One or the other of our readers will certainly have already gained some experience in the working life. Most companies think that numbers, data and facts govern the economy. Of course, this thinking is the reason why employee retention is such a big topic for many companies. So the question is: what factors - apart from really good products and great service - decide whether a company is successful or not?
Has it generally occurred to you that emotions could be that important in your daily work? Emotional intelligence is increasingly coming to the fore in working life today. On the internet, e.g., you can hear and read more and more often about terms such as resilience, agility or sensitivity. Above all, people in leading positions should learn to take role models in this regard and to set accents.
By activating and consciously using emotions, you make decisions easier, because you not only make a decision from your own perspective, but also empathize with your counterpart and can incorporate his view.
Carmen Uth from chancemotion is an expert when it comes to emotions. She is furthermore a speaker and advises as well as trains companies in organizational development, in the topic of change and conflict management as well as in corporate management. In this interview, she reveals why emotions are so important in working life and what you can learn about them during your student years.
Ms. Uth, what does it mean to show emotions in everyday working life and why is this important or how can one benefit from it? C. Uth: Basically, dealing with emotions in an open way makes it possible to question yourself what is stopping this open approach. Because only when I know exactly what does not work, I can search specifically for solutions. This promotes agility, the will and the ability to change something - this requires emotions that a person becomes aware of. I also call it „emo-agility“. I break with emotion blocks, the fear of embarrassing myself by saying something wrong. It also enables me to express clear opinions in meetings. And that it is precisely this plaintext that I use to earn respect. In addition, I recognize conflicts more often and quickly, because I am more sensitive and can faster measure when others get emotionally stuck. This is an important basis for solutions, and this empathic solution expertise is pretty much an in demand skill these days, which makes my appeal much more relevant to the marketplace.
To be aware of one's own emotions and the conscious and correct handling of it not only applies to the upper management level in a company, but also to all employees? C. Uth: Absolutely.
erp4students target group are students. To what extent do you consider it significant that as a student you become sensitized to emotionality during your studies? C. Uth: Especially as a student you have an incredible number of challenges to manage. You invest a lot of time, money and energy and thus have to do with a whole range of emotions. This leads to, for example, over-pressure in the form of anger when things are not going well: Or to stress, because time and money are running away. Or trouble, because others seem to have it easier. Or pressure, because everything is too much. Or doubts, whether you’re doing the right thing. Or fear, because one asks oneself if one can do it at all. Or frustration and helplessness when things go wrong. So, one is always under enormous tension between the emotional overpressure and the negative pressure. And who does it help if you (emotionally) explode like a volcano and let the rage out on someone else? Conversely, it does not help anyone to bury themselves in the quiet little room and try to make it out alone. That is why it is so important to have tools that are suitable for everyday use and that help you to achieve a balanced emotional household.
What kind of tools are you thinking about? C. Uth:Let's take as an example the emotional valve for anger. Especially in professional life, many suppress their anger and then leave them in their circle of friends, in the family, etc., because they can not afford it in professional life. But to let out rage in front of people who are benevolent and innocent is of course not ideal. It is an art of its own to find a technique by opening ones own valve and, like a steam locomotive, venting its own steam to retain the rest of the energy that is still inside me. Because emotion is nothing but energy. So, when I've broken down the overpressure, I use that "good" anger energy to move forward and take the next step.
You have studied business administration and worked in foreign trade for many years. What insights did you gain from your studies and your work in international sales? C. Uth: The most important thing for my career development during the study period was that I had to learn to adapt very quickly to the different professors or examiners and to find out as quickly as possible "What do you need from me?“ - so that I can get ahead in my studies. Exactly this property has also helped me a lot in my professional life, because the faster I realize what the other person needs - and if I can afford it -, the faster I get on with my own life. Furthermore, from my time in international sales, I can give you a very important piece of advice for your future career: treat your colleagues and employees as good as your customers or business partners.
Can you give us and our readers an example from your working life back then? C. Uth: Sure! As a Manager International Sales, I worked in development tools for microcontrollers (semiconductor chips) and it was my job to further expand our distribution network. Since the acquisition of individual sales partners was rather tedious, I was looking for a way to speed up this process. My idea was to directly approach the manufacturers of microcontrollers and their distributors. I asked myself, "What could be their motivation to work with us?". That was not that hard. But at the point I wanted to get my colleagues from the inland team on board, I made the crucial mistake: I had mentally and emotionally "beamed" into the world of semiconductor manufacturers and their distributors (laughs), but not in the world of my colleagues! So what was the result? My colleagues have rejected my idea of this change for the moment, following the motto "We tried that too and it did not work." However, I did not give up and laboriously negotiated with my international sales team, which pretty much has cost a lot of strength. Later, when the successes came, the domestic distributors followed us. Lessons learned - speak the language of the people you want to inspire!
Is it possible to describe the „typical participants“ taking part in your seminars? C. Uth: Every person is different, so I get in touch with different and individual topics, needs, motives, etc. That's exactly what fulfills my "emo-work", because it never bores me. One thing that unites the people I train are challenges, problems and conflicts where the solution is not directly clear. But that only seems so, because unconscious emotions are in the foreground or between the people and the solution. But people are not aware of this and that is what causes the problem to accumulate. Moreover, they are often unaware that there is a longing to free themselves from this burden. Instead, dissatisfaction is paramount and people can not really name what's causing it. But in a joint conversation, we find out very quickly: They usually want clarity, freedom of action, strength and energy to finally solve the problem.
erp4students would like to thank Carmen Uth for this exciting insight into the world of emotions in working life.
An article by Gohar Zatrjan.
If you want to know more about the work of Carmen Uth, please have a look at her blog at chancemotion.de/blog - There you can find numerous interviews on the subject of emotions with familiar faces such as Judith Williams, Sabrina Setlur, Klaus Hipp, Sven Hannawald and many more.
Sources:
- chancemotion.de
- Wikipedia: microcontroller