If You Manage People, Manage Your Emotions

Recently, I was fortunate to hear Wharton professor Sigal Barsade speak on the topic of emotional contagion.

Ever worked in an environment where many people are angry or fearful? Here's an article on some of Barsade's academic discussion about why this isn't a good thing.

Building on the notion of "emotional intelligence", which include self-awareness and self-management, it's not just academic -- it's commonsensical! Wouldn't you agree that you'd rather be around people who are happy?

As a manager, you can't make people happy. But just like your shadow: in the present moment, your actions, inactions, moods and emotions are indivisible from you. (Or at least the "you" that is being received by the people around you...I don't want to get too heady here.)

So mastery of how you work with yourself -- moment to moment -- will affect your workplace.

Not to mention the rest of the world around you!

Props to iinovate

I've been on a slight unintended hiatus...everything piled up on me and something had to give! (I did, however, get my taxes done on time!)

As I sat down to write this morning, I noticed that one of the Blogger "blogs of note" was iinovate...I was listening to their entrepreneurship podcast last fall, and at some point dropped it off my list. I made this choice based on time constraints, not on the quality of the podcast.

Their posts relate more to larger entrepreneurial movements than the mini-micro stuff I'm focused on here. Of course there's no entrepreneurial shift that doesn't start with Mom & Pop, in some way, shape or form -- as we've seen with what is in the process of happening with yoga businesses.

(The March issue of Yoga Journal profiles several yoga studio businesses that have chosen to grow and diversify their businesses, to include income from other sources other than classes. More on that when I can post a link to the article...)

If you're interested in entrepreneurial movers and shakers in a variety of industries, check out iinovate.