US psychologist Hendrie Weisinger reminds us that our emotional responses are driven – not by someone else’s actions or an external event – but by our own thoughts, bodily arousals, and behaviors. So, after an outburst by a short-tempered colleague, your pounding heart and your clenched fist cause you to feel angry. Knowing this, you can appreciate that the power to manage your anger, and indeed all your other emotions, rests with you – not with your nasty colleague or anyone else. Managing your emotions means you can stay on top of them – and our eight-page e-Topic on managing your emotions will help you deal with conflict in your workplace…

1. Keep your thoughts in check.
2. Manage your arousal.
3. Take control of your behavioral patterns.
4. Develop good problem-solving skills.
5. Seek alternative ways of managing your emotions.

The e-Topic elaborates upon those aspects and concludes with a wealth of useful hints, advice, anecdotes and inspiration to help the reader better understand and implement the core material presented.

Do you want a brief fragment from the wealth of practical information in this e-Topic?
“Always avoid distorted thinking. Spontaneous thoughts lead to distorted thinking that can muddy our perception of reality. To distance yourself from this trap, try not to over-generalize (‘She never listens to me’), avoid destructive labeling (‘He’s a jerk!’), eliminate mind-reading (‘The boss probably thinks I should be fired’), avoid rule-making (‘He ought to have apologized to me’), and don’t inflate the significance of an incident (‘This will cost me that promotion’)…”

This e-Topic should be read in conjunction with its companion volumes: How to develop emotional intelligence: (a) increasing your awareness andHow to help your staff improve their emotional intelligence.

Simple, step-by-step solutions to your management problems and issues – that’s the aim of our e-Topics series. For busy managers, it’s literally management2go!