Power of Positivity

The next entry in my series on power is the power of positivity, which can have a huge impact on your life overall not just in your work.  The power of positivity is easily controlled by an individual, in how they choose to display their emotions at work.  While it might take some serious emotional labor at first, like any change in life, it will become easier with time and practice.  Emotional labor is when the emotion you feel is not the emotion you display, because this takes mental ability to repress the felt emotion.  Being positive is important for a few reasons and it is definitely worth the emotional and mental labor.

The first reason positivity is important is because of the phenomenon known as emotional contagion, which is the spreading of one person's emotions to those around them.  If someone you work with is having a bad day, you can help them by being positive.  The same goes for customers, by being positive in your interaction with them you can give them a positive view of the company you work for.  The bottom line is no one wants to deal with someone who is always in a bad mood, so by being positive you can spread that to those around you and improve your team morale.

Emotional contagion aside being a positive person increases your personal power and influence.  This is because earlier we said no one wants to work with a negative person, but the opposite is also true, in that people want to work with a positive person.  This works to increase your influence, which is a key part of leadership.  By being positive in stressful situations you can help to create a sense of calm, which makes difficult situations easier to navigate.  Being positive will not be easy as there are a lot of stressful and negative things that happen to us on a daily basis, but being positive will definitely be worth it, especially when you find yourself as the leader of the team.


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John Maxwell Leadership Blog Post

John C Maxwell is one of the most well respected leadership writers and speakers of the modern generation.  With easy to understand anecdotes and a writing style that makes for a quick read, his books on leadership and being a more influential person have become bestsellers.  His blog takes this same style and substance and boils it down to an easy to digest sample of what many of his books expand on.  His recent post about four styles of leadership is a great piece about how a coach and leader in the workplace can lead more effectively.  Please take the time to read his post by following this link. 

It is great that his third point is titled bench stacking, because as a coach and leader this sports analogy is easy to understand.  While the analogy is good, the post could use another point of leadership style.  This point might be a prerequisite for the other four, but it is not necessarily a given in every team situation.  This idea is that first, the leader must form the team and get the buy in of the other team members.  As Maxwell explains good clear communication can aid in this formation, but so does taking time to get to know every team member at a more personal level.  Knowing your team members is important for the leader, as this leads to individualized attention in motivation and rewards.  This added benefit of a close team is easily seen in sports, where a coach with a well-bonded team usually says so after the team has won a championship.  The same can happen for you and your team, whatever your championship or ultimate goal might be. 

Give Mr. Maxwell’s blog a read as he posts new content around once a week.  For any leader or coach it is appointment reading.  Also, keep checking back with us for more great posts about coaching and leadership to help you move to the next level.