Emotion regulation: when should managers change strategy?
When tension arises, some managers consistently try to reassure people, while others step back or pause the conversation. Within the “Emotional Intelligence” programme at SHR — Swiss Human Resources, one question therefore deserves close attention: what evidence should prompt a manager to change approach?
What the literature establishes
George A. Bonanno and Charles L. Burton (2013, Perspectives on Psychological Science) offer a synthesis of regulatory flexibility rather than a universal ranking of emotion regulation strategies. Their framework distinguishes sensitivity to context, access to a repertoire of responses, and the ability to modify behaviour in response to feedback. The issue is therefore not simply knowing a technique, but assessing whether it fits an evolving situation.
The mechanism: adjusting rather than repeating
Todd B. Kashdan and Jonathan Rottenberg (2010, Clinical Psychology Review) describe psychological flexibility as the capacity to respond to changing situational demands while maintaining important goals. Their review highlights the limitations of considering a strategy separately from its context and function. At work, this suggests distinguishing two criteria: has discomfort decreased, and can the conversation now move the issue forward?
The premature conclusion
One might conclude that a good manager should switch methods whenever an unpleasant emotion persists. This would confuse flexibility with the pursuit of immediate relief: a necessary discussion can remain uncomfortable without being unproductive. A more relevant criterion would be the gap between the stated objective and the observable effects of the chosen approach. (our executive and employee training programmes)
What these findings cannot prescribe
Both articles are reviews, not trials demonstrating the effectiveness of a protocol among team managers in Fribourg. They provide neither a universal threshold for switching strategies nor evidence that more frequent switching improves performance. In bilingual industry, silence may reflect the time needed to formulate a response or technical uncertainty: immediately treating it as an emotional blockage would be an interpretation, not an observation.
A practical check in Fribourg
In Fribourg, SHR could propose the following test for teams in agri-food businesses, bilingual industry or the university sector: for two weeks, document tense conversations requiring a decision, without recording sensitive personal data. For each conversation, record the objective, the initial approach, the cue that prompted its continuation or adjustment, and whether the participants explicitly agreed on a next step. The measure would be the proportion of conversations reaching that next step, distinguishing cases with and without an adjustment. This comparison would support a review of practices, not establish that switching strategies caused a better outcome. To go further: explore the Emotional Intelligence training in Fribourg, or browse our executive and employee training programmes in Switzerland.
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