May 14, 2020: Question Series #19
Written By: Marc Moskowitz
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It is so easy to get down on ourselves and each other in business and in our personal lives. All around us there are bad things happening in the world from crime to rapidly spreading viruses to stock market crashes and freak accidents that take peoples’ lives. It’s a non-stop, 24/7 cycle of bad news. You might be asking, So why the Question Series article about positive thinking? Well, in times of darkness and challenge, it is exactly this positive thinking that often times lifts us out of the ruins of despair.
This article will be focused on how positive thinking can help you in the business world, but I do want to prove to you that it also helps in every aspect of your life. Just look around. Who are the most successful people, not just financially, but life in general? I’d be willing to bet they are super positive people! Almost too positive! Positivism is infectious and it wills people to do great things that many of us never thought possible. I’m hoping that this is what wills us to overcome this COVID-19 virus pandemic.
Without making any political statements, just think about the United States presidential campaigns of the last 40 or 50 years. The ones that have run with the most positive message have won, just about every time. Those that have run on status-quo or saying that everything is wrong with our country have lost. The few times where the difference in messages was incredibly stark, it was a landslide. People like positivity, even with our politicians. It is why personality and message matter!
In the business world, the power of positive thinking is also a game changer and can help you win more often. It’s true that not everything in business will be positive or have a positive outcome, but if you’re a leader (big or small), it is critical that you lead with positivity. There are decades of research on the power of positivity. One of the most well-known papers was written by a psychologist named Barbara L. Fredrickson entitled The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. In it, she theorizes the ability of positive emotions to not only make you feel good temporarily, but have benefits over time in many aspects of your life. The following are direct quotes from her work:
positive emotions broaden the scopes of attention, cognition and action, and that they build physical, intellectual, and social resources
resilient people have optimistic, zestful and energetic approaches to life, are curious and open to new experiences, and are characterized by high-positive emotionality
Other researchers have also found similar things. Isen, Daubman, Estrada, and Means state that:
people experiencing positive affect show patterns of thought that are notably unusual, flexible, creative, integrative, open to information and efficient
What is not to like about all the benefits the business world can reap from the power of being positive? Further, the research goes on to say that being positive builds up over time and helps to eliminate fears and trauma from negative experiences. Simply amazing and relevant to taking calculated risks in business. It reinforces many of our famous entrepreneurs’ stories where they failed many times before becoming overwhelmingly successful. Think of Michael Jordan, Mark Cuban, Walt Disney, JK Rowling, and, yes, even Colonel Sanders. What do they (and many other famous failures) have in common? They not only were persistent, they always kept a positive mindset, and often times made others feel the same way.
Transitioning back to the business world, I want to outline several themes that can help you achieve greater results, as a leader of people or even as an individual contributor. These should help you build a strong career path and enjoy more success over time. I’ll break the themes into two areas: 1) What you can do as an individual to create positivity around you and 2) What kinds of things you can do with your team to drive positivism throughout the organization.
What can you do as an individual to create a positive buzz around yourself and improve your performance? In no specific order, here are several things that have worked for me and many of my mentors:
- Cherish the small victories, even if no one else cares. A victory is a victory, no matter how small it is. Lots of small victories often add up to really large victories. Celebrate yourself every time you accomplish something that helps you move the needle on a larger objective.
- Constantly remind yourself that overall your job is a good one and not everyone is as lucky as you are. I know, I know. I can hear you saying I hate my job or my boss is less than ideal, etc. However, look at the big picture of life and realize that many people can’t find a job at any given time and that you can change your situation, if it’s really that bad.
- Dress for success and for yourself. I hate wearing suits. I really do. However, dressing for success doesn’t mean you have to be dressed up like you’re going to an interview. It means dressing comfortably and in a style that makes your inner self shine. For me it’s my favorite jeans, black dress shoes, and a comfortable shirt. For several of my colleagues it’s a three piece suit or a blazer. No matter. When you’re comfortable you’re more likely to be positive and happy. Recall all the creative energy that happens in startup companies where people dress casually and can be themselves more often. Positive = More Creative!
