Positive Leadership
A large part of the Positive Revolution is setting an example for others, and helping others become Positive Revolutionists through self-improvement and support. In Kim Cameron’s excellent book, Positive Leadership: Strategies for Extraordinary Performance, the author outlines what is required to develop and implement Positive Leadership, create a Positive Climate, and most importantly build and nurture Positive Relationships.
Positive leadership is based on positive psychology, positive change and positive perspective. To become a more effective, positive leader, promote the following:
Foster Virtuousness: Everyone wants to do well, so encourage, develop and acknowledge goodness.
Affirmative Bias: Focus on peoples’ strengths and their abilities – reinforce their potential. Emphasize the positive, and acknowledge the negative and value the opportunities it can bring. and
Facilitate positive performance to encourage results that far exceed expectations.
Also, positive leadership considers the following:
What uplifts organizations and what challenges it.
What works well, and not so well.
What is rewarding, and what is disappointing
What is effective and, not so effective?
What is inspirational and what is difficult?
In addition, promoting the following outcomes, also creates positive leadership:
Thriving at work
Working well with others
Virtuous behaviors
Positive emotions and
Positive social networks
Positive leadership consists of four strategies that are interrelated, as you improve one, the others also improve. Unfortunately, these are not normally practiced, but research has proven their effectiveness in resulting in positive behavior.
The four leadership strategies that enable positive deviance are:
Positive climate – which fosters compassion, forgiveness, and gratitude
Positive relationships – which build energy networks, that reinforce strengths
Positive communication – to obtain best-self feedback, using supportive communication and
Positive meaning – which affects human well-being, connects to personal values, highlights extended impact, and build community
These four key areas are what author Kim Cameron notes are essential to develop and implement Positive Leadership.
Positive Climate
A key part of Positive Leadership is fostering a positive climate. A positive climate refers to the environment where there are more positive than negative emotions, and there is very little emphasis put on the negative ones. Think about the differences between a positive and negative work culture – and how each affect how you feel when going and staying at work.
A positive climate has also been found to enhance decision making, productivity, creativity, social integration and prosocial behaviors. Unfortunately, people tend to focus more on negative than positive statements, which is why it is important to nurture a more positive environment.
It’s important for positive leaders to “emphasize the uplifting and flourishing side of organizational life, even in the face of difficulty. And in order for leaders to create a positive environment they cannot focus mostly on the negative; rather, they need to focus their energy on the positive outcomes that situations can bring.
As Jocko Willinck notes, in times of challenge or typically negative situations, just say “good” and work with the situation at hand, rather than the one you hoped for. Whatever life throws at you, embrace it, focus on the positive, and keep moving forward.
From Kim Cameron’s research, POSITIVE CLIMATES AT WORK result in POSITIVE PERFORMANCE
Fostering compassion, forgiveness and gratitude amongst members of the organization leads to creating positive climates.
Compassion is about
Becoming aware of what is happening.
Expressing emotion as a collective group and
Taking action as an organization to foster healing and restoration.
Forgiveness is
Acknowledging what happened.
Replacing victimization with a chance to give to someone or something else.
Working toward higher standards, especially in terms of communication
Providing support to move forward. and
Using acceptable language.
Gratitude is
Engagement.
Conducting gratitude visits.
Writing gratitude letters and emails. and
Daily writings within a gratitude journal.
These virtuous acts tend to create climates where people feel cared about, supported and encouraged. And this isn’t just touchy-feely, new age wisdom. This is based on extensive research in high-performing organizations. These climates lead to higher work performance and higher organizational performance.
Positive Relationships
Positive relationships enable positive outcomes physiologically, psychologically, emotionally and organizationally. Research has shown the behavioral and health benefits of positive relationships. And positive relationships are not just people getting along. They positively impact your hormonal, cardiovascular, and immune systems.
When people feel supported and have their needs met, they are more likely to feel safe and secure, resulting in improved performance. This feeling is not just a result of feeling supported, but also happens when they are able to give to the relationship as well.
