Let emotion cloud your judgement

I grew up with, and carried for most of my life, the belief that I should not let emotions cloud my judgement.

Over the past few years I have come to learn that when judgement does not take emotions into consideration, it is inherently clouded.

I love building Current and Future Reality Trees when I am trying to solve problems. I used to only put the “facts” in these. Over the past few years, I've begun to add feelings to them. I would pause, and ask myself, “how do these undesirable effects make me feel?” or how do they make the people involved in that part of the equation feel.

Or I would pause and ask myself, “What would I (or someone else) need to feel to behave in this way, or do that thing?”

How does that make you / them feel?

There are few tools more rational than Current Reality Trees. When you add the way people feel to that tree, it opens a whole new world of understanding, and with that understanding, opportunities for meaningful influence. Instead of simply focusing on changing behaviour, or fixing what might seem like a broken step in a process, I now often see how the way someone feels is actually driving a whole lot of problems – and this allows me to then look at why they are feeling the way they are feeling – and how I can possibly create an environment where they can experience the support or sense of understanding to first help them to feel better. Or I can see how the way I am feeling is driving undesirable outcomes – and then take the time to deal with that.

Similarly, when beginning to build the Future Reality Tree, I ask myself the same questions.

How would that make me feel?

How is that change going to make the people in that part of the process feel?

How will a customer feel when they are asked to do this or that?

I'm sure there are people reading this, who simply consider this to be absolutely common sense.

But for those, who, like me, tend to see systems and processes more like machines, than in terms of the human relationships and interaction that truly make them happen – for you this may be of value.

Next time you are analysing a process, or implementing an improvement, or solving a problem – go through whatever diagrams you are using for your work, look at where human beings interact with your process, and ask yourself, “How do they feel?” and “How does this make them feel,” and “How would I feel if I were in that situation?”

You will discover ways you have never thought of before in which your work is influencing people.

Emotions are part of rational reality

And that is not letting emotion cloud your judgement.

It is aligning your judgement with the reality that people are emotional beings.

To your success

Ashton

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5-2-50 is a Movement dedicated to creating a million good jobs by growing 25 000 small businesses of at least 5 people, that have been running for at least 5 years, to 50 people or more, to ZAR 10 million NPAT, and to Free the Founder from the day to day grind of the business.
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To achieve this, we need founders, facilitators, coordinators, creators, influencers and church leaders.

If this excites you, see how you can get involved: https://www.5-2-50.co.za/​

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Grow Your Business

5-2-50 is a Movement of Christian small business founders dedicated to creating a million good jobs by growing 25 000 small businesses of at least 5 people, that have been running for at least 5 years, to 50 people or more, to ZAR 10 million NPAT, and to Free the Founder from the day to day grind of the business.
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To achieve this, we need founders, facilitators, coordinators, creators, influencers and church leaders.

If this excites you, see how you can get involved: https://www.5-2-50.co.za/​