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Trustologie® is a leadership development consultancy founded by Marie-Claire Ross, specialising in helping executives and managers build high-trust, high-performing teams.
4 min read
Research has found that leaders who promote positive energy have a significant impact on innovation, organisational performance and employee satisfaction. This requires leaders who prioritise being positive and exuding a positive, upbeat energy in order to maintain enthusiasm in their team, even when things get difficult.
This entails holding a steadfast belief that challenges will be overcome, no matter the circumstances. It's about trusting that as a team, you will navigate obstacles and pave a way forward. Embracing the reality that setbacks will occur, yet refusing to let negative occurrences deter your progress.
Maintaining a mindset of positivity and hopefulness, you seek out the lessons in setbacks and use them to clarify your goals. It involves being open to questioning your assumptions with humility, and being willing to adapt and refine your approach when things don't go as planned.
Is it easy?
Hell, no.
It requires trust. It requires belief. It requires steadfast focus that no matter what happens we have done our best. And it requires internal transformation. Few of us are born this way.
As human beings we struggle to feel good about ourselves. Our work. Our effort. We always feel that when things go wrong, we are being punished or that we aren't good enough. We have knee-jerk reactions that throw us into panic.
And that's where inspired optimism comes in.
Inspired optimism is when we view all conditions as beneficial. Changing conditions, obstacles and moving targets are seen as opportunities to learn, adapt and grow.
Inspired optimism requires being willing to address both failure and success, rather than the typical leadership approach of favouring one over the other. Consequently, it generates high levels of psychological safety, because errors and concerns are openly discussed, ensuring the team can course correct and avert a potential crisis.
This approach fosters a sense of empowerment within your team, reassuring them that they have the capability to achieve anything. By remaining flexible and open to change, you demonstrate a willingness to adapt your plans as needed. When faced with challenges, your primary focus will be on finding solutions rather than assigning blame.
Encouraging a collaborative approach to addressing issues, you prevent the burden from falling solely on a select few individuals, fostering a sense of unity and shared responsibility within the team.
In my interactions with leadership teams, I often encounter executives who radiate positivity and enthusiasm for the company's vision, sparking a contagious energy that motivates employees towards their shared goals.
These leaders actively seek out fresh ideas and innovative approaches from their team members, celebrating milestones like securing a new client with genuine excitement. Their corporate communications are infused with an optimistic glow making their employees feel fuzzy and warm inside.
However, there is a hidden downside to this unwavering positivity: a reluctance to address issues that are not going as planned. Missed targets are glossed over, and discussions on what's not working are avoided. This phenomenon, known as blind optimism or blind positivity, can gradually lead to a toxic work culture within the company.
Toxic positivity perpetuates the unrealistic belief that simply maintaining a positive mindset can solve any problem, disregarding the underlying issues within the organisation. It places the burden on individuals to cope within a flawed system, neglecting the importance of empathy, compassion, and honest communication in addressing the true challenges faced by employees to meet the vision.
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