POSITIVE LEADERSHIP

In Action T

HE AVERAGE MODERN-DAY workplace is far from positive. Everybody’s already tense and on

edge due to work demands, life stressors and the economy. Add in a pessimistic, angry leader, and there’s a bigger problem. In fact, a recent Gallup poll estimates that negativity costs the economy $250- $300 billion a year and affects the morale, performance and productivity of teams.

If you’re a leader, best-selling author

Jon Gordon wants you to take this message to heart: Spreading negative energy solves nothing — in fact, it causes people to shut down. Morale suffers, employees disengage, productivity takes a hit and profits fall.

“It’s easy to get upset and derailed by

anger when things go wrong, but then the issue gets lost because you mismanaged the situation,” says Gordon, author of

“Te Power of Positive Leadership: How and Why Positive Leaders Transform Teams and Organizations and Change the World.”

“Leading a team is really a lot like

parenting. If you yell at your kids, they miss the message. Instead you have to use love and accountability to help them perform their best at all times.”

Gordon strongly believes in positive

leadership, which means sharing optimism, hope and inspiration with your

“Leading a team is really a lot like parenting. If you yell at your kids, they miss the message. Instead you have to use love and accountability to help them perform their best at all times.”

Jon Gordon

team. Yes, even when— especially when — things go wrong.

It also means not ignoring negativity

within your organization. (He says this is one of the biggest mistakes leaders make.) You must address the negativity, confront it, transform it, or remove it before it has a chance to breed and grow. Tis is the role of a positive leader.

“A lot of people roll their eyes when

they hear about positive leadership,” says Gordon. “Tey think positive leaders are nice, undisciplined, happy-go-lucky people who smile all the time and believe that results are not important. On the contrary, positive leadership consistently helps organizations thrive and inspires teams to get results.”

But here’s the question: What

does positive leadership look like in action? Gordon answers this question by presenting five common business scenarios that many leaders face. Keep reading to learn and understand the different approaches taken by negative versus positive leaders — and why your leadership style matters so greatly to the success of your company.

SCENARIO 1: Your team member doesn’t deliver their part of the project (again!).

NEGATIVE LEADERS attack the person and focus on the past.

POSITIVE LEADERS attack the problem and focus on the future.

“Positive leaders should identify why

the underperforming employee has not delivered and coach them to solve the problem and achieve success,” says Gordon. “Tey have to be demanding without being demeaning. Tey both challenge and encourage their teams and organizations to continue to improve and get better.

“Te difference between a positive

leader and other leaders is that many leaders focus on accountability first and love comes later or not at all,” he adds. “Many talk about tough love and I believe in it, but I have found that love must come first. If your team knows you love them, they will allow you to challenge and push them. Instead of tough love, it needs to be love tough.”

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