When things go wrong, how do you respond? Do you take control of the situation, or let it control you?
Like many, I tend to use LinkedIn to celebrate wins. But this week, Blue Monday truly lived up to its name for me.
First, I learned the hard way not to make assumptions. A message I’d asked someone to pass along was overlooked, leaving people unaware of an important update. Later that day, I unintentionally irritated someone and got called out for it in a way that felt unnecessary and public. A double-whammy of frustration!
In the first instance, I could have placed the blame on the missing messenger. Instead, I paused to process my frustration, then focused on a solution. I introduced a second communication route to ensure key updates wouldn’t get lost in the future.
As for the public reprimand, I was upset about how it was handled and wanted to address it calmly and constructively. Writing down my feelings helped me sort through the frustration and focus on the points I wanted to make. Giving myself space to reflect also paid off - the other person reached out first to apologise, which opened the door for a more productive conversation.
So here’s my takeaway: when things don’t go to plan, give yourself time to feel the emotions, but don’t stay stuck there. Instead, ask yourself: "What action can I take now to turn this into a win next time?"
Be the victor, not the victim.
Founder | Entrepreneur | High Performance Evangelist 🫡 Passionate about unleashing the stored potential in your business and building happy, healthy and high-performing teams.
2moBrilliant initiative. Cheers to great conversations and a warm cuppa! ☕️👏🏼