Being Mad in March

If you are a college basketball fan the end of March can’t come fast enough each year. March Madness has become a brand identity for the three week period when 64 of the nation’s best men’s teams play in their version of a national championship tournament. Even casual fans are lured into the office pool or find themselves cheering for an underdog team to win the big prize. It is a time of annual “madness” when the expected and unexpected collide to entertain and frustrate us. But that isn’t what I’m going to write about in this week’s post.

The madness in my title isn’t referring to the rabid passions of a committed basketball fan. Instead I want to invite conversation about another kind of “mad”, the primary emotion we know as anger. There seems to be plenty of this “madness” to go around these days. People are angry about lots of things – from joblessness to the Iraq war, from free speech to health care reform. The rhetoric and partisan language of our current political debate only serves to ignite this emotion even further.

As a leader you already know how dangerous anger can be. While the basic premise of anger may have some merit – indignation over what is unjust or shameful comes to mind – it is generally associated with actions that result in far less worthy endeavors. These may include everything from feelings of frustration or hostility to a violent loss of self-control manifested in rage and destructive behavior. Workplaces are known to harbor various degrees of anger among employees, within teams, and between management and the rank and file. Every era has seen its share of madness gone awry as deep-seeded emotions give way to aberrant behavior. Death, disability, and emotional trauma are the result of madness left unchecked.

Arrogance is anger in disguise and leaders may find this form of anger to be their greatest enemy. Because arrogance is often buried deep within our psyche we may fail to acknowledge or recognize its inherent dangers. Arrogant people are more controlled in their responses so it is hard to detect the level of hostility behind a cold glare or a deeply clenched jaw line. Leaders are often tempted by ego; arrogance seizes this agenda quickly and with a vengeance.

Egocentric leaders have a need to appear bigger and stronger in order to seem in control. The slightest of wounds is taken as a severe threat so these leaders often go on the attack in order to protect their insecure self-image. Anger-driven arrogance may attack others through blistering criticism to deflect attention from the leader’s own imperfections.

Unfortunately the level of anger has become more intense in recent months. The economic malaise, anxiety over mounting government debt, job losses, home foreclosures, and the recent highly partisan health care debate are pushing reasonable people to the brink. Leaders in these times would do well to understand how their own disguised anger may be fueling the madness in others. Last fall my need for a tidy landscape brought me face-to-face with a nest of yellow jackets that cared little for my worthy goal and instead punished me soundly with a ruthless attack that left me sore for days. It doesn’t pay to make bees mad and humans are no different.

Controlling anger is like trying to slow a runaway train with a toothpick. We need to understand what caused the train to lose control in the first place. Leaders would do well to be more introspective and honest about the many ways we hide our anger. Then we must show others how to love and extend grace, creating a workplace where giving supersedes winning. Leaders must learn how to stop the madness (in March and every other month of the year).