Why Be Positive?

As a kid, I was a huge fan of Bill Cosby’s comedy records. I particularly liked his routine about his grade school teacher who tried to teach math by rote:

TEACHER: Class, one and one is two.

CLASS: Yeah, cool, man! What’s a two?

Well, rather than fall into the trap of merely asserting “universal truths” and assuming that everyone knows (and agrees with) their significance, I’ll summarize some of the benefits that can result from the YES! Leader’s adoption of positivity in his leadership practice:

1) Emotions are contagious, and the leader is usually the main carrier. People look to the leader to set the emotional tone of the organizational environment. If the leader approaches challenges in a negative way, her mood is likely to rub off on her followers. By contrast, if the leader adopts an optimistic outlook on her people’s ability to deal with current and future challenges, the followers are more likely to believe in their capacity for creating positive outcomes.

2) Learning flourishes in an environment in which people are respected, valued, and empowered to give their best. If the leader conveys a consistent message of high (and attainable) expectations of people’s abilities, along with ongoing support for and recognition of their efforts, then people are more likely to, not just achieve goals, but learn from their experiences and engage in sustained successful performance over time. The true mark of a positive environment is the regular expending of discretionary effort by the organization’s members – doing far more than just the bare minimum.

By contrast, if the leader creates an overall sour mood that doesn’t encourage and support people in their day-to-day work, people are less likely to experience the benefits and payoffs that come from attempting to stretch themselves. Especially if the leader’s mood is inconsistent and erratic, the followers focus less on achieving and learning, more on protecting themselves from the leader’s unpredictable behavior. This can result in an environment in which people are constantly on guard against potential attacks. Simply put, optimal learning can’t occur in a high-stress environment.

3) Positivity sparks a mindset that creates a vision of an ideal future. In their book Becoming a Resonant Leader, authors Annie McKee, Richard Boyatzis, and Frances Johnson refer to this as engaging the Positive Emotional Attractor, which in turn “supports a sustainable change process by increasing our capacity for emotional flexibility, improving our neurological functioning, and increasing our sense of psychological well-being.”

One example of the Positive Emotional Attractor in action can be seen in the process of individual growth and change. Many people embark on development efforts by first identifying the gaps and weaknesses in their arsenal of skills (“If I could only get better at _____, I’d be great”).  But this focus on deficiencies can quickly become demotivating unless the person first paints a mental picture of what life could be like – what he could become – in the future. As McKee et al. say, “The key is that the vision should invoke in our mind a specific, clear picture of the future – one that we find inspiring and feasible.” Creating this vision of the ideal self and the ideal future gives us both a clear direction (to guide our development plans) and an inner passion (to keep us motivated to pursue those plans).

The YES! Leader can reflect this Positive Emotional Attractor in her own development as a leader, by creating and continually refining this detailed vision of her ideal self as a beacon to guide her individual growth. She can also inspire her followers to create their own personal visions by coaching them in their development efforts. And she can inspire the entire organization by encouraging the adoption of the Positive Emotional Attractor as a mindset to guide everyone in their daily interactions – by expecting the best of every encounter and working collaboratively to bring it to fruition, rather than wallowing in the factors that keep them stuck in the current reality.

Painting an ideal future will not by itself lead to realizing that future – but it’s a necessary starting point for a development journey that could easily involve multiple speed bumps and barriers along the way. As Jim Collins notes in describing the Stockdale Paradox, an optimistic belief in the power to change and a realistic acknowledgment of the current reality must go hand in hand. The latter without the former leads to discouragement and demoralization. The former without the latter leads to an unrealistic assessment of the challenges ahead – which, when encountered, lead to discouragement and demoralization as well.