Your attitude drives your altitude – in business and in life. You can't change someone else's attitude for them. But this powerful adage is a great reminder that you can put in front of anyone who requires an attitude adjustment. I want to discuss a few of the many ways each of us can develop a winning attitude each day. It's what leaders do.
Marcus Aurelius, the great philosopher who ruled the Roman Empire, said it simply: "Our life is what our thoughts make it".
Dale Carnegie, speaking to that quote said: "Yes, if we think happy thoughts, we will be happy. If we think miserable thoughts, we will be miserable. If we think fear thoughts, we will be fearful. If we think sickly thoughts we probably will be ill. If we think failure, we will certainly fail. If we wallow in self-pity, everyone will want to shun us and avoid us".
Am I advocating a Pollyanna attitude toward all our problems? No. Life isn't that simple. But I am advocating – in the strongest terms – that we take on a positive attitude instead of a negative one.
Mental attitude - the power we hold in our heads. Real life can be changed dramatically by a single thought. In nutrition the adage is you are what you eat. In terms of leadership, it's more likely you are what you think. Counter to what people want to believe, outside influences don't usually drive your happiness or success, rather it is how we react to those influences – good or bad. So how do you alter your reactions to those outside forces?
Make how you react a conscious priority, which means practice daily.
Humor is vital. When things are going south, keep everything in perspective and relax. I laugh. Others throw up their hands. Whole industries get very cynical.
Positive self-confident feelings not only help you get more; they also make others want to be associated with you. People are drawn to others who have an energetic outlook, who have a can-do attitude. Constant nay sayers don't collect an easy following.
One of a leader's most important jobs is to set a positive and self-confident tone, show the attitude that failure is not an option. A positive attitude is the cornerstone of leadership. It's the same confidence that a quarterback, a golfer, or a gymnast projects every time they come out of the locker room.
To obtain strength from the positive and not be sapped by the negative, here are a few ideas:
Focus on the 90% of your team who will run with your outlook and your plan - don't let the "negative nellies" drown you or contaminate your team.
Tap your spiritual essence at work too - use your spirit and your heart to guide you and your work forward.
Break the negative energy cycle – if you see yourself spiraling down or in a rut, mix it up, breakup the routine and do something fast that lifts you up. When you see one of your staff members in a rut of unproductive or unprofessional behavior fix it, don't let it fester.
Active listening – takes time. Work at it, to hear what your staff wants. Many times just by being heard, problems can go away and people really make a big turnaround.
You must be the emotional manager of your office - not your assistant, not the new young blood you just hired. In a family, parents must be the emotional managers or chaos rules the home. In your business, you must manage it, albeit reluctantly at times. It's part of your leadership duty and power. Refine it, as well as your attitude to external events, and you'll see the culture around you shift to the positive.
Jim Collins points out in Good to Great: When in doubt, don't hire – keep looking. You can't grow revenues consistently faster than your ability to get enough of the right people to implement that growth and still become a fabulous company. So unless candidates for the open position have that can-do attitude and are a strong fit for your company in who they are – don't hire them. The skills can be taught; the over the top positive attitude cannot.
Someone put it recently: "The prerequisite is attitude. Attitude is the one thing we can't change in employees. You've got a good attitude or you don't. Given adequate ability and desire to learn, everything else can be taught to employees with good attitudes. I have tried many times to teach good attitudes and have come to the conclusion it is about as easy as making a mud fence."
A negative attitude will drag you down and with it your professional results. A positive attitude will pull you over the rough spots and energize you to lift your results to new heights – to match your vision. Whether you need an attitude adjustment a million times a day, once a week or only once in a while, never forget that your attitude determines your altitude. Don't let outside people or events bring yours down.