- Give back at work to professional organizations or personally. Those who give back are generally more positive people. Seeing someone smile or pitching in to get something done for others is priceless. There are many reasons why companies that champion volunteerism see better results. It creates higher employee engagement and makes the employee feel better about themselves and their company. Don’t believe me? Here are a few studies that prove the point: Business News Daily/Deloitte, PwC, BBVA.
So, now that you know what kinds of things you can do to make yourself more positive, here are several things you can do to make your team more positive. It’s one of the most important aspects of being a great leader. I call it being a positive multiplier. I think of it as a math equation…it’s exponential in terms of your ability to influence a large team or organization.
- No matter what the situation is tell the truth and highlight the way up and/or out of a bad situation. Your team wants to hear the truth…even if it’s ugly. The best thing you can do is start with the bad news and then turn it in a positive direction with how you are going to help make things better. Don’t let the team dwell on the bad news. There is always something positive to be had even in a bad situation. It’s truly where most heroes are born. If you look carefully, you’ll find a ton of CEOs and other executives who make careers out of turning bad situations into positive ones!
- Always celebrate the victories. Similar to my advice throughout The Question Series, quick wins (90 days or less) are immensely valuable for so many reasons, but positive vibes are one of the biggest. Routine winning breeds more winning and the development of a winning culture. This is the reason why certain sports teams and companies always seem to win. Think the New England Patriots, New York Yankees, and St. Louis Cardinals. They’ve all built a culture of winning, across generations.
- Find work time to be social. No, not everyone on your team will be best friends. However, throughout my 20+ years of leading teams, the ones that have played together have tended to stay together and perform better. A lot of it was the positivity generated by team events, social gatherings, and learning together. Part of it was not expecting all of these activities to happen on personal time (after standard working hours). If you do too much of that, some people get annoyed and feel like they have to make a choice between family and work. Balance it out, have some fun and support each other. You’ll see the difference!
- Make recognition and rewards personal. This is a favorite of mine and so easy to do. Getting a reward is always nice, but getting something near and dear to your heart is even better. To this day, my favorite recognition isn’t a cash reward, a trophy, or recognition in front of my peers. It’s something that my manager knew was a passion of mine because he took the time to learn about me as an individual. He knew it would make me feel extraordinarily happy and positive. It worked. The reward were tickets to see my favorite baseball team in the World Series. The value and positive vibes to me was far beyond the cost to the company. Get to know what makes your employees happy!
- Fire your team up about your industry, company, career growth opportunities, and/or the valuable experiences they are getting right now. People always want to see a brighter future and personal opportunities. It is the key incentive that makes for happy employees and positive attitudes. That said, all of these things may not be positive at a given moment or job assignment. Your job as a leader is to figure out which ones are positive for each of your employees and focus on those. As an example, your company may be having financial troubles or promotion opportunities are scarce. That doesn’t mean things can’t be positive. I’ve gained some of my most valuable experiences during difficult times for one reason or another. It’s all about perspective. Humans react differently to these kinds of variables, so make it easy for them to see through the negatives and come out the other side feeling positive.
- Encourage your employees to follow their passions outside of work. This tip is an interesting one as a lot of companies see this as a negative. However, I believe it’s one of the biggest factors in keeping people more positive and more productive. There are a myriad of reasons why I think this is true for employees following their passions outside of work. These reasons include: gaining new learned skills and bringing them back to their work, not burning out on too much work, feeling more fulfilled in life, and often times not being afraid to lose their jobs. That last reason may be a head scratcher for you, but employees who are not afraid to lose their job are almost always better performing. I won’t go into my research here, but it’s all about the decision making and risk taking.
I hope you have found these tips useful and I’m certain you will see results if you try them out. There is so much negativity all around us today, that positive people are more effective than ever and doing good in the world around us. Keep up the good fight, and let me know what you think! I’d love to create a version 2.0 and add your items to the list.
Thanks for reading!
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