Be a leader with Optimism

“Sometimes when you’re in a dark place you think you’ve been buried, but actually you’ve been planted.” Christine Caine

This week I am adjusting my schedule to what the new norm will be. It’s been nice writing and recording on Monday mornings, but the reality is when the stay at home is lifted I most likely won’t be free Monday mornings.  So I encourage you – if you’ve started something new during the pandemic – reading – walking – writing – running whatever it is think about how and when you do it now and how and when you will do it when our lives move into the new normal.  You’ve come this far – don’t give it all up because it doesn’t fit into that schedule.  Start shifting your schedule now.  I sent out a challenge a couple of weeks ago to try and get up 10 minutes earlier every day – that’s a great place to start.  Heck – right now – even setting an alarm to get up in the morning may be a great place to start.

Proud parents of an MSU grad

This week was very special for our family.  Our daughter Mattie graduated from Michigan State.  We couldn’t be prouder.  Of course she didn’t get to walk, so my Aunt, who is probably the most positive and optimistic person I know, picked up the ball and ran with it by scheduling a Zoomuation.  The power of Zoom is not just for business and education it is a great way to connect.  Truly having experienced this yesterday I would choose Zoom over a real graduation any day.

• not sitting for 2 hours just for the 5 seconds they announce your grads name
• with family all over the country we were limited to who could have been able to attend
• with the camera on we were able to focus on each other instead of breaking up into little clicks

And for Mattie instead of competing with thousands of other grads she truly got to be the center of attention.  The day was all about her.

This quote makes me think of my Aunt’s actions

“Instead of worrying about what you cannot control instead shift your energy to what you can create.” Roy Bennett

She completely created an amazing event for her niece with her optimism.

Why you should be a leader with optimism

I worked for a CEO who would say “speed of the leader speed of the team.”  Meaning how can you expect your people to be anything that is not exemplified by their leader.  You desire a team that is driven; the leader must be driven. You need them to be put in more time and go the extra mile.  It’s not going to happen if you’re their leader and you are cutting out early and posting picks on social media from the golf course.  If you want your team to be optimistic then you must lead them with optimism.  Be the example.  Be an optimistic leader.

If optimism doesn’t come naturally to you that’s OK.  Right now with what we are experiencing it’s difficult to stay positive.  I get that.  Here are some things you can do to be more optimistic, in fact there are 7 of them.

7 Ways to be a leader with optimism

1. Create Some Positive First responses Remove no from your vocabulary.  I love the show The Masked Singer because they are always so positive and supportive of each other.
2. Find the win in everything Find the small wins and celebrate them. Stop listening to your inner critic, reflect on your past achievements, and start to really appreciate your success and what you have to offer.
3. Find A Role Model my Aunt is one of my role models for positivity.  Who can be yours.  Watch what they do that makes them optimistic and do what they do.
4. Don’t Predict The Future no one has a crystal ball and when we guess what’s coming we tend to spiral downward.
5. Don’t Dwell On The Past  Find the lesson.  There is no losing there is only learning.
6. Surround Yourself With Optimistic People You may need new friends.  That is OK
7. Challenge Negative Thoughts Byron Katie wrote a great book around The Work and she would say ask yourself if that is really true.  Often negative thoughts are made up junk in our head based on nothing more than our own fears, doubts and low self-esteem. Challenge those thoughts – begone with them

Here’s a bonus # 8 a quote from Pablo

“Stay away from conflictive, negative people that pull you down, because they contaminate your energy and impede your progress. Search for people who look at the world with optimism, that inspire you, make you happy and provide peace of mind.”

If you are already optimistic – thank you and celebrate – if you recognize that you can be more optimistic here’s 8 simple steps you can start today.