How to manage the emotions of an entrepreneur

Accelerate your business with these expert tips on "How to manage the emotions of an entrepreneur". Analyse and discover this TIP!

Three steps to manage your emotions as an entrepreneur

• The first is to realise that you are feeling that emotion.

It has been shown that the simple act of stopping and labelling it (at this moment I am feeling fear, anger...) already helps to lower the intensity of the emotion, thereby From that perspective you can now better face the challenge.

• The second step is to use a strategy to stop that negative emotion.

And one strategy can be to take your mind somewhere other than the problem you keep thinking about.

This resource is referred to as emotional patch, because it takes your mind off the emotion you are feeling at a given moment by thinking about something else, by taking your attention elsewhere.

• Y, the third step, is that, little by little, train your brain so that, in response to the same stimulus, the emotion you feel is less intense. Use mindfulness (+) y kaizen (+).

It may sound like a joke, entrepreneurship is not just a matter of managing human and financial resources, taking risks and making decisions. -which is complex enough as it is, but rather, You also have to know how to manage your emotions, both your own and those of the team.

For the first challenge, because this is about challenges, we can - and must - be prepared, but for the second, how do we prepare ourselves to face the roller coaster of emotions that any entrepreneur will face - yes or yes - in his or her adventure?

I recommend Mario Alonso Puig, the greatest specialist in personal development.

High emotional charge

Entrepreneurs face a lot of emotional changes, one day you think you're the king of the mambo and the next day you're down and want to give it all up. Entrepreneurship is emotionally charged. 

In addition to one's own emotions, the entrepreneur is also confronted with those related to people management, which, perhaps, are the most complex, because they not only affect employees, but also partners, investors, employees, customers... 

Not forgetting also the management of emotions related to life as a couple, family, friends... which go hand in hand with the entrepreneur's life.

Managing emotions is necessary, for survival reasons, you have to be aware of this type of situation and know how to manage the emotions that arise around them, because you can destroy people's lives.

Positive emotions

No doubt about it, The situation of an entrepreneur is very particular because he or she is constantly moving in an environment of change and uncertainty: market, turnover, competition, customers...

The brain perceives this context as a danger in the same way that a person perceives the danger of being near a lion.

Faced with this situation of uncertainty, the brain reacts in the best possible way to protect us physically and that is why the emotions of anger, fear, stress... appear.

If we look at it from that point of view, they are positive emotions because their intention is to protect us.

That fear, which is an appropriate emotion, is good because it prepares us to face the challenges we face.

Fear generates adrenaline and cortisol in our brain to increase our capacity to pay attention, react, concentrate...

The problem arises when this fear is so great that it paralyses us, blocks us...

"What we have in front of us takes us so far out of our comfort zone that we are not able to connect with the resources that the entrepreneur has to be able to face that challenge".argues Rosa Cañamerofounding partner of Execoach.

But, Could the cause of this fear, of this uncertainty, be the lack of training and/or experience on the part of the entrepreneur when it comes to entrepreneurship? Fear is generated by the unknown.

Then, When you have to face something you don't know, if you don't have the necessary resources, such as experience and/or adequate training, it makes you feel more insecure, because I won't be able to achieve my goal.

Negative emotions

That fear, that could be controlled, is even more accentuated if you anticipate the negative consequences of that happening. In other words, faced with the same situation, Two people with the same knowledge and experience may feel a different fear. Logically, when you have lived an experience before, you are less afraid because you know what the danger, the risk, the consequences can be.

I recommend the visualisation technique to deal with this situation: Imagine that you are living it over and over again and, as you do so, it allows you to be calmer to deal with it.

For example: A person may be very prepared for public speaking, but may be terrified, because in the internal dialogue in his or her head there are only negative things.

Criminalising fear

That fear, that uncertainty that floods the day-to-day running of a project, also It's because when you start up and leave everything you had before to dedicate yourself completely to a new project, it's very dizzying.

And you ask yourself questions such as: How sure am I that this is going to go ahead, and if it doesn't, you're left with nothing? 

In the face of this, it is normal for doubts, fears and insecurities to arise?Objectively, it is scary. And, on the other hand, On many occasions, you get into businesses where you may not be 100% proficient in the subject and that makes you more stressed than usual. 

The ideal is to surround yourself with a team that is specialised in the areas you do not master.. But to have equipment you need resources, which you probably don't have. This is why entrepreneurship is very complicated. It would be very rare for an entrepreneur not to be under pressure and/or scared.

Nor is it a question of criminalising this fear, because it is what can give you a little push, which makes you very alert, very permeable, and if you are a conscious and quick person you will realise that you will have to train, that you will have to make an effort....

For that, Accelerators like mentorDay play a very important role, because they help a lot in this line. Each person and each project is a universe. No two projects are alike, mainly because of the people who manage them. How you orientate it can change a lot. Depending on the personality of each entrepreneur, the venture will have one face or another.

