Insight #316:
Once upon a time, I suggested to my clients and readers that we should encourage our pet pessimists. Why should we? Because pessimists enhance decision making by balancing overconfident optimists. (You can read that post here: “Encourage your pet pessimist.”)
Now I ask you to do the opposite. Encourage your pet optimist. They are in short supply.
Do you have a pet optimist at work? Every organization needs at least one. Here’s how to encourage your pet optimist:
- Apologize to your optimists for all those times when you played Little Boy Blue to their Little Miss Sunshine.
- Then ask for their help. Explain that you realize how badly we all need a fully functioning, happy face at work. Someone who knows the art of picking people up and getting them back to work, energized, and believing in a better tomorrow… no, not tomorrow. In a better today.
Admit it. You need help. Trying to be the strong one has drained and exhausted you. You’ve become a pessimistic leader, a walking, talking oxymoron.
It shows.
Welcome to my side of the nonsense divide.
(Pessimistic leader is an oxymoron? Yes. Leadership is, by design, about “inspiring visions” and “better tomorrows.” We can do “woe is me” all on our own. No leader required.)
. . .