It seems rather intuitive that emotions can affect decision making but confidence has a specific affect on how others see your decisions. In a prior career, air traffic control, we were taught to project confidence in our voices. A great deal of air traffic control is making decisions, often quickly, in rather congested air space. At busy times, such as when the base's fighters were recovering, a controller makes choices on determining how aircraft will be sequenced, what parts of the airspace to use, and even deciding between different types of approaches a pilot can be cleared for in order to expedite traffic. Not every request a pilot makes is granted. Confidence in these choices is gained through a rigorous training process.
I recall working a wing recovery in poor weather when a KC-135 took a lightening strike. Lightening strikes on aircraft aren't typically fatal but they can damage aircraft. The pilot declared an emergency and requested clearance to land. Aircraft declare emergencies for many reasons and they are common enough in military aviation that controllers see enough of them not to panic. That being said, they can cause a great deal of disruption to an otherwise orderly pattern. Also the pilots are looking for the best vectors they can get in order to get to an airfield without delay. Not every emergency is the same but the procedure for handling them in air traffic control is the same and that is to expedite the aircraft's safe return and to make every effort to not delay the aircraft. There are other things we need to do but they aren't germane to the choice I had to make. In this case I had to vector the aircraft away from the airfield for a few miles as a second aircraft had failed to make radio contact with the tower. The second aircraft could not have picked a worse time to fiddle with his radio and he was taking his time getting down final. In order to ensure the KC-135 was safe I had to build a few extra miles of separation between the second aircraft and the emergency aircraft. Vectoring away from final during an emergency is something that is not ordinarily a good idea but when I issued the vector I explained, in my best controller voice, why and the pilot accepted this information and took the turn. It was the best way to ensure every aircraft was safe, the slow-poke on final who forgot radio was a thing, and the emergency aircraft. The delay was only a few miles but that can make a great deal of difference to an aircraft in distress. I was confident it was the safest move and the pilot accepted the vector without question.
I could have let my anxiety creep into my voice and that could have raised concerns in the pilot's mind that I wasn't keeping things safe, especially with a rather unorthodox procedure. To be sure I had a great deal of anxiety over the situation but in the end I trusted that what I was doing was correct. The pilot on final suddenly remembered he had a radio by the final approach fix (in fairness he likely keyed up an incorrect frequency by accident but at the time I wasn't feeling charitable) and I had built the extra few miles of separation I needed. Both aircraft landed safely. Anger at the aircraft that wasn't in radio contact also enters your mind but there isn't much you can do about it except try to contact the aircraft on emergency channels. While that may have been an option it takes time and there is no guarantee the pilot will answer their either, although they are supposed to. All the while the KC-135 would have been getting closer. I am still not 100 sure that I couldn't have used "guard" as we called the distress frequencies but I had to trust myself. Had the pilot had a more severe emergency such as cabin decompression or an onboard fire I may have used the emergency frequencies. So, a certain amount of subjective reasoning on my part was undertaken, and while that isn't an emotion it plays a part in assigning value to a decision.
Lately I have been working with a few cases that are increasingly difficult. These are particularly trying emotionally as one can get very frustrated and begin to let negative emotions affect decision making. I will never say that I am perfect but I do try very hard to remind myself that I cannot let those emotions change how I approach things. But it has happened.
Without dabbling into politics it should come as no surprise to anyone that reads my work that I tend to lean left. I say that so that I can say I also freely admit that people do game the system. It doesn't happen as often as portrayed on some media sources but it does occur. Thankfully sooner or later it catches up with people.
I had a patient that I was working with who was like this and I became so frustrated that I started finding myself giving this patient incomplete advice. This patient was one that Dr. Shiv was referring to in this video; he took up all my time. I wouldn't not see the patient or attempt to do my job but it is fair to say that this person wasn't getting my best work. Knowing that I did that, affected my confidence with other patients. A bit of shame creeps in and my own personal demons of extra self-doubt started their chorus. In times like this it is good to take a small break and come back refreshed and this is what I did. But during that time where I was experiencing what is called "compassion fatigue" the other patients noticed that I wasn't at my best. Or in the words of one patient, "what's wrong with you?" This wasn't a moment of personal epiphany but I did take stock of how my emotions were affecting how I was doing my job and consequently the decisions I was making; patients were getting less than they needed to make their own decisions. Guilt, shame, and some self-directed anger were all going through my head. Thankfully a day off and some rest allowed me to get out of the funk. Many of my co-workers have similar experiences and it's nice knowing that others "get it."
In many ways I find what I do now more intellectually draining than air traffic control. ATC could leave you exhausted and stressed out but it was also something that is dynamic and quite simply...fun. Working with people takes something out of you every day. This is important for leaders to understand. People will push your emotional buttons and knowing how to manage and work with those emotions is a critical skill.
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