Do you ever wonder how your daily outlook might affect the quality of your leadership? Have you ever thought about making a conscious choice about your outlook? You see, we know that all behaviors are born out of BELIEF. So, whether you’re looking ahead and seeing success for your organization (optimism) or you are looking ahead and seeing trouble (pessimism), you are sharing your beliefs about the future of your company. By the way, you’re also teaching your followers a lesson. What will you teach today?
There are certainly times where either perspective is prudent. In fact, according to Annie Murphy Paul in Psychology Today, “science now sees optimism and pessimism not as good or bad outlooks you’re born with but as mindsets to adopt as situations demand.” This means that your outlook is indeed, a CHOICE. For example, if you look ahead and see risk, it’s appropriate to take a more conservative approach. However, If we don’t take the time to think about our outlook and be intentional about our mindset, we run the risk of teaching the wrong lesson. The question then becomes, “which organizational belief do I choose to build?”
Please don’t think that this is a black or white decision, because it’s not. Optimism and pessimism fall on a continuum and one might even include the outlook of “realist” somewhere in the middle. For example, a pessimistic approach focuses on risk and why we shouldn’t do something, whereas the optimistic approach looks at opportunity and growth, and the realist stays grounded in maintaining the status quo. So as you address your daily decisions, think about the choice at hand and the beliefs you want to build for your organization. While there is room (and a need) for both perspectives, my challenge to you today is to make a conscious decision about the lessons you are going to teach.
That being said, I will argue strongly that the world belongs to the optimist. Now, I’m not talking about a false, Pollyanna approach, here. I’m talking about a mindset that sends a clear message that even in the face of adversity, our company will be successful. Optimistic leaders paint a vivid picture of future success. They build a sense of resiliency and a culture of innovation, agility and toughness. Pessimism avoids risk and realism promotes stagnancy. They are the ‘safe’ mindsets, but lead to little growth. Optimism drives improvement and innovation and that is why the world belongs to the optimist.
To learn more about the power of belief and the benefits of choosing optimism, contact FutureSYNC International at (406) 254-2326.