Make Space for Positivity
Do you want something great? Make space for it.
You’re brave. You can be the change you want to see. You need to create space for the new you. Pause and take inventory: how are you filling your time and mind? Is it time to clear out some of the old and bring on the new? What new practices can you take on along your journey to make your impossible dreams seem more possible?
I lead culture change and employee experience, and in a recent work session, one of my colleagues shared a profound insight with me. In a one-on-one over the holidays, she said, “You’ve got to speak positivity into the world. People want to hear it!” It was simple and wise — truth to the core. When we speak positivity in a change journey, people are more likely to listen. Orders dictated in a negative tone are not something most people want to hear during times of change. Optimism, coaching, and encouragement is something people do want to hear.
This isn’t fluffy. Science shows us that positivity has a, well, positive impact on our brains. There’s a whole field of study devoted to it, and you might have heard of it? Positive Psychology. On a more tangible scale, some studies pose evidence around how optimism influences how we direct and maintain our attention. How we pay attention and connect to our work is imperative to show up as our best selves at work. When we are our best, and we support our employees to be their best, we drive and deliver the best business outcomes and customer experiences. It’s all connected.
Why does this matter? Improving our employees’ experience can feel vast and daunting. People face many changes at work, and it can stir short-term negative emotions and long-term negative moods. I’ve observed how most organizations feel pains in many journeys within recruitment and retirement, especially around adopting new enabling technologies.
Thich, Nhat Hanh, a trailblazer in mindfulness, has said, “We are human, so we have both positive and negative things in us.” It’s important to note that if we only focused on the problems and the negative emotions associated with them, we shut down our brain’s ability to open to possibilities even before they can be developed. As scientific evidence shows, “Most of us tend to be optimistic, which is a good thing because optimism is associated with many benefits to both physical and mental health; optimists tend to be well-adjusted psychologically and are equipped to handle stress well”
How might you create mind space for the positive to thrive? Being a leader who develops possibility is equal parts art and science. These three simple truths about how to best create space for positivity remain true.
Begin by listening to strengths. Have you invested time to identify and amplify your strengths? Turning the volume up on strengths rather than focusing on weaknesses, can improve aspects of your life and work. Creating space for strength-based activities can help you reach your goals by improving relationships, cutting out static and stress, clarifying your purpose, and improving your overarching experience of work. I’ve had lots of success using VIA Institute on Character and StrengthsFinder, to name a few. I advocated for this thinking around strengths-based assessments that focus on competencies (the “how”) that enable skills (the “what”) at a White House Workforce Data Interoperability workshop I helped to design.
Seek opportunities rather than problems. I’m far more effective with teams when I focus on opportunities rather than problems. Looking at opportunities is a positive mindset and has many benefits. Reducing the stress, we feel around problems which can limit our ability to imagine possibilities. If we can turn a problem inside out and put it in a more f
Yes, And —
Before moving to D.C., I took improv classes at Planet Ant, a comedy school in Detroit founded by Keegan Michael Key. One of the big lessons I learned was the power of “yes and” — the value of this practice transcends comedy! If you can train your mind to view challenges as invitations for growth, you'll become far more adept at handling them quickly, efficiently, and with less stress. Say “yes, and” rather than “no, but” (or eliminate but completely!) Read more about this in improving collaboration with Second City.
How are you making space to develop fresh possibilities in 2021? You are the creator of your destiny! You want it? Make space for it. I believe that people and organizations can do what they dream of at any given time in their careers. Believing the impossible is possible — optimism — is the first step. Open the door. What's keeping you back from walking in?
Find me on the Twitterverse @Ninafuture or on LinkedIn, too.
