‘…a large and growing body of research on positive organizational psychology demonstrates that not only is a cut-throat environment harmful to productivity over time, but that a positive environment will lead to dramatic benefits for employers, employees, and the bottom line.’ Harvard Business Review
Not surprising, really, is it? Who likes to be in a miserable environment, around negative people? Not me!
The knack of seeing the positive in every situation is increasingly being seen as a desired quality in the workplace – it might even be something you have to demonstrate at an interview by coming up with examples of how you have turned a challenge into a positive outcome.
Clearly, things will go wrong and problems will arise, but approaching them with a positive attitude makes it much more likely that you will find a solution. Positive people are generally much more open to working with others, and that in itself can make a huge difference to the quality of decisions made. Several heads really are better than one and working on problems together can be a great way of building the team. A positive result will boost morale and encourage everyone that it’s OK to admit that you need help sometimes.
So, as the old song goes: ‘Accentuate the positive’ – it will do wonders for your interpersonal skills.
