Does Strategic Optimism Help Leaders Lead?
John Quincy Adams' quote, "If your actions inspire others to dream more
, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader" sets a tone that has been followed for more than 200 years in this country.
More recently, information from over ten years of research in the areas of Positive Psychology and Positive Organizational Psychology are being used in businesses and organizations to create Strategic Optimism.
Strategic Optimism means having a positive expectation for the future that contributes to flourishing and well-being. Human flourishing is described as the sum of positive emotions, positive actions and positive meaning.
Kim Cameron outlines four strategies in her book, "Positive Leadership: Strategies for Extraordinary Performance" (2008) that directly contribute to flourishing and Strategic Optimism:
- Positive Climate
- Positive Communication
- Positive Relationships
- Positive Meaning
Optimism is part of Emotional Intelligence which can be learned. It helps you be more effective in your career and have a more fulfilling personal life. Research shows the benefits of optimism to be linked to:
- Perseverance
- Good morale and popularity
- Effective problem solving
- Academic, athletic, military, occupational and political success
- Positive mood
- Good health and a long life
You may be wondering what role negativity or pessimism has. Research indicates that it can lead to:
- Depression
- Passivity
- Failure
- Social estrangement
However, there is a type of pessimism called Defensive Pessimism which is a strategy some people use when they are anxious. It can help manage their anxiety so they can be more productive. It does this by lowering their expectations to help them prepare for the worst. When doing this, they play through all the bad things that might happen. This helps them focus away from their emotions so that they can plan and act effectively. If they try to raise their expectations or avoid playing through a worst-case analysis, their anxiety increases, and their performance suffers.
In addition, there really are bad things that can happen in the world. Denying them or their importance is not helpful. When they occur, people need the courage it will take to get through the difficulty. That is a time for giving encouragement.
Strategic Optimism sets high expectations that actively lets you avoid thinking much about negative things that might happen. This allows you to take action on your goals. If strategic optimists set lower expectations or play through possible outcomes too much, their anxiety increases, and their performance decreases.
Moods and emotions are contagious. They impact leadership, job performance, decision making, creativity, turnover, teamwork and negotiations. The kind of optimism that is most beneficial for leaders is referred to as Strategic Optimism. It works best when anxiety is low or not present. Leaders need to be positive when the future can be changed by being Strategically Optimistic.
Copyright (c) 2009 Maurine Patten
by: Maurine Patten
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