📅 Thought for today:

‘Keep your temper. A decision made in anger is never sound.’

— Ford Frick

#thoughtfortoday #temper #management #decisions #leadership #entrepreneur #regulation #control

I often think about the traits that make a good manager, leader, or entrepreneur.

I also asked about these things.

I would definitely put self-awareness on top of the list. Implicit in this is honesty (with oneself). If you can’t be honest with yourself then you are unlikely to be honest with anyone else.

Then self-regulation, the ability to manage your emotional reaction to people, events, and circumstances so that you keep your faculties clear.

It is now well-understood that when your anger increases and your temper becomes short, you are also suffering a reduced capacity for rational thought.

I think that if there is one thing I would look for, it would be decision-making ability. How does someone make decisions and what happens when they allow themselves to feel under pressure?

Someone who likes to “know all the facts or data points” before making decisions will have a long wait. And someone who “wings” it and goes with their instincts will either be very lucky or make a lot of mistakes. If they can differentiate the two, and afford the mistakes, they will learn a different way.

Business decisions need rationality and reduced emotional content. People decisions need compassion and judgement.

In the absence of facts, we make assumptions, in the absence of emotional regulation, we make mistakes.