3. Accepting Problems & Mistakes: Setbacks and mistakes are a natural part of growth - and are pretty unavoidable. Instead of demonising them, create a culture where conversations about challenges are encouraged, where team members are supported through mistakes, and setbacks are used as learning opportunities.

Remember, the only way to cultivate emotional agility is to have it practiced often. With everything that is done, ensure that you're promoting a culture of open communication, understanding, and flexibility of thoughts and feelings.

In Conclusion

Business culture has historically perpetuated that uncomfortable thoughts and feelings have no place at the office. In professional settings, we should only be stoic or eternally optimistic. We should only project confidence and hide powerful emotions, especially bad ones.

But in fact, we need flexibility and agility to deal with all the ambiguity and change of the working environment. Work demands that we examine plans, anticipate change, and consider many moving parts. While we assume the way to handle speed and constant change is to deal with it like computers - with rigid systems and processes. We understand why rigidity of thought and feelings has long term negative impacts on the workplace.

Emotional agility empowers employees to navigate their emotions (and the emotions of their teammates) effectively, helping us create organisations that can thrive, and excel amidst constant change and complexity.

Whenever you’re ready, here’s how I can help you:

Explore My Relationship Accelerator program for leaders:

→ If you’re still struggling to unlock the potential of your people and would like to make some meaningful change - our relationship accelerator program helps your leaders learn all they need to know about building effective relationships to drive success - in one day. Check it out here.

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