How much did your temper just cost your company?

You just lost your temper in front of your key team members. You stood up, you paced while you ranted, you spit out a chain of four-letter words. You pointed. You could feel your face getting hot, and your voice growing louder and more strident. And when you finished your tantrum and settled back into your seat at the head of the table, silence weighed heavily in the room. Eyes were averted and nobody wanted to be the first to answer your tirade. How much did your temper just cost your company?

The stress is real
You're having a bad day. The company's quarterly numbers are not what you projected. The bank just called to alert you that your line of credit is almost fully extended and you have two large orders for which you still have to purchase raw goods. Your assistant called in sick. And now in your production meeting your team informs you that they are not going to meet the shipping deadline for a brand new customer.

You have eaten, slept, and breathed this company since the day it was only a box under your bed. You have sunk your personal resources into it, and you have sacrificed vacations, family time, and a new car (maybe two) so the business could grow. No wonder you're so angry and frustrated!

The cost of a tantrum
There have been a lot of articles written about the cost of meetings - hourly pay rates for the group are aggregated so you can know that your Monday senior staff meeting is costing (10 people x $30 per hour average pay rate x 4 hours = $1200 per week). What if we applied that same logic to a CEO temper tantrum?

1. People in the production meeting - 6 x $30 per hour = $180
2. Post-meeting discussions about you in the hallway (30 minutes) - 6 x $30 x .5 = $90
3. A half day of reduced productivity from your team while they recover from being yelled at - 6 x $30 x 4 x .5 = $360
4. An hour of your team telling their various direct reports about what happened in the meeting - 6 x $30 = $180
5. ?? _____ days of half-rate productivity by your 50-person team while they resent your lack of appreciation for how hard they are working - 50 x $25 x.5 = $625 per hour
6. If we assume that the impact was one week long, your tantrum cost the company up to $25,000 from reduced productivity (#5) alone!

You get the idea. The emotional wake you leave can cost you real dollars in productivity, turnover, errors and waste, etc. You're not guaranteed that the residual effects will last only a week. As your company grows, the cost of flipping out on your staff grows too.

Sometimes temper is on purpose

A music teacher we know told us a while back that he would swear at his band one time per semester, strategically timed 2 weeks before the upcoming concert. He was not really angry - he used it as a motivational tool, and it did generate a flurry of individual practicing. In business, some well-known entrepreneurs have spoken of temper in similar ways. Perhaps you think that a well-timed display of temper reveals your passion about results, or it demonstrates that you are bright with a discerning eye and high standards.

Why temper doesn't work

You might be startled at the level of impact you have on your team every day, even when not in the throes of a temper display. You, as the CEO, have authority that automatically turns up the volume on your words and actions. Moreover, individuals don't recover immediately from the upset your temper causes them. Depending upon their personalities, and the level of stress they are already having at work and/or at home, this one display of yours may run on auto-repeat in team members' brains for days, weeks, or longer. Every time it repeats, your team members re-experience the negative emotions your behavior elicited.

Fear motivation (temper displays are an example) is only a short term motivator. Your team members eventually grow accustomed to your fiery ways. As they get used to your ranting patterns they develop an immunity to the fear motivation that temper is supposed to generate. They start to discount your outbursts as, "Oh, that's just Joe. He is always blowing off steam."  Once that immunity is well established you may still be angry and frustrated. Performance may still be off target. Your tantrums will no longer move them.

The adult in the room

Granted, you have a lot at stake when your business is struggling. Remember, though, that it is part of your CEO job to assume risk. Despite high stakes and times of testing, it is incumbent on you to be a model of emotional self-control, of grace under pressure. This doesn't mean you no longer have feelings. Rather, it means that you can feel the feels but you resist the urge to turn over the steering wheel to them.