Last week the communication spoke about how organizations under pressure may have a weak spot and lower their standards to get through a challenging situation. Although it is a short-term fix or so they think, it can typically become part of the way they operate. This in turn repeats the challenge in new and more dramatic ways pushing them to make even more spur of the moment decisions which are not guided or filtered by their Purpose and Core Values.
This same situation also applies to each and every one of us when we are faced with a challenge. When something different happens and we are reacting to it, we will either arbitrarily react, or we will evaluate the situation and take very specific actions to manage the situation. This process of managing reaction is about control and the discipline to navigate the variables which have been presented to us.
We live in a society which has drifted away from the concepts of professionalism, respect, self-control and the list goes on. Instant gratification and the “Right” to say and do as I please take precedence over the discipline to evaluate the situation and make a more complete decision on how one should react.
As business leaders we are constantly in the situation where an event takes place, and we need to make decisions about how to proceed for resolution. In some cases, we would really like to take one path, but our better judgement slows us down and we elect not to fly off at the handle with a customer, employee, vendor etc. It is this slowing down discipline which is the aide in how we react and conduct ourselves with a higher degree of professionalism.
This momentary pause to reconcile our emotions is not easy. Our emotions and the intelligence it can bring to us are typically in a state of instability when events like this occur. We therefore need a disciplined way to help us navigate our emotional intelligence so that we can both self-regulate and also show proper regulation toward those involved in the situation. If we have a high level of motivation to make sure we are tracking our emotional state, then we will have more focus to regulate. If our motivation to have the discipline to regulate is tossed aside then our ability to even take notice of our emotions is almost discarded or at least it gets ignored.
This week, take a look back on highly charged situations which have taken place in your business. How did you approach them? Did you navigate your emotional input and regulate, or did you just jump in and effect an outcome? The key here is to first acknowledge, appreciate and understand that various situations are going to take different levels of discipline to navigate. They are not all the same in terms of intensity or dynamics, but they all require you to have the discipline to pause and assess before jumping in and inadvertently or unintendedly contribute more fuel to the fire.
Everyone can benefit from not just having but continuously investing in the discipline to be more professional. The marketplace, our society, your staff, vendors, and clients are all under differing levels of stress and complexity. As a means to separate and differentiate you and your organization from other options in the marketplace, upgrading the professionalism in your business will definitely be a worthy cause to pursue moving forward.
Looking to upgrade your knowledge, understanding and application of discipline to have professionalism be a key ingredient to future success? Give JKL Associates a call at MI (313) 527-7945 or FL (40-7) 984-7246.
Journey On!
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS – EMAIL US AT PARTNERS@JKLASSOCIATES.COM OR CALL OUR OFFICES – MI AT (313) 527-7945 FL AT (407) 984-7246
Celebrating 30 years of Delivering on “Promises”
