Sometimes I Get Angry at Work
Managing & Navigating Emotions in the Workplace
I’ve had the privilege to work alongside Gino Ferrin for over a year now. During that year, we completed numerous big projects together. From launching a new website (twice), creating a bi-weekly newsletter, starting Ferrin’s Fervor, all the way to strengthening our social presence & so much more! We’ve been through a lot together. There’s been times during our work that I’ve become frustrated and even angry, but Gino has taught me something that I will carry with me for the rest of my life, emotional management.
My whole life I’ve struggled with anger management, getting into fights with other kids at school, arguing with friends, family, teachers, random civilians on the street. Basically anyone who would entertain the idea of conflict. At times it feels like there’s a red, hot ball of rage trapped inside of me & all I want to do is rip it out. As I got older, I learned how to contain this ball of rage. Sometimes I would bury it further inside of me, doing my best to ignore it completely. Other times I would channel my anger into something productive such as kickboxing, running or strength training. I got better at managing the ball but I never truly overcame it. I was always under the impression that my anger is a bad thing & I shouldn’t have it at all.
It wasn’t until working with Gino that I learned that’s not true. Anger isn’t a bad thing, in fact it’s perfectly natural.
Anger is normally sporadic. It comes & goes when it chooses to. Anger doesn’t care if you’re out for dinner, on a walk or even at work. In fact, I sometimes find work to be the most frustrating part of my day. With the constant technical issues & problem solving I face on a daily basis, frustration & anger come easily. Gino taught me how to recognize and control my emotional triggers. This allows me to offer more constructive responses to challenging situations. A great example of this happened earlier this year.
Gino & I were just putting the final pieces together on a big project that had been in the works for months. Just before we reached the finish line, we had a falling out with the contractor we’d been working with. The project was left unfinished & we were forced to start from square one. Now if you’ve been paying attention, you should have a pretty good idea of how this made me feel. The rage ball made an appearance after months in the shadows. I instinctively wanted to fuel the rage ball by sending a very strongly worded (to put it lightly) email to this person as I thought an email was the “professional” approach to dealing with conflict at work.
Instead I thought back to all of my conversations with Gino. I thought to myself “what would Gino tell me to do?” That’s when I came up with the idea to deal with my anger but in a more constructive manner. I took 15 minutes to cool down before typing up the email. Those 15 minutes allowed me to contain myself a bit better (emphasis on a bit). I then sent the email to Gino, asking him to review it & explaining my emotions that went behind my words. Thankfully, Gino advised me to hold off on sending the email. He acknowledged my emotions then explained to me how there’s no benefit in sending something like this. He was right. Sending this email would have only fuelled the rage ball that I find trapped inside of me.
Gino helped me work through my anger & allowed me to sit this one out, taking the lead on the situation.
I’m only 26 years old & still have a lot to learn but overcoming these emotions at work, helped me become a better version of myself … and isn’t that the reason we’re all here on earth?
This story is just a small taste of the benefits I’ve gained from working with Gino Ferrin. If you or your team want to learn how to better manage your emotions & possibly create a similar story of your own, you need to contact Gino Ferrin from Ferrin Leadership Development.
In a 2023 global emotional report created by Gallup, it’s reported that 18% of people living in the US & Canada were angry during a lot of the day yesterday.
Ferrin Leadership offers a “Manage Your Emotions” workshop that covers long-term strategies for channeling emotions productively and promoting overall emotional intelligence in the workplace, as well as a soon to be available Emotional Intelligence workshop by global partner Roche-Martin.
Let Gino help you the way he’s helped me.
→ Click here to Schedule a Conversation with Gino Today. ←
Written by Gavin Kai - Ferrin's Marketing Lead