Leadership Tips: How To Stay Calm When Agitation Arises?

No one’s immune to agitation at some point during their leadership – let’s discuss how to tame the discontent.

Some time ago I’ve discussed the topic of conflict resolution. In it, I’ve explored all those instances when conflicts in the team arise and how the manager deals with all those situations. By all means, a leader should really need to take a step back and observe any given situation in its wholeness in order to properly determine what’s the cause of any given conflict.

And while there are plenty of ways in which a leader can solve a problematic scenario in the team, there are also instances when the leader themselves is agitated to the point where it’s difficult for them to function properly in the sense of management.

So I decided to dedicate today’s topic to agitation in leadership, how it can affect the whole team environment and what can be done in order to prevent strong negative emotions take their toll.

Read on, as I’m sure plenty of leaders have come across moments when they feel like frustration is taking over.

Agitation in leadership is more common than you think

When leading a team, a leader has surely plenty on their hands.

Here we have the team communication, the project execution, and the clients’ requirements. Of course, all those are only the tip of the iceberg – for a manager to be adequate and good at what they do, they need a plethora of professional and interpersonal skills.

The business processes rarely go smoothly. In reality, usually, it takes quite some time for the leader and the team to find the best way in which things will work out just fine. Especially, at the very early stages of leadership, a manager has to pay attention to many aspects of the business, while also having in mind their emotions, feelings, and willingness to make things work.

We often forget that leaders are people with a whole set of nuances, predispositions, personal struggles, etc. When we think about a manager, we often think of a leading figure who is always calm, never angry, and excellent at solving problems and delegating work efficiently. In reality, it takes a long way for a leader to arrive at a place of complete understanding, lack of agitation, and openness to all types of problematic scenarios. It takes experience, a deep knowledge of human psychology and various business processes, and determination to let go of the ego.

The ego is quite interesting when it comes to leadership

There are definitely leaders who, especially at the very early stages of their career, let the ego take its toll on their character. The sudden rush of power, control, and influence can indeed affect the way they perceive the work and the team. I’ve always thought that ego in leadership is fairly often an expression of human nature – but if a leader wants to excel at what they do, they really need to let go of their egocentric self. Only then they’ll be able to put all negative emotions aside and be fully cooperative and helpful to the team, the employees, and even the clients.

Whenever a situation presents itself as challenging, difficult, or filled with opinionated participants, there’s a high chance agitation would hit. But think about it – when has agitation ever truly helped in a business setting or environment?

When can a leader feel agitated? Let’s review some of the most common instances

1. Whenever the project shows signs of delays – in leadership, leaders often believe it’s up to them for the project to keep on going. When slight delays and obstacles arise, it can be really frustrating.
2. Agitation arises whenever there are misunderstandings among the team members.
3. A leader can feel agitated if the communication with the employees appears to be hard and unfulfilling.
4. Frustration is common whenever the team fails to contribute or finish their tasks on time.
5. Feelings of agitation or discontent are present whenever the communication with the clients does not go as expected and appears to be slightly overwhelming.

Of course, there could be more reasons that can contribute to feelings of agitation and frustration. Participating actively in various business scenarios can indeed be overwhelming, especially at the beginning when a person lacks experience and confidence.

Once we’ve managed to distinguish several possible reasons that lead to agitation, now it’s time to try to think of ways that can help us turn those negative emotions into constructing ones – they can assist us in delivering better results while also persevering our mental health.

4 tips on how to beat agitation in business and transfer it into more fruitful emotions

• Think about the core of those agitated feelings. Sometimes, when we are angry, we tend to focus on the very apparent and obvious reason behind our frustration. Usually, however, there are hidden core reasons that dictate the way we react and perceive the things and situations that surround us. Indulging in a self-exploratory journey can indeed lead you to issues and personal struggles that result in agitated and frustrating behavior. Think about what truly makes you angry. Is it the lack of control? Or people’s response to your delegations? Subconsciously we often carry the reason behind every reaction and emotion.
• Practice calmness. In this day and age, we are constantly surrounded by calming methods such as yoga, meditation, and mindfulness. Once you’ve managed to reach the core of your negative emotions, try practicing calming methods that can help you elevate your mood and implement another more positive approach toward any given situation.
• Showcase trust and respect toward the situation and its participants. Sometimes when we are agitated we tend to lose control of our emotions and engage in negative backlash. Essentially, this won’t help us solve the problem. Instead, come from a place of understanding and trust – communicate with the employees and clients openly and show a willingness to cooperate. You’d be surprised to know how much this helps to improve the whole scenario.
• Reduce stress. In fact, one of the major reasons behind feelings of agitation and frustration is accumulated stress. If you’re constantly under pressure, at some point the stress would become so overwhelming that you’d be unable to control your behavior and reactions. So whenever you feel too stressed out, take a moment to reflect and remove yourself from the stressful situation, even for a while.

While frustration and agitation are not emotions that are good advisors, they are the mirrors we look straight into whenever we feel too stressed out.

Implementing different ways to deal with frustration and agitation can truly help anyone who thrives in leadership and management. Remember that no one’s immune to feeling those emotions, but everyone can fully control those outbreaks and transfer them into something positive in the long run.