Handbook of Principles of Organizational Behavior - Soltanieh ...

ATTAIN EMOTIONAL CONTROL BY UNDERSTANDING WHAT EMOTIONS ARE
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3. Changing the causes when necessary. If the emotion is negative, you have three possible
ways to intervene (object, cognition, values). You can change or avoid the objects, correct
mistaken beliefs, and modify inappropriate values. As noted, the more strongly
automatized they are and the more subconscious layers involved, the more diffi cult
the change process.
4. Consciously and rationally choosing what action(s), if any, to take based on or
regardless of your emotions.
5. Suppressing emotions, or actions based on them, when necessary . Suppression is different
from repression. Repression is subconscious and based on an implicit standing order to
the subconscious ( “ Don’t let me feel X ” ). Suppression is conscious. It involves deliberately
inhibiting an emotion (or an action based on it) because experiencing it or acting
on it is not appropriate in a given context (e.g. it may be distracting or there may be
conduct norms that it is important to honor). When analyzing emotions it can be very
helpful to write down one ’s observations, for example what emotion(s) one is feeling, the
causal elements, the action tendencies and action choices, the errors one ’s subconscious
may have made, etc. This makes the emotion more objective and helps one to slow
down one ’s mental processes so that one can understand what has happened.
CASE EXAMPLES
Mark
Let ’s begin with a negative example. Mark is a unit manager for a Fortune 1000 company.
Since receiving his MBA from a high prestige school, Mark has received two promotions.
Given his background he believes that he will surely become CEO of his company, or, if
not, of another Fortune 1000 company. However, he is having a hard time mastering his
present job which is highly technical – nothing like the cases he studied in his MBA classes.
He is feeling self - doubt, a threat to his self - esteem, and he can’t stand the feelings of anxiety
that are the result of this doubt. Further, not being able to master something easily threatens
his self - image as a brilliant person. He could study the technical aspects of his job
more thoroughly, but this would imply that he cannot master things in a fl ash which his
self - image requires. So he tries desperately to work “ around ” his ignorance. He delegates
some of the work but to people who know less than he does. He tries to bluff his way
through meetings. When glitches occur, he angrily blames others, even though at some
subconscious level which he will not make conscious, he knows that he is the one to blame.
When his boss inquires about problems, he evades giving straight answers and assures his
boss that things will be taken care of. Eventually things get more and more out of control
and Mark has to rely increasingly on outright lies and then more lies to cover up those lies.
Gradually, his projects fall apart and he gets caught lying, because he can no longer recall
which lies he told to which person. In the end he is fi red; his career, for now, is in tatters.
Imagine the difference in the outcome if Mark had honestly and openly identifi ed his
initial self - doubt and its cause: “ I don’t know how to do this job, and I feel inadequate and
scared. I am trying to live up to a self - image which maybe is not a rational one. ” Then he
could have chosen what to do, for example seek therapy, consult experts, study on his own,
get more training, ask his boss for advice, etc. The outcome could have been quite different
if he had not evaded and let his unidentifi ed emotions control him.