How do You Stay Positive?
I’d like you to try a little experiment. Remember the first day of your first real job. What happened that caused you to hide the expression on your face so no one else could see the silly grin that spread from ear to ear? Remember what triggered the response and what the response felt like.
Cynicism is a disease that is pervasive in our society and, like a cancer, it holds the possibility of our death. Listen to people in your workplace talking about a new hire. "Did you see the new kid in accounting? Grinning from ear to ear, filled with new ways to fix all month, and this place will wipe that grin off his face."
Variations of that conversation get repeated over coffee in organizations from coast to coast and I’ve never heard of one incident of a leader who has walked over and said, "Excuse me, but don’t ever let me hear something like that again! In our organization we want people to join us all fired-up about the possibilities and to stay that way for their entire career. And, by the way, if you don’t feel excitement about what you do here on a daily basis, maybe your résumé needs dusting off!" Can you see yourself delivering that message? I hope so.
In order to deliver that message convincingly, you need to be enthusiastic about your job and show it. Not necessarily in big ways, but in small, consistent ways. Body language, tone of voice, expressions of glee, and expressions of concern are all ways people make judgments about how you’re feeling about your job. Leaders who are excited about what they’re doing on a daily basis create environments where cynicism has a hard time taking root.
As a leader, you are not, however, expected to be up all the time; you do get to be human. Discouraged, tired, and frustrated hapour problems." "Yeah, what a hoot! Don’t worry, just give him a pen to all of us. You do need to have strategies to make your own attitude adjustments and, upon occasion, do them publicly. A lot to ask of a leader, isn’t it? Just remember, it’s why they pay you the big bucks.