Lately I’ve been thinking that the toughest job for most leaders is maintaining your positivity and confidence in a relentless environment of uncertainty. 2008 was 4 years ago and yet we don’t seem to be any closer to coming out of the economic crisis. The pressure put on most leaders to continue to deliver results despite the worsening environment hasn’t let up. All this pressure can make sap your energy and confidence, which can make it very difficult to rally the troops come Monday morning. If you’re feeling battle-fatigued, here’s a quick exercise you can do to get your teams (and your own) energy flowing in the right direction:
Start talking about the positives.
There. That’s it. It may sound too simple, but give it a try. Here’s how:
If your team is down in the dumps, push the momentum in another direction by starting every single one of your team meetings by asking each member for one thing that happened in the past week that was positive. If they can’t think of anything professionally, ask them to share a personal story.
Keep doing it every time you get together. You will be amazed by how much this starts to send the energy in your group in a better direction.
If you’re personally struggling with how to stay positive, do the same thing. At the end of each work day, jot down 5 things that were positive for you that day. Big or small, it doesn’t matter. It’s about putting your focus on the positive vs. the negative. After doing it for a week, you’ll be amazed at how much stronger and more resilient you’ll feel.
Your mindset is a powerful thing. Use it to your advantage.
Happy leading!
