True or false?: Leaders always need to be positive.
You might at first think the statement is true. After all, we have all met people who seem eternally optimistic, even when faced with adversity. They do not deny or ignore setbacks, but rather examine them with positivity.
- Setbacks become lessons.
- Challenges become opportunities.
- Limitations become chances to innovate.
This is the power of shifting your perspective. It allows you to work through challenges, move forward, and create positive results.
What Is Toxic Positivity?
However, there is a mistaken belief that the best leaders should always be positive. No matter what news or problems come their way. they state with a smile, “Let’s not focus on the negative.”
It’s called “toxic positivity.” And although well-intentioned, it is also destructive.
- It’s inauthentic, eroding trust.
- It negates real concerns and worries.
- It avoids finding difficult solutions together.
Worst of all, it allows hope to become an integral part of strategy because concerns and issues are not examined, discussed, or addressed. They linger and grow larger until they evolve into full-scale, serious problems.
Pro Point!: Turn failure into fuel.
Failures highlight gaps in skill or strategy, offering valuable insights going forward. Don’t avoid facing failures, and instead build a team that prioritizes growth and learning over unattainable perfection.
Solutions Instead of Toxic Positivity
The best leaders know the unexpected happens, despite the best of plans. But rather than deny the existence of problems, they acknowledge them, validate employee concerns, and work together to implement solutions.
Instead of toxic positivity, try the following:
1: Engage in open, honest conversations, even when they are difficult.
When you openly discuss problems and concerns with the team, you benefit from the collective skills, knowledge, and experiences. In contrast, toxic positivity minimizes legitimate struggles and concerns.
2: Over-communicate with your team.
It’s better to have too much information than not enough information. Over-communication creates clarity, transparency, and trust, all necessary for a healthy culture. With access to the whats and whys of the concerns, then the team also has access to the bigger picture. And with access to the bigger picture, their decisions are going to be better reasoned and on point.
3: Practice realistic optimism.
If you and the team balance realism with positivity, you recognize possible setbacks and plan appropriate solutions. You also see setbacks as lessons, challenges as opportunities, and limitations as chances to innovate.
4: View problems as opportunities.
Take a step back and discover opportunities in any obstacle. By doing so, you have the potential to gain clarity and plan the steps needed to succeed. Problems also serve as opportunities to learn, an essential for a culture of learning.
Wrapping Up
Toxic positivity may feel temporarily comfortable, as it avoids hard truths and difficult decisions. It sidesteps issues that need to be addressed. However, positivity coupled with a plan serves as a powerful combination.
The best leaders create an environment of open communication, realistic optimism, and solution-oriented thinking. They face challenges and problems with the team, seeing them rightly as opportunities.
It’s an essential practice.
Keep leading, my friend!