Should you always be positive as a leader?

As a leader you should always remain positive, no matter the situation, remain positive. Avoid being negative and wear your rose-tinted sunglasses – issues, what issues? Most leadership trainers, speakers, books, and courses tell you always be positive rather than negative, but is that really the best way to behave all of the time?

There is a big difference between being positive and being nice. I agree that a positive leader is better for moral, spirit and vision adoption, but leaders should be careful that a constant positive attitude doesn’t cloud their judgement by becoming too agreeable, nice, and ignorant to the details of an issue (wearing rose-tinted glasses).

For example, the Author of the Nordic Theory of Everything, Anu Partanen, explains (my simplification) how, when comparing Finnish people to Americans the Finnish are seen as more pessimistic compared to the more optimistic Americans. However, the Finnish ‘pessimism’ could be one of the reasons that Finland has progress so well in recent years, according to multiple global surveys. In a leadership environment, this could be explained as being ‘realistic’.

Often people shy away from being pessimistic or realistic in leadership positions because they could be perceived as rude or dismissive. However, in some cases this could lead to a leader being overly agreeable, or too positive, which leads to poor decision making.

I’m not suggesting that being optimistic is bad, far from it. My point is that there is a fine balance between being positive all the time and maintaining a healthy input of realism, not negativity. It is essential that a leader holds a high level of scrutiny which can be conveyed in a positive and encouraging manner. Try to use your experience to offer an alternative perspective. For example, rather than saying “you’re wrong, I’m right”, try saying:

• “I feel a challenge to this is…”
• “In this scenario could you explain more about x…”
• “Have you considered this…”
• “What was your approach to this…”

These are demonstrations of Right Behaviours as described in my book about inclusive and positive language whilst maintaining healthy pessimism to ensure the right decisions are being made.

Additionally, in my experience, when someone behaves too positively all the time, people start to think that the behaviour in unauthentic. Occasional displays of realism and your authentic-self show others that you are human. This makes you more likeable and trustworthy.

Thank you for reading, JT