Don't Resort to Anger When You're Stressed Out. Here Are 4 Tips on How to Stay Calm. Learn how to transform your anger into more fruitful emotions so that your leadership experience stays intact.

By Ivan Popov

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Every business owner can relate: Once we start our companies, suddenly a whole plethora of emotions begin to creep in and occasionally throw us off balance. Be it excitement, worry, fear or willingness to move at a faster pace, it's indeed a world full of unexpected situations and feelings. Sometimes, when we are in a leadership position, anger may become a frequent emotion we need to face.

Being a leader is by all means not easy. On the one hand, we need to carefully consider how to manage our team; on the other, we also need to pay extra attention to the clients and projects and make sure everything is going according to plan. But as it often turns out, enjoying a smooth experience is not always the case — once obstacles and issues arise, it's quite natural for most individuals to let anger consume them. But is that really the best leadership approach one could obtain?

Here are four useful strategies that can help anyone who runs a business and/or leads a team to better access their anger and transform it into way more fruitful emotion and management behavior.

Related: Don't Pop Your Top: 5 Thoughts to Keep You Calm in an Angry Moment

Don't avoid your emotions

I've always found the topic of expressing emotions in leadership quite intriguing. On the one hand, they could be detrimental to successful management; on the other, the complete lack of emotions could potentially lead to other problems and prevent the leader from building healthy and strong relationships with their peers.

Showcasing an impeccable level of soft skills is very important for successful leadership. Empathetic, understanding and supportive managers who are excellent at communication and acknowledging people's needs and emotions are perhaps the very definition of someone destined to lead.

However, intense emotions that often land on the negative spectrum (such as anger) often throw us off balance and therefore awaken strong emotional responses — and that's something leaders may want to avoid, since balance is the ultimate virtue when it comes to people management. Yelling, being rude and letting anger creep in is perhaps the worst behavior one could portray, especially when their job deals with other people (and their emotions as well).

Since dynamic workspaces and corporations are a great example of competitiveness, pressure and ever-occurring obstacles, no one is really immune to anger and frustration. That's why I thought it would be useful for me to offer ways and guidelines that could help leaders see the anger coming and do their best to transform it and express it in a healthier way. Let's see how.

Related: How to Transform Anger Into Constructive Action

1. Train yourself in being self-aware

Oftentimes, we let an emotion consume us just because we are not fully aware of its existence and we lack information on the true reason for the emotion.

For example, a client raising a complaint about how the project's going may make us angry in a split second, but if we do some digging, we might realize that the actual feeling behind this frustration is a fear of failure. Once we become more self-aware, we can have the chance to sit still for a moment and explore thoroughly the emotion's origin. Then we can look at things from a different perspective and ultimately change our whole reaction to the situation.

2. Give yourself time and don't rush into things

Whatever mishap might have happened, our reacting right on the spot is perhaps the worst thing we could do. Instead, give yourself a moment and distance yourself from the situation — go somewhere quiet and reconsider your reaction by exploring your own feelings. As time passes, we relax and give our brains the chance to come up with more fruitful courses of action and problem-solving decisions and approaches.

3. Communicate, communicate, communicate

If an employee has failed to deliver up to your standards, try engaging in an open conversation and determine together the origin of their mistake. This will show them you care and search for solutions, instead of turning into the yelling boss who intimidates their employees. Proper communication is your strongest weapon — use it and build strong relationships with the team.

4. Try to learn from the experience

When you feel anger is about to creep in, try asking yourself what this situation or a problem is trying to teach you. Viewing everything as an opportunity to learn something and grow in your personal or professional development is a great strategy to transform anger into an incredible learning experience that will turn anyone into a high-end successful leader.

Have you ever felt furious when managing people or projects? What are some of your coping mechanisms? Learning to control our disruptive emotions is indeed a sign of maturity and professionalism — two qualities that go hand in hand with exceptional business ownership and development.

Wavy Line
Ivan Popov

Entrepreneur Leadership Network Contributor

CEO and Tech Lead of Vipe Studio

Ivan Popov serves as the CEO of Vipe Studio, which establishes and maintains WordPress-based websites for enterprises and SMEs. He is always curious about technology, web and software development, WordPress, sports, journalism, leadership, entrepreneurship and all things mental health.

Editor's Pick

A Father Decided to Change When He Was in Prison on His Son's Birthday. Now His Nonprofit Helps Formerly Incarcerated Applicants Land 6-Figure Jobs.
Lock
A Teen Turned His Roblox Side Hustle Into a Multimillion-Dollar Company — Now He's Working With Karlie Kloss and Elton John
Lock
3 Mundane Tasks You Should Automate to Save Your Brain for the Big Stuff
Lock
The Next Time Someone Intimidates You, Here's What You Should Do
5 Ways to Manage Your Mental Health and Regulate Your Nervous System for Sustainable Success

Related Topics

Growing a Business

How to Grow Your Business With Social Media

Miriam Fried, owner of MF Strong, shares why a solid online presence, including social media and Yelp, is important for starting a business and achieving continued growth.

Business News

After Being Told They Could Work From Home Forever, Employees Made Major Life Changes. Then, a New CEO Ordered Them Back to the Office.

Farmers Group CEO Raul Vargas is facing backlash for the change, but he says being in the office brings more "collaboration" and "innovation."

Leadership

I Accidentally Became a Successful Entrepreneur. Here Are 5 Mistakes I Learned to Avoid When Starting a Business

PR is, at its core, storytelling. And the story of my now-thriving solo-owned business has been fraught with as many mistakes as successes, as many fall down the ladder as steps up. It's from my missteps, in fact, that I learned even more than from my triumphs, and this article presents 5 of my biggest blunders on the road to a flourishing small business.

Business News

Google Wants Employees Back in the Office, Considering 'Attendance' in Performance Reviews

In an email, a Google executive reportedly told employees that many new features and products unveiled during Google's developer conference last month were "conceived, developed, and built by teams working side by side."

Business News

A $12 Million Ship Collision Was Caused By a Texting Employee

Investigators found that the watch officer made a personal phone call and sent text messages prior to the collision.

Business News

'I've Got the Bug for Business': See All of Mark Wahlberg's Entrepreneurial Endeavors, From Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch to Wahlburgers

Mark Wahlberg owns businesses in several categories, including entertainment production, apparel, fitness, and nutrition.