Positive leaders need to encourage and foster positive relationships through building positive energy networks and reinforcing individuals’ strengths. Enabling positive relationships increases peoples’ health, safety and security which in turn improves their performance in the organization and environment. How many of us have experienced a negative work environment and how draining it is emotionally, psychologically and physically?
A Positive Revolutionist needs to be a positive energizer. One who builds up and enhances other’s performance and behaviors. Those who positively energize others are typically higher performers. Positive energizers tend to enhance the work of others. People who interact with or are connected to energizers also perform better.
High performing firms had three times as many positive energizing networks than low performing firms in Cameron’s research. Think about in the great sports coaches who built amazing teams through positivity, dependance on one another, and focusing on strengths. Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, is a great example of how positive leadership results in long-term success.
Just like coach Wooden, a positive energizer promotes strengths, not weaknesses, and most importantly celebrates the positive of individuals and the team.
Identifying people’s strengths (and what they do right) and building on them, creates more benefit than identifying weaknesses (or what they do wrong) and trying to correct them. Managers who spend more time with their strongest performers (rather than the weakest performers) achieved double the productivity.
In organizations where workers have a chance to “do what they do best every day,” productivity is one and a half times greater than in normal organizations. People who are given feedback on their strengths are significantly more likely to feel highly engaged and to be more productive than people who are given feedback on their weaknesses. Students who are given feedback on their talents have fewer days of absenteeism, less tardiness, and higher GPAs than students who get no feedback on their talents.
So focus on positive relationships as you help create the Positive Revolution. Focus on the good of everyone and help build others up, and avoid putting them down. A positive relationship is a win-win for each individual, community, and organization.
Conclusion
Three key ingredients for a positive environment are:
Positive Leadership
Positive Climate
Positive Relationships
As we struggle with the changes due to COVID, increasing hate, divisiveness, and attack in politics, and a direction towards isolationism, we all need to focus on adding positivity into our lives. Focusing on the positive rather than the negative, developing an environment which focuses on accentuating the positive, and building strong and trustful relationships, is needed more than ever. It is up to everyone to move away from negativity and focus on positivity to create positive change, and focus on improving oneself and the community through creative problem solving.
Affirmative Bias: Focus on peoples’ strengths and their abilities – reinforce their potential. Emphasize the positive, and acknowledge the negative and value the opportunities it can bring. and
Facilitate positive performance to encourage results that far exceed expectations.
Also, positive leadership considers the following:
What uplifts organizations and what challenges it.
What works well, and not so well.
What is rewarding, and what is disappointing
What is effective and, not so effective?
What is inspirational and what is difficult?
In addition, promoting the following outcomes, also creates positive leadership:
Thriving at work
Working well with others
Virtuous behaviors
Positive emotions and
Positive social networks
Positive leadership consists of four strategies that are interrelated, as you improve one, the others also improve. Unfortunately, these are not normally practiced, but research has proven their effectiveness in resulting in positive behavior.
The four leadership strategies that enable positive deviance are:
Positive climate – which fosters compassion, forgiveness, and gratitude
Positive relationships – which build energy networks, that reinforce strengths
Positive communication – to obtain best-self feedback, using supportive communication and
Positive meaning – which affects human well-being, connects to personal values, highlights extended impact, and build community
These four key areas are what author Kim Cameron notes are essential to develop and implement Positive Leadership.
Positive Climate
A key part of Positive Leadership is fostering a positive climate. A positive climate refers to the environment where there are more positive than negative emotions, and there is very little emphasis put on the negative ones. Think about the differences between a positive and negative work culture – and how each affect how you feel when going and staying at work.
A positive climate has also been found to enhance decision making, productivity, creativity, social integration and prosocial behaviors. Unfortunately, people tend to focus more on negative than positive statements, which is why it is important to nurture a more positive environment.
