MANAGEMENT
Perhaps we have all come across comments in organisation’s corridors that the ‘mood of the boss is not good’ or even worse, ‘…seems the boss had a fight with his better half’. Managers at various times and occasions, steam, boil and then spew fire upon whoever comes into the radius of their office. What therefore is mood? It is seen and also is occasionally unseen?
Mood is a state of mind. This state could be happy or unhappy; friendly or anger filled; and it can also be sad and lonely. As managers, it is important to discover and know what determines your moods? A dispassionate stock taking can help arrive at some conclusions, like what provokes feelings of happiness and care and what induces feelings of anger and unhappiness.
Being humans (hopefully) all managers know that there is no such thing like a straight line on the graph of mood patterns. It is impossible. Being ‘emotion’ filled we always respond to a situation either with feelings of joy or sadness; and that’s being just human. Mood swings in any individual can be traced to several factors. These can stem from external factors or could be internal.
Mood changes can also be due to medical reasons; either biological or even physiological. A manager who suffers from fluctuating blood pressure and with either no medication or even if after having it can sometimes be a very difficult boss to handle. Our responses are influenced by the dreaded diseases to common colds and flu, initiating either irritability or even loss of focus.
Changes in mood are also induced due to issues like lack of proper sleep or being jet lagged. The movement from one-time zone into another has physical impact on the body that stimuli’s the reaction of our mind and behaviour differently from the norm. I have come across bosses who would bring to office the irritability experienced from a co-passenger who, possibly in their enthusiasm to speak and impress wouldn’t let, the boss be in peace.
Mood changes also occur when we work overtime in our internal conversations. All of us invariably talk to ourselves, either with feelings of joy, of achievements or with depressive feelings of failure to attain the destined goal post. In succumbing to mood swings, we conveniently forget that there are always good times and bad times in our lives. Mood changes are natural and hence are more frequent than changes in fortunes!
Self-doubt, temporary failure, complaints, disturbed feelings, fear of losing a job, the risk of being transferred from a position of liking and comfort to another challenge and most importantly the fear of not gaining success versus the fear of failure or losing, are some factors that trigger changes in our moods and hence our responses.
The reactionary responses, inspired discriminative or destructive behaviour are indications of mood changes. There are many tell-tale signs, when the manager is passing through a phase of changes in his mood- bad behaviour, rough language, irrationality of responses, irritability, sadness, reactionary or even worse the use of expletives in conversations are all on the wrong side of positive mood. A boss, who is in good mood, will have on display a smiling cheerful bright face and a personality that exudes calmness, serenity, humility and courteous disposition.
Anger, carried on the sleeve, by the manager is just one element of bad mood, exhibition. Supervisors become oblivious to fact that anger hurts the angry more than it hurts, those to whom, the anger is meant to be directed. A misplaced sense of ‘authority’ also induces mood swings, harbouring largely on displaying bad mood.
As inspired and initiated managers it must be recognised beyond doubt that bad mood does not create a cohesive band of workforce. Infact its impact on long term loss is with many facets. Managers must learn to control mood and its management through timings- what would provoke bad mood must be deferred and delayed. Learn to procrastinate, if time to rethink the response, can be altered or rush to risk by finishing the irritants.
Intelligent and good managers use visualisation to unburden themselves of gathering negative sentiments, imagine pleasant scenes, or make effort to read pleasant things- these lead to pleasant thoughts, which ultimately induce pleasant action, resulting in pleasant relationships. When you experience mood changes be wary of those colleagues who visit you’re not to help positivity of thought but only to seek details of what’s causing your irrational behaviour. They mean no good.
For enhanced and better mood management, change the state of relationship with your own self, do this to have better relationship with your environment. A mind, that has justice and unbiased response as its cornerstone will rarely submit to mood swings. Those managers that have pleasant personal life at home and those who enjoy the presence of their children and give time to remain in their company would again be confident to counter any on-set of ‘bad mood’.
As managers say no to mood swings by doing a lot of talking to yourself. A Chinese saying captures this spirit well, ‘if you are patient in one moment of anger you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.’ I am a witness to many managers punishing themselves by being in a state of anger.
Gain control over what disturbs you as a supervisor. He that stays, obtains. Feelings of sorrow, distraught and anger pays no debt. ‘The way of Qigong: art and science of Chinese healing, states, when you are angry, the chemicals of anger are synthesised and flow throughout the body, bonding to and influencing millions of cells. Soon the liver is angry; the white blood cells are angry. If this is unhealthy anger- repressed or inappropriately expressed (as opposed to a positive cathartic release of pent up feelings), then the white blood cells and liver may become belligerent refusing to perform their tasks. On the other hand, if you feel happy and secure, all the cells feel happy. (Condensed by Kenneth Cohen).
A manager in control of his moods is invariably an able leader. As supervisor of teams appear to them as an embodiment of calm and control. A person in emotional disarray is never listened to. Seek balance in moods.
The writers is a senior banker and freelance columnist
