WORKPLACE COLLABORATION The remainder of this article will focus on one self-
awareness area that has the potential to strengthen your existing relationships or crush your reputation as a leader and a person. It can also impact your bottom line and the reputation of your department severely.
TRIGGERS: SETTING YOUR IMPULSE CONTROL AFIRE Triggers are those words or actions that immediately cause a sudden and distinct reaction. The typical reaction to a trigger is to become defensive. It could be a phrase (“whatever!”), an action (rolling of eyes or shrugging of shoulders) or simply stony silence. Your perception of how events reflect on you can cause your unprofessional reaction. For instance, think about what you do when:
• A passenger asks your peer a question that clearly falls under your responsibility
• In an e-mail, you think someone else in the flight department points a finger at your team for trip delays
• In a conversation, a colleague’s reply to you begins with “As I said before” and they look directly at you.
You have two types of reactions:
• Internal: your thoughts and feelings. Do you remember the last time your thoughts spun out of control? Perhaps it was when you heard great news and your mind jumped from your present position to an increase in responsibility, travel and/or money. You envisioned a newer car, larger home and more disposable income. Do you recall how your thoughts jumped around when you heard some bad news? Did you imagine the worst that could happen, such as being fired, having to pay an exorbitant amount of money or being humiliated?
Pentagon_AdSize2_7_9_14Fokker_B_conv.pdf 1 07/09/14 16:12
We all have feelings. We might not be aware of our feelings until after the event; “I was so angry at ….” Or “I was excited when I heard …” Think of feelings as information — much like the weather, the maintenance schedule of the aircraft, the time of day. Feelings are neither positive nor negative. They become that way when we judge them and ourselves. They are an important piece of becoming self-aware.
Noticing what you are feeling does not immediately translate to professional visible behavior. It is (initially) a conscious effort to become aware of what you are feeling and how that explains your actions. These explanations may not be rational and I caution you not to judge yourself. Just being aware of how your feelings create your behaviors is a start.
• External: your outward behaviors and voice tone. Your thoughts drive your attitude and behaviors. Others cannot see your intentions – they can only see your behaviors. They make decisions on what to think and how to act based on what you do and how you respond or react.
For example, the more you think about a tense or uncomfortable situation, the more agitated you might become. Your agitation has to be released somehow. It can come out in your words (sarcastic, abrupt) or your actions (stomping rather than walking, procrastinating, avoiding work or people, making mistakes). You might not listen as well as you need to, you might cut discussions short, you might insist strongly on actions to take. People will shy away from you, e-mail you instead of having face-to-face conversation, or even hurry through their work to escape interacting with you.
10 2014 46
DOMmagazine
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84