The 1 Thing You Need To Do When You Wear Your Heart On Your Sleeve

When someone enrols to take my online education seminars, I ask them a simple question: As A Leader What Is The One Thing That Is Keeping You Awake At Night?

Here is one reader’s question and my answer:

Steve, what keeps me up at night is:

I currently work shift leader for a restaurant. I love the company and what I do. My boss has talked about moving me into management, and he has given me a little constructive criticism, which I appreciated.

He told me that I have skills to become a manager, but that I cannot let other people see my emotions. He says I wear my heart on my sleeve and that allows employees to take advantage and use it against me.

Would you have any advice on how to check my emotions when trying to get my team to perform? How do I keep from wearing my heart on my sleeve?

My response:

What a terrific question!

It is important to be authentic to yourself – including being a boss. There is research that shows employees are more engaged, happier, loyal and productive when they believe their boss is authentic and cares for them.

Assuming your boss has your best interest at heart, I would go back to her/him and ask for factual examples of why they made that comment.

Was it something you did or said that raised concerns? Ask probing open-ended question to get them to be specific about why they think that. Then ask for ways you can improve.

You may want to read my blog on Partnering With Your Boss it walks through how you can assess the relationship you have with a Boss and how you can improve it.

But remember, as you implement their recommendations you need to be authentic and not a mirror image of your boss.

I hope that helps?

I have lots of good stuff in the blog section of my website

Take care