John Eades* says a leader with a negative attitude will quickly create a negative-thinking team. However, there are ways to avoid this.
“I can’t get my head right. It seems like I am in an endless cycle of negative thoughts, a defeatist mindset, and my team members are acting the same way.”
As the leader finished this thought in our coaching session, his demeanour showed me he wanted it to get better.
He captured a real problem that would hold him and his team back from success, and his experience is not unique.
As we dug into what he believed was causing his constant negativity, he mentioned things like zoom fatigue, the endless pandemic, and revenue shortfall.
After I assured him I heard similar themes from leaders across the board, as his coach, I had to be honest with him.
The attitude of the team is a reflection of the leadership it receives.
Attitude is one of the words that are widely misunderstood.
It means a settled way of thinking or feeling about something or someone. It’s typically reflected in our behaviour.
I asked Rob McKinnon, author of Lead Like You Were Meant To, about the importance of a leader’s attitude.
He said that attitude cascades down and around everyone.
The interesting thing about our attitude and the attitude reflected in team members is that it’s challenging to change once it starts to go south.
A different approach is required to prevent a negative attitude. Here are four key steps.
Reject comparison (Most of the Time)
C.S Lewis wisely said: “Comparison is the thief of joy.”
As simple as these sounds, it can be challenging to put into practice.
We are blasted with the incredible achievements and wonderful lives of those we know or aspire to know on social media.
The problem is, each person’s journey is unique, and rarely do we know the hardships a person, team, or company has had to overcome.
The only way comparison is used for good is if it fuels your work ethic, desire, and ambition.
Take note: Your desire to achieve more has to come from a positive place, not one of angst or revenge.
Find and focus on the good
To prevent a negative attitude, find and focus on the good, regardless of how small it may seem.
When we’re in negative mode we tend to downplay the positives and blow the negatives out of proportion. Use the Rule of Three Positives.
Each day, write down three positive things you did or experienced. Here is my actual list:
I was fully present with my family on an outing.
I took time during a busy day to catch up with an old high school friend
I wrote a blog to inspire and bring positivity to thousands (you are reading it).
These were all things that made my day good. By celebrating and reminding myself of them, I rejected the day’s negativity and focused on the positive.
Catch the blaming and excuses
One of the most popular ways many people (including myself) feed negativity is blaming others and making excuses.
While reviewing a sales manager’s SkillsLoft dashboard with him, I noticed he pointed blame towards someone else when we began discussing his weaknesses.
After a while, I stopped him and asked his permission to provide some feedback and coaching.
After he accepted, I said: “I am seeing a pattern of you making excuses or constantly pointing blame at your team.
“While this might be the case, what would be a more effective approach to help you grow and get better?”
His response was spot on: “I hate when my team makes excuses or blames our clients. It bothers me that I am doing the same.
“Moving forward, I am going to catch myself when I blame someone else or make an excuse.”
I give this leader a ton of credit; He even set up a system of accountability with his wife and his team to call him out when they hear an excuse.
Energise with one win
Energy is one of these strange things that’s essential for success but difficult to determine exactly where it comes from.
Some people wake up with relentless energy to attack the day, and for others, it takes three cups of coffee before they can do anything.
Regardless of which kind of person you are, without energy, you have nothing.
The key is to create your own energy each day by doing things you are passionate about and achieving small wins.
At the beginning of your day, define what one win you want to achieve.
The best examples are always process-oriented and not outcome-oriented.
For example, a front-line manager might have a one win strategy of “spent one-on-one time with each of my team members”.
You will be amazed at the energy you get by defining your one win at the beginning of the day and working to make it a reality before the end.
There is nothing easy about turning a bad attitude into a good one, but it’s a worthwhile endeavour because when you change your attitude, you change your life.
Here is the best part: As a leader, when you change your attitude, it will show up in your team members because the attitude of a team is a reflection of the leadership it receives.
*John Eades is the Chief Executive of LearnLoft a leadership development company. He can be contacted at johneades.com.
This article first appeared at johneades.com.