Setting limits

I recommend setting limits: When starting a business, the main rule for managing the rollercoaster of emotions is to set limits.

When you do a project on paper it looks one way, but when you start to put it into action and you face the market, the customers, the competitors... you are faced with a completely different scenario.

That's when you must have a plan to protect yourself by avoiding, among other things, work long hours, because even if you think you are putting in a lot of energy, what will happen eventually is that you will end up exhausted, burnt out.

And, the only way for a project, whatever its profile, to be successful or to go ahead is that the people behind it have enough energy to carry it out, and that is achieved by taking good care of yourself, getting the sleep you need, eating well, and so on. (see TIP)

Draw red lines

When you start out you have to draw them. But those red lines They don't only have to be economic, they can be family, psychological, leisure time... whatever one considers. And if you cross them, you have to stop.

They cannot be crossed. The problem is when an entrepreneur in love with his project believes blindly in it and starts to cross red lines in personal relationships, family relationships, economic relationships... This is when problems arise.

Yes, for example, remortgaging your home to meet your company's payments is not only a problem for you but also for your partner. Often, we forget that and from a selfish perspective we think that they have to support us against all odds.

And, it is necessary, to put oneself in the other's shoes. You have to have unconditional support, but it's better to know how to manage those red lines. And you have to know that your family circle loves you, but when they see you suffering, they also have a hard time.

I have to try not to pass it on to my family, especially, You can tell your partner that you are having a bad time, because he or she will end up worrying a lot and that will generate more stress for you.

Managing the emotions and feelings of the entrepreneur's team

It should not be forgotten that in this whole process, entrepreneurship is closely related to people management: partners, employees, customers, competitors, suppliers...

The most powerful tool for conveying and telling stories is the storytelling. People often approach a company because of the story the company tells, the impact and the footprint it wants to leave on the world.

How that purpose is conveyed is the basis, the pillar of culture, which must be built on purpose.

And the way for that to permeate the organisation is to create a storytelling. That story must be very internalised in the entrepreneur and his entire team so that it is passed on from one to the other.

When working in a team, one must have the ability to take a systemic view of the team. If it is the vision of the individual that is paramount, i.e. the personal objectives, then that team does not work.

A team is strong when every member is strong, i.e, is self-confident, and relationships between members are also strong.

And, for that, it always has to a win-win philosophy must prevail. And, for that, You have to be very generous, in the sense that your triumph is my triumph, because what you are looking for is the triumph of the team as the only objective.

Individual objectives must always be at the service of the team. In the same way, there must be rules agreed by all that set the way forward. The worker is not just an employee, but a person who has feelings, goals, talents, good days and bad days....

That is why, It is very important to build an ecosystem where everyone has a voice. It is very important to empower others, because if you are aware that you are given responsibility and that your judgement is taken into account you will be much more motivated, much more involved in the project and you will also be more creative. It is better to have five heads in your head than two.

Encourage your entire team, including interns, to participate in the meetings to contribute their ideas, we ask for feedback (+), we encourage it to be very participative.

Managing emotions:

When you mark your purpose (+), emotional management is much easier, because you know that whatever situation is going to happen, it is temporary, and that you have a purpose and that is where you have to go. And that is above and beyond any temporary situation.

Emotional management takes you to the concrete, that is to say, to a moment of anger, rage, frustration? If you manage to abstract and observe from above, it will help you to follow the direction of your purpose. Emotion management has a process and that process starts with purpose.

The first step is to know what you are setting up your project for and where you want to go. It is necessary to be clear about the difference between the vision (+), which is what we want to be as a company, and purpose, which is what we want to be for.

For example: Google's vision a few years ago could be defined as Being the search engine of reference, while the purpose would be: "to organise the world's information".

The second step is emotional management itselfi.e, as you know that you are going to live on a roller coaster of sensations, you must learn to manage emotionally what all this entails. 

And the The third step is strategy and practice, i.e, implementation.  Practice the mindfulness (+); or the yoga every week; has a very controlled daily routine. Another recommendation to manage emotions is to have a mentor and/or a coach as a tool to manage emotions.

When there are so many emotions running so high, you need someone to put a bit of moderation, experience and content to give weight to the project. It is important to have a real conversation about growth with a mentor, with a friend, with a colleague, with a partner, in short, with a person you trust, in whom you recognise what your fears are, what is wrong with you, what your weaknesses are, what your objectives are, what your hopes are... 

Such a conversation helps to create a space of equilibrium. If one goes in with too many fears or too little confidence or too much narcissism or conceit, we know how the project will end. If it is already complicated to start a business, imagine what it will be like to do it without knowing yourself, your team, your customers, the market?

It is important to know yourself in order to know your strengths and weaknesses. When you know what your fears and shortcomings are, even if you don't get rid of them completely, you can get to minimising risks.

This is not about passion!