Optimism & Leadership

Last October I attended a one-day conference in Madrid, Spain, sponsored by Grupo-PyA, on whose board I serve.  The conference was held at the Club Financiero, a prestigious venue in the center of the Spanish capital.  Over 100 senior executives attended the conference.

Featured amongt the speakers was my good friend and colleague Bob Sherwin, Chief Operating Officer, Zenger-Folkman, a well-known leadership development firm, with offices and partners in numerous countries.  

The Research

Sherwin shared with the audience some intriguing findings from his firm's research on "Leading with Optimism."  He started his talk by advising the audience to "always borrow money from pessimists ... they don't expect to ever be paid back".  He got a big chuckle from the attentive audience.  He then proceeded to share the three benefits that optimistic leaders bring to the situation:

1. They are more resilient and inspiring in the face of challenges and setbacks.
2. They are problem solvers who try to improve the situations they are in.
3. Behaviors are infectious, and optimistic leaders will spread their optimism.

Tempering these findings, Sherwin went on to raise a flag of caution.  Optimism can be based on unwarranted or warranted confidence.  Optimists are prone to cognitive biases, thereby underestimating dangers and taking unique risks.  

The impact of optimism on leader effectiveness is dramatic, the research shows.  The top 10% in level of optimism translates, according to 360 data, to an overall effectiveness of 89%.  Correspondently, the lower 10% in level of optimism translates into an overall effectiveness of 19%.  That is a significant difference!  

Effectiveness was measured in terms of employee engagement, commitment, productivity, and profitability.  

The presentation went on to show six behaviors employed by optimistic leaders:

1. Seek to find solutions rather than place blame
2. Be open to negative feedback and criticism
3. Make mistakes momentary
4. Accentuate the positive
5. Enhance long term goals
6. Push and pull

Sherwin then shared a Cherokee proverb:  "There is a battle of two wolves inside all of us."

One is Negativity ... it is anger, sadness, stress, contempt, disgust, fear, embarrassment, guilt, shame, and hate. Positivism, the other, ... it is joy, gratitude, serenity, hope, pride, awe, interest, amusement, inspiration, and above all, love.

Which is the wolf that wins?  The one you feed!

My Take Away

Highly effective leaders are more optimist than good or mediocre leaders.  Optimism needs to be balanced with a modicum of realism.  Pessimistic leaders create a climate that is oppressive and unsatisfying.

The Cherokee proverb teaches us that we need to feed the positive "wolf" inside of us, and starve the "negative" wolf inside of us.  This is a lesson that applies to our private lives as well.

I hope you enjoy this post as much I did preparing.