Have you ever been part of a winning team? If so, then you probably realize there’s a myriad of factors that work together to make it happen. There’s unison, communication, camaraderie, passion, and a drive to win to name a few.
The bigger question is, have you ever been part of a team that just can’t seem to get it right even though there were talented people involved? This is a hard problem to solve in a business or a board room, especially if you are the leader of this group.
The reality is that we, as humans, are driven by basic emotions, regardless of how strong or intellectual we are. We are biologically programmed and conditioned to behave in certain ways when it comes to protecting ourselves and people we care about.
Two powerful emotions of fear and greed can motivate us or paralyze us in our ability to communicate to others. Greed make us territorial, confrontational, and not willing to share information. Fear is finding fault in our future and making plans and decisions based on those perceived faults, and when it does not work out, we blame others for the failure.
These emotions can break the chain of teamwork and become a distraction or elephant in the room, causing the focus of the goal to become less and less important. There is almost an invisible battle of wills going on while people are pretending to be focused on the goal.
As a woman business owner and leader, there are skills to help identify the elephant in the room when critical steps and a corrective course of action need to be taken. It is important to uncover the basic emotions that drive our rational thoughts in moments of fear and greed and how that affects decision making. Having emotions are natural, learning to identify and overcome the barriers in communication is key to becoming a great leader.
As the current chair of NAWBO National, along with past chair Crystal Arredondo (a seasoned financial advisor), we both have experienced the difference in outcomes between reacting to emotion vs. being proactive in managing emotions in our professional careers and in running a National Board. We have become so passionate about this topic that will be one of the opening sessions at the annual Women’s Business Conference hosted by NAWBO on September 19th 2016.
About the Author
Teresa Meares is the chair of the National Association of Women’s Business Owners (NAWBO) National and the annual Women’s Business Conference. She has 19 years of law enforcement experience and is a retired patrol sergeant with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. She has a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology, a master’s degree in Public Administration and more than 300 hours of advanced management training. She is currently the President of DGG Tactical and Uniform Supply where she manages 20 full-time and six part-time employees, who operate a distribution of law enforcement, personal self-defense products, business and uniform apparel.