It’s important for positive leaders to “emphasize the uplifting and flourishing side of organizational life, even in the face of difficulty. And in order for leaders to create a positive environment they cannot focus mostly on the negative; rather, they need to focus their energy on the positive outcomes that situations can bring.
As Jocko Willinck notes, in times of challenge or typically negative situations, just say “good” and work with the situation at hand, rather than the one you hoped for. Whatever life throws at you, embrace it, focus on the positive, and keep moving forward.
From Kim Cameron’s research, POSITIVE CLIMATES AT WORK result in POSITIVE PERFORMANCE
Fostering compassion, forgiveness and gratitude amongst members of the organization leads to creating positive climates.
Compassion is about
Becoming aware of what is happening.
Expressing emotion as a collective group and
Taking action as an organization to foster healing and restoration.
Forgiveness is
Acknowledging what happened.
Replacing victimization with a chance to give to someone or something else.
Working toward higher standards, especially in terms of communication
Providing support to move forward. and
Using acceptable language.
Gratitude is
Engagement.
Conducting gratitude visits.
Writing gratitude letters and emails. and
Daily writings within a gratitude journal.
These virtuous acts tend to create climates where people feel cared about, supported and encouraged. And this isn’t just touchy-feely, new age wisdom. This is based on extensive research in high-performing organizations. These climates lead to higher work performance and higher organizational performance.
Positive Relationships
Positive relationships enable positive outcomes physiologically, psychologically, emotionally and organizationally. Research has shown the behavioral and health benefits of positive relationships. And positive relationships are not just people getting along. They positively impact your hormonal, cardiovascular, and immune systems.
When people feel supported and have their needs met, they are more likely to feel safe and secure, resulting in improved performance. This feeling is not just a result of feeling supported, but also happens when they are able to give to the relationship as well.
Positive leaders need to encourage and foster positive relationships through building positive energy networks and reinforcing individuals’ strengths. Enabling positive relationships increases peoples’ health, safety and security which in turn improves their performance in the organization and environment. How many of us have experienced a negative work environment and how draining it is emotionally, psychologically and physically?
A Positive Revolutionist needs to be a positive energizer. One who builds up and enhances other’s performance and behaviors. Those who positively energize others are typically higher performers. Positive energizers tend to enhance the work of others. People who interact with or are connected to energizers also perform better.
High performing firms had three times as many positive energizing networks than low performing firms in Cameron’s research. Think about in the great sports coaches who built amazing teams through positivity, dependance on one another, and focusing on strengths. Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, is a great example of how positive leadership results in long-term success.
Just like coach Wooden, a positive energizer promotes strengths, not weaknesses, and most importantly celebrates the positive of individuals and the team.
Identifying people’s strengths (and what they do right) and building on them, creates more benefit than identifying weaknesses (or what they do wrong) and trying to correct them. Managers who spend more time with their strongest performers (rather than the weakest performers) achieved double the productivity.
In organizations where workers have a chance to “do what they do best every day,” productivity is one and a half times greater than in normal organizations. People who are given feedback on their strengths are significantly more likely to feel highly engaged and to be more productive than people who are given feedback on their weaknesses. Students who are given feedback on their talents have fewer days of absenteeism, less tardiness, and higher GPAs than students who get no feedback on their talents.
So focus on positive relationships as you help create the Positive Revolution. Focus on the good of everyone and help build others up, and avoid putting them down. A positive relationship is a win-win for each individual, community, and organization.
Conclusion
Three key ingredients for a positive environment are:
Positive Leadership
Positive Climate
Positive Relationships
As we struggle with the changes due to COVID, increasing hate, divisiveness, and attack in politics, and a direction towards isolationism, we all need to focus on adding positivity into our lives. Focusing on the positive rather than the negative, developing an environment which focuses on accentuating the positive, and building strong and trustful relationships, is needed more than ever. It is up to everyone to move away from negativity and focus on positivity to create positive change, and focus on improving oneself and the community through creative problem solving.