Feb 20, 2018
Marietta Gentles Crawford was exhausted and frustrated. She saw her colleagues sitting around in their shared office, one of them reading a newspaper, when she lost her composure.
In louder than necessary tones, she told her colleagues exactly how she felt about how much harder she was working; she lost her cool.
Lucky for her, she had a compassionate boss, and colleagues who were close to her, almost like family, which is why she didn't receive formal discipline. That's also why she was able to recover her relationships with them. But it took time, and she had to learn some hard lessons about pushing herself too hard and using her words BEFORE hitting her emotional limit.
That's also why she was able to recover her relationships with them. But it took time, and she had to learn some hard lessons about pushing herself too hard and using her words BEFORE hitting her emotional limit.
Marietta is not alone. Many of us have had some sort of breakdown at work, emotions flowing freely, usually against our better judgment. Sometimes I think it's okay to lose your cool; it helps people see you as human, with vulnerabilities they may share. And in some cases, it takes losing emotional control for certain people to realize how serious the issue is. We all know people who miss subtle, indirect cues.
But most of the time, losing that control makes you feel less than professional and can do irreparable damage to your personal brand.
When you're feeling most frustrated, it's time to take a step back and identify the real issues impacting your days. It's also time to consider what you want out of your next conversation with the person or people you're frustrated with. What is your ultimate goal after confronting the situation?
Listen to this conversation with Marietta Gentles Crawford, author of From Nine to Thrive, A Guide to Building Your Personal Brand and Elevating Your Career for some strategies she used after learning the hard lesson of needing to be intentional in your communication.