Positivity is contagious, and so is negativity.
Positive Minds | Positive Quotes | Edition 023
Once upon a time, I inherited a team where negativity was the norm. Most staff spend their time gossiping about management and colleagues. There was a mood of a cemetery in the office. Defiance and mistrust were omnipresent. The challenge ahead was monumental. To overcome it, I used a powerful management weapon that never fails: positivity.
Eight months after my appointment, my line manager visited the country. As is customary, we started with the office tour, and she chatted with the staff.
At the end of the tour, we had a debriefing on the spot. Below is the short and slightly edited version of our conversation:
My manager: Coul, you're a magician.
Me: [Surprised by the remark] A magician! What makes you say that?
My manager: I visited this office about 18 months ago. It had a graveyard atmosphere, and I could feel the sadness, disengagement and demotivation everywhere. Compared to my last visit, it's like night and day. I saw staff smiling again, committed, motivated, and confident in their management. What's your recipe?
Me: My recipe is simple: positivity, nothing more. And that's what I instilled in the team from my first day with them. The other ingredient in the recipe is trust in others, and I set my trust barometer at 100%. It may seem counterintuitive, but I don't expect people to earn my trust. I give people my trust, and it's up to them to keep it.
The conversation went on. We talked about the strategies, tactics and best practices I used to achieve such results in such a short period.
To team leaders, I say this:
A leader's mood is contagious, doubly so. Be negative; your team will be twice as negative. Be positive; your team will be twice as positive. But remember, positivity doesn't mean utopia or being unrealistic. Positivity means remaining calm and hopeful in challenging and seemingly chaotic situations.
What about you? Do you have a personal or professional story where your positivity helped you overcome challenges?
Positive Minds: Be positive. Think positively. Act positively.
