I mean I want to see

WHEN you’re going through that rough patch and the world seems to have it in for you, logic is not necessarily the first thing that will appeal to you. You’ll want that emotional outlet, that “steam valve” that vents our emotions and makes us feel purged. And you will have that, but you have to choose the time and the place…with logic.

Most of the time, in my experience, when a person in a management position loses emotional control and “reams out” at an employee, the incident has the opposite effect of what must have been intended. Productivity goes down, as the staff inevitably spends a lot of time afterward discussing the incident, and not getting work done on time. The manager has decreased his authority, rather than having enhanced it, since he is now considered somewhat unstable by the staff, and not entirely rational. Rarely does such an outburst inspire respect and loyalty. Instead, a good number of your best employees may immediately start updating their resumes and look for a job with someone who can approach things with a calm demeanour.

By the same token, an employee who vents anger, frustration, or simply ambition at a peer or a supervisor is going to be seen as duplicitous, unstable, emotionally fragile, and unreasonable — at best. There isn’t any way that losing your cool in the workplace is going to enhance your reputation or your chances for increased success.

What to do when angry:

• Mr Fist, meet Mr Punching Bag: physical activity can have a cathartic effect when done properly.
• Be creative: See Singapore Complaints Choir. You can work through a lot of messy emotions through the creative process.
• Primal scream: Karaoke, singing in the bathroom, or similar. I find listening to The Sound Of Music soundtrack very cathartic…I sometimes sing along too :)
• Talking cure: Seek help — friends, therapists, counsellors. If you need help, get it. It never makes sense to ignore a problem.

In any case, there is one smart choice in anger, which is to prove them wrong. The anger sharpens your focus and allows you to zero in. Focus that energy on priorities, prospects and pitching so you can use anger as a tool to improve your performance. Forget about the energy drains or the people who come in, affix themselves to your neck and suck you dry.

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I’ve been finding out more about the Institute of Technical Education since the schools I’ve been raving over are all under the ITE umbrella. From this speech:

Internationally, ITE has also formed strategic partnerships with renowned global institutions to deepen and widen its linkages for learning, sharing and exchange for ITE staff and students. Currently, MOUs have been signed with 13 Institutions of Higher Learning in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Korea, Switzerland, UK and USA.

…The proportion of ITE students pursuing full-time polytechnic diploma programmes upon graduation has been increasing steadily over the years, from 14% just five years ago, to 20% currently.

…ITE graduates who have furthered their studies at the Polytechnics have also performed well. One good example is Richard Kong, an ITE graduate who went on to pursue a Diploma in Electronics and Computer Engineering in Ngee Ann Polytechnic. When I met Richard at the Ngee Ann Polytechnic graduation recently, he shared with me how, coming from the Normal (Technical) Stream in secondary school, he had been very motivated and worked hard to achieve his goals. Richard graduated this year with 32 ‘A’s or Distinctions out of 35 subjects. He received both the Lee Kuan Yew Award, which is given to the top graduate from a technology course at the polytechnic, and the Tay Eng Soon Gold Medal for being the top graduate formerly from ITE. In addition, Richard has also been awarded the Nanyang Scholarship to pursue an undergraduate program in Electrical & Electronic Engineering at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

& just cos I’ve benefited from a university education doesn’t mean that the road to success lies in a “branded university” education — there are many ways to the top.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 7:15 pm and is filed under A_learning, A_work, Grad school prep, mental health, self-help, writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.