Leadership is a fascinating subject for me and having led diverse teams for many years in the corporate space and now leading teams in network marketing I am calling on all of my previous experience to assist me. Here I want to talk about my views on Optimism and Positive thinking
1. Character Traits v Choices
I believe that optimism is a personality trait that is inherited, whilst positive thinking is a skill you can learn and a choice that you can make. Personality traits reflect people's characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. Skills, on the other hand, are the learned capacity to carry out specific tasks.
We all have natural wiring that affects our view of ourselves and the world. Some personality types lean towards viewing the world favourably and others to see the world or their external conditions as more hostile.
There is some truth in both perspectives. But whether you consider yourself by nature to be an optimist, pessimist, or realist you have a choice about how you think. Positive thinking is an attitude you choose no matter what your underlying personality may. And you are always only one thought away from a more positive thought
What are optimists? Those who think the best possible thing will happen, and hopes for it even if it's not likely.
What are pessimists? Those who tend to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen.
What are realists? Those who accept a situation as it is and is prepared to deal with it accordingly.
2. How things will work out v How I will respond
Optimism makes an assumption about the world. It assumes that everything will work out alright in the end, at it is intended to do. On the other hand, positive thinking makes no assumptions about how the external world will be, Instead , it considers how I/we will respond to external circumstances.
The leader who chooses positive thinking does not assume all the odds will be in his or her favour. Instead , the positive leader puts confidence in the self (or the team’s) ability to act and respond in effective ways.
3. Blind spot v sight
Leaders with the personality trait of optimism can be accused of being blink to negative reports or dismissive of obstacles. Their assessments of the future or of their abilities may seem naive. People around the optimistic leader can become concerned that the organisation is heading for a difficult time and no one seems alarmed.
But the leader who chooses positive thinking is clear-eyed about the obstacles and even serious problems. The positive leader acknowledges these challenges and works towards solutions. They do not ignore or minimize the problems, but they move forward with the purposeful belief that a solution can be found.
Why it matters?
Why does it matter that we discern the difference between optimism and positive thinking ? Internally , it matters because our belief informs our values, our values inspire our actions and our actions create results.
Optimism, like all personality traits , can be either a strength or a weakness depending on the situation. A leader who is blind to the weaknesses of optimism as a trait will be limited in their development and effectiveness.
Externally the difference matters because of the impact we have on those we lead. The optimist leader can unknowingly create insecurity and fear in the organisation if he or she does not seem to take obstacles seriously . And because our at least Western culture prizes optimism as the ideal and scorns pessimism as an undesirable trait, leaders who are gifted with non-optimistic personality types can often feel minimized, dismissed or like they have to hide their natural perspective.
Leaders, in my opinion should recognise that optimism, pessimism, or realism are neutral traits we bring to the table, and they may either help us or hinder us depending on the situation.
Instead of insisting on optimism, a better approach might be to choose the attitude of positive thinking, which can serve all personality types in working toward effective solutions.
What is your character trait and how do you deal with the different types of personality ? I would love to know