Think before you act

I have gotten better at recognizing my emotions and when I get triggered by things. When I was younger, I would react immediately. Instead of biting my tongue, I would fire back at someone. Instead of letting an email sit for a while, I replied immediately to it while still in the throes of an emotional reaction.

Today I received a work email that triggered some emotions. I was trying to understand why the email was generated, and I’m still puzzled. It’s an email that went to the client for the account I manage where I was copied without knowing it was going it. Another director presented a resource to my client. This resource was billed as a strong Project Manager, but I have no experience working with him. In fact, I happen to know some inside baseball about why he was let go from the client he’s been at the last couple of months.

Normally, I would interview a resource before presenting someone to the client. I want to get a feel for the person, especially if I haven’t worked with the person before. I also have a good understanding of my client’s needs, so I am the best person to assess the fit of the resource.

I haven’t replied to the email. I’m waiting for an opportunity to talk with the director and have a conversation so I can explain my concern with his approach.