Observe the 24-hour Email Rule

Almost every leader has a cautionary tale about an email they wish they’d never sent. The worst examples tend to be messages dashed off in a fit of anger or accusation. While the feelings may be justified, angry or accusatory emails are rarely effective. The next time you feel the urge to send a nasty or aggressive email, make sure to give it the 24-hour test. After completing the email you wrote while angry, don’t press “send” just yet. Instead, return to it 24 hours later to see if it’s really worth sending as is, if it could use some tweaking, or if on second thought it should head to your trash folder.

Great leaders never let anger overshadow the effectiveness of their communications.