Ignoring My Emotions Cost Me

I am a pretty stubborn person.
I am also often overly optimistic.

If you put those two together, and add a toxic boss to the mix, guess what comes out?

BIG EMOTIONS AT WORK!

The emotions started early.

I remember sitting in a bar talking to the man who held my position before I was transferred.

He had lasted 8 weeks before going on sick-leave for stress.
He never came back.

I was his replacement.

Despite his words of caution, I was optimistic (or naive) that I wouldn't have the same experience.

I was SO WRONG.

Instead, I endured almost 2 years of trying to manage the emotional rollercoaster that came with my toxic boss.

She was frequently off-site, so those days were a breeze.

But the days when she was occupying the office right next to me, I was tense, walking on eggshells.

The longer I worked there, and the less I dealt with my full emotional landscape, the more she got under my skin, and the more my work performance deteriorated.

It was untenable, despite my stubborn optimism.

In the book No Hard Feelings the authors urge us to accept the full emotional landscape of our work lives, rather than trying to pretend that our emotions don't belong at work.

"Beyond the leader-employee relationship, emotional dynamics affect our motivation, health, communication, decision-making and more. Yet most of us ignore these emotions."

During this month's masterclass on the book No Hard Feelings we'll be exploring our emotions at work in a variety of ways, increasing your self-awareness, and giving you more of an opportunity to succeed despite them.

As the authors say, "The future of work is emotional."

Originally posted on LinkedIn with comments.
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