It's ironic that I'm angry about Positive Leadership. Here's why...
1. People mistakenly think positive leadership is about rah rah and motivation but it's really about optimism, grit, and building great relationships to help your team overcome challenges and succeed.
2. People roll their eyes when they hear the term Positive Leadership. They think it's soft, weak and annoying. The truth is Positive Leadership is about being mentally tough and delivering hard results. It attracts the right people to your team and organization.
3. Positive Leadership gets a bad rap because people assume it's about Pollyanna thinking. But it's not about ignoring reality. It’s about maintaining optimism and belief in order to create a better reality.
4. Too many people think you have to choose between positivity and winning. They think positivity may be a nice way to lead but it’s not a serious way to lead. The truth is you don’t have to choose. Positive Leadership leads to winning. It’s the way to lead if you want to win. Just ask the Los Angeles Dodgers and Rams. Clemson Football. The Miami Heat. Tampa Bay Lightning and many other teams I’ve worked with that embrace positive leadership and win.
5. Far too many think that Positive Leaders ignore the negative and pretend everything is positive. The truth is Positive Leaders are the ones who confront the negative in order to remove it and create a positive, connected and committed team.
6. Critics assume Positive Leaders don’t hold people accountable. The truth is they are demanding just not demeaning. They encourage and challenge their team. They set a standard and then love them and hold them accountable in order to meet the standard.
7. So yes, I'm angry that Positive Leadership is discounted and frowned upon by those who have no idea what it’s truly about. If they gave it a chance, they would realize it's how great leaders lead and have led throughout history.
But I'm optimistic they will!
-Jon
