I’m currently reading,The Anger Trap, by Dr. Les Carter. This one comes highly recommended by Johnnythgurue. Anger is the biggest emotional hurdle for most men. Think about it, men have been wired toward anger since the first fight, back in the day. We just have.
Anger, at it’s heart, however is anything but an expression of strength, power, and vitality. Anger flows from an insecure heart and cries for respect. Funny, huh.
Anger may fire up the team before the big game as the “linebackers” push, shove, and swear to get jacked up and kick some grass before the big game. Even for a wimpy spandex clad cyclist like yours truly, angry thoughts can fuel me up the steepest climbs. AND, I’m certain that anger has caused many a warrior to follow the William Wallace’s of the world into all kinds of shit storms that defied logic. Anger can be productive for some things, some of the time.
However, for most of us, the vast majority of the time, anger is anything but productive.
Throughout this work and this study of what builds individual and collective excellence, we’ve surmised that the world is full of mediocre teams and leaders. The great ones are fueled by passionate people that have faced their fears, their insecurities and forged a path toward their big dreams. These leaders, just like you and me, quickly realize that not everyone shares their passion, not everyone moves at their pace, and not everyone has captured the same clarity about “why” we’re going in the first place. These leaders could easily be moved to become impatient and start to grouse and groan about those they’re around that just don’t seem to “get it.” Instead of asking great questions and discovering the disconnect, many leaders just get pissed.
All it takes is a couple moments of unbridled anger to shut the team down. Compliance is coming and mediocrity lies in waiting just up the road. Not good…
The BTL Builder understands that passion and getting pissed are close cousins. They understand that they are capable of both and that only large buckets of LOVE can put out the angry flames within. They understand their bodies early warning signals and head off unbridled anger before it bursts to the face and screams from their mouth. This is not natural. Just like so much of what we’ve come to discover, this virtue can be built. The building process is always slow. Keep building and someday it will become “second nature,” but never natural.
Here, however, is the real problem. Most of us cannot see our own anger because we’re so pissed at the anger of another. Huh?
I’m having a hard time organizing my thoughts and, in fact, I’m starting to get a little pissed about this whole writing process.
More to come…
BUILT TO LEAD 