AUTHOR S AFTERTHOUGHTS

AUTHOR'S AFTERTHOUGHTS

Managing the creative attributes of Emotional Terrorists takes calm, quiet, non-emotional persistence. In the face of tornados at work, you are the calm place, the shelter, the cellar or the quiet serenity model for your staff. If you spin, all will be lost. If you get into anger, fear or blame, all will be lost. If you become a victim, a rescuer or a persecutor, all will be lost. If you are tranquil and persistent over time, that will become the tone of your leadership and the higher ground that your team will go to when under duress. If everyone on your team is on the same page, the Emotional Terrorist will not have a place to spin or create chaos, so they eventually lose control, lose interest, and either become compliant or move on to their next target. I have found that once managers get the hang of this they truly enjoy the refined, professional power of being in a neutral position. The pressure is off and they are able to access their own opinion, ideas, intuitions and creative ideas. I have seen them sit up a little taller, have softer expression on their faces, laugh more frequently, and relax in the knowledge that what they have been doing is actually very, very hard. They give themselves some permission to feel a bit proud of their work. Good managers are a brave lot!. A suggestion I give managers who are trying for the first time to experience neutrality, is to think of themselves as Switzerland. I remind them that Switzerland, as a nation, maintains a politic of neutrality. This is not a weak position in the world. In fact, Switzerland is where the Geneva Convention was held, where Swiss bank accounts are considered the safest, where there are Swiss Army Knives and the best chocolate. The Swiss have a very powerful and well-trained army. They know they have the capacity to defend and attack, but choose not to do so. In that choice, they have remained world leaders and safe haven as neutral ground. They do not participate in the Karpman Drama Triangle sorts of politics of the rest of the world. After I explain Swiss neutrality as a model of strength, I remind them of the chocolate part. It is obvious to me that after any enduring challenge of remaining neutral in the midst of conflict, chocolate is indicated. This is not carte blanche for a binge feeding frenzy, but rather honoring the tradition of many warriors to finish a battle with a "wee bit of chocolate."