Christina’s blog on how our thoughts shape our actions and thus our character, was a timely reminder for me this week. I have continued to ruminate about how our personal leadership experiences become part of our personal identity and how we have to guard ourselves emotionally (and ethically) against negative impact we may incur.
I strive to maintain a positive outlook in circumstances, mostly for the primary reasons that Christina discusses. I have long held that our thoughts determine how we relate to others, and how we may achieve success (ccbeau, 2019). In the workplace, this means that I sometimes have to “put a good face on it”, or intentionally craft a “party line”, or have a predetermined positive discussion point for any negative situation. This can often include an emotional component and I have to mask my own negative thoughts and emotions, cover them with positive ones, in order for those whom I lead to have confidence that I have it all in hand. This week, in particular, when dealing with situations at work, I have come home and have felt like it is only one private corner in which I can truly express my negative thoughts and emotions. Once I walk out the door the next day, I have to put on my leader face again.
Victor Lipman speaks to this power of positive thinking in a leadership role in his article, “Why a Positive Mindset is a Manager’s Indispensable Ally”. He says that having a positive mindset helps a leader to get through constantly being “on” and publicly performing for various audiences. Training our thoughts to focus on the positive helps to build resiliency in order to counter the many negative headwinds that come our way on a daily basis. He also states that people are more likely to follow a leader who is confidently positive. A leader’s optimism, attitude, and general mindset goes a long way to building trust with employees, and giving them positive encouragement for their journey as well (Lipman, 2017).
For me, having a positive outlook is generally easy. However, there have been, and continue to be times in my leadership journey where I have to put significant effort into training my thoughts to focus on the positive, and lay aside my own negativity, cynicism, disappointments, or fears. The ultimate goal has been to be the steadying factor for those whom I lead. If they see my negativity, they begin to accept their own, and begin to lose confidence in the organization as a whole. Training our thoughts as leaders can be a type of self-sacrifice, but in the long run, a benefit to our followers, and to our own well being.
References:
Ccbeau. (2019, November 3). Light of Many Lamps – Unit 6. [web log comment]. Retrieved from https://create.twu.ca/ccbeau/2018/11/03/light-of-many-lamps-unit-6/
Lipman, V. (2017, October 12). Why a positive mindset is a manager’s indispensable ally. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/victorlipman/2017/10/12/why-a-positive-mindset-is-a-managers-indispensable-ally/#dc4bd764425c