It is not uncommon to hear executives claim that they make efforts to “control their emotions” or even to “leave emotions at the door”. It is one of the most common prejudices among executives that “emotions and feelings” have no place in business. Many managers and business leaders believe that they make decisions solely based on rationality and logic.

As neuroscientists have clearly demonstrated this is a self-deception.

Emotion is just what the name tells: E-MOTION, i.e. Energy in MOTION. Our body registers external signals in greater number and far before we are able to form feelings and thoughts around them. Only a very small part of these signals make it to consciousness and even a smaller part find their way to language. When we become aware of our emotions (e.g. automatic body changes that follow the stimulus), we “feel” something that we may or may not be able to describe. Feelings are emotions that have reached a conscious level. At this point, the logic part of the brain “kicks in”.

Whether we like it or not, decision-making works this way: first we have a feeling, then we look for descriptors and rational data to justify the feelings. Not the other way round.

Clinical studies performed on subjects who had lost the brain connection between emotional centers and logic centers, clearly proved that decision-making without emotions and feelings is not possible.

So when we refuse to acknowledge our emotions, we are actually blocking a great potential that we have inside ourselves. In stead, we can train ourselves to become more aware of emotions (especially the positive ones, that offer an enormous source of energy, motivation and drive), learn to put words on feelings, in order to better decode the complete message, and accept to challenge our assumptions, in order to discriminate between instinct (quick and dirty reaction) and intuition (creation on new patterns / creativity and growth).

In this way, we can dramatically improve the quality of our decision-making.

How can Grooa help?

Executive Coaching with focus on training regognition of emotion and feelings, for improved decision-making

Contact us for more information or a free consultation at info@grooa.dev-projects.tech

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