Big Ideas for Small Business Managers: A positive attitude can make a manager more productive
27 Jul 2015 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
‘‘Some men see things as they are and say, ‘Why?’ I dream of things that never were and say, ‘Why not?’” -George Bernard Shaw
How can the power of positive thinking change your approach to problem-solving? First, start by finding the right problems to solve. Second, try to see every problem as an opportunity. Both of these principles are understated ideas at the heart of effective problem-solving but they’re often missed in our rush towards a solution.
Use your problem-solving skills to ask: “Is it the right problem to solve?” Then consider: “What opportunities are created by this problem?” But how do you focus on opportunities? Perhaps by tapping into the real power of positive thinking – seeing problems as possibilities.
To focus on opportunities you need to change your mind about how you view any situation.
Opportunities
Two sales executives from the shoe industry were sent to explore a possible emerging market in Africa. Both were eager to seize any opportunities. A month later each returned to report on their observations. Both executives noted that hardly anybody in the country they’d visited wore shoes.
The first executive was frustrated at a wasted journey and reported that there was no demand for shoes and therefore, no sales opportunity. The second, full of enthusiasm, reported that as virtually nobody wore shoes, there was a vast untapped market and they should start shipping shoes immediately.
This story illustrates a stark difference in viewpoint. Both executives saw the same situation but while one saw opportunities, the other saw only problems.
Astute leadership begins with adopting a mindset which focuses on possibilities rather than on issues or problems.
This possibility thinking is then translated into the right language: possibility speaking, by using questions such as: What if…? Wouldn’t it be great/wonderful if…? How might we…? Why not?
Let us go little deeper.
“What if…?” This question considers possibilities and offers options. Use the questions to help you identify areas to investigate. “What if we were able to…?”
“Wouldn’t it be great …?” Questions such as this lead us to construct a wish list. “What things would we really like to be doing?” “Wouldn’t it be great if we could conduct business the way we’d really like to do it?” Having a wish list is not just a flight of fancy, especially if it encourages creative thinking and begins to prompt solutions.
“How might we …?”This takes “what if” and “wouldn’t it be great” a stage further. Asking this question makes you think about how something could be done. “How might we increase our sales by 50 percent?” “How might we address our customer’s major problems?” “How might we turn this lost order into a positive?”
“Why not/what’s stopping us?”These questions provoke action. “Why hasn’t something been done before?” “What’s stopping us from acting on this idea?” “Are there any assumptions we need to test?” “Where do we need more clarity?” “What are the potential benefits of doing this?” “What would it take to make this happen?”
“What if our success was completely guaranteed?” This final question perhaps offers the greatest potential for harnessing the power of positive thinking. “What if we thought we couldn’t fail?” “What bold steps might we take?”
Tips for implementation
Here are some suggestio ns to help you encourage the power of positive thinking in your workplace.
Take the time to expand your employee’ views of what is going on beyond their limited access to information. Your purpose is to get your employees to look outside their four walls and understand the wider competitive world. Through face-to-face informal meetings, online communications, weekly or monthly briefings, update your staff about markets and competitive conditions.
Get your employees to nationalise (or internationalise) that you and they walk together on a very narrow path, which includes numerous visible and invisible obstacles. If there is a balance of a positive mindset liked with an objective interpretation of market events, success is overweighed in your favour.
Recognise that many employees harbour ingrained habits, which are often inclined toward negative feelings, fears and a lack of confidence. Your best approach is to set up (or recommend) a programme to deal with negativity. Specify clear-cut objective to help individuals resist negative thoughts.
Often they can direct the process to clear the blockages that prevent implementing your business plan. By taking such positive action to harness your human capital, you acknowledge that your people are a major influence in market performance.
Learn to wait. Maintain continuing dialogue with your staff so that you become aware of the direction of their thinking and mindset. In particular, such insight is significant should you have to delay your plans due to sudden market events. In that case, you are likely to find a heightened level of anxiety not only within yourself but with your staff. This is where you, and they, must cool down and wait for better timing. This is the moment, despite all determined efforts, to learn disciplined patience.
Learn to restraint irritation. Help your people avoid being provoked by negative surroundings. This means creating compatible relationships with others. This implies that you have to assume the role of an active mediator. You must not back-off and ask the opposing groups to work through their problems. It is your obligation that once anger, frustration and continuing dispute move forward beyond a reasonable time, to take an active role in setting a pathway for conflict resolution.
Learn to look for the good in yourself and your employees. Avoid unnecessary search for shortcomings and weak points in yourself and employees, unless there is a deliberate effort to conduct a needs analysis for future training. Focus on their good attributes. Highlight them and turn even indifferent employees into winners. Keep in mind they are the ones who will carry out your plan, which has at stake your personal reputation – and perhaps your position.
If you succeed in choking-off their complaints and as a result of their sacrifices and hard work, you show first-rate results, point out that those positive results are only the beginnings of other good outcomes. As long as there is a mindset tuned to fresh opportunities, it is your job to instil in your people the ability to seek possibilities out of what every day and each event has to offer.
Your staff will be happy to change their individual behaviour if they understand why and how their actions contribute to the overall company’s fortunes. Consequently, they will act positively if they believe it is personally worthwhile for them to play an active role in the company. As part of the change, utilise a workable system of rewards and recognition.
Don’t underestimate the power of a positive attitude to increase your productivity. Positive thinking is often as important as hard work.
(Lionel Wijesiri, a corporate director with over 25 years’ senior managerial experience, can be contacted at [email protected])
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