Management Tips:

How to create a proactive and positive workplace

Dr. K. Kuhathasan, CEO CENLEAD

Proactive behaviour always leads to positive thinking and optimistic outlook.

Optimism and positive approach are essential and indispensable qualities for leadership development. Positive thinking automatically infuses one with confidence and enthusiasm. Such qualities enable a leader to visualise positive goals and productive objectives. A positive frame of mind injects one with tremendous courage and enables him to take reasonable risks with pluck and promptitude. Positive mental attitudes also enable one to look beyond all boundaries, overcome all resistance and master adverse circumstances with greater determination and wider efforts.

Positive outlook always breeds boldness and courage. It makes you dashing, enterprising and adventurous. You are always smart, ready to act, willing to move forward, display courage and take risks. You are always willing to accept responsibility cheerfully and try new ideas, novel methods and untrodden paths. You have the courage to look out and accept higher responsible assignments.

With a positive orientation, you will be able to bring the best in others. You have immense faith in the good things that your team members are capable of. You are free and warm in dealing with others. You are generous with your team and become genuinely interested with those whom you come into contact. You normally help others, without seeking reward or return.

Your optimism always helps you to make full use of your opportunities and as a result you are a winner always!

Pessimist

On the other hand, a pessimist may prove to be a stumbling block in the progress of an organisation. He develops self centred qualities, negative behavioral patterns and his actions may bring disruptive efforts on groups solidarity. His inability to function smoothly in tense situations may bring ruin and disaster to the organisation.

Positive thinking and optimistic outlook is a process whereby the leader stretches his abilities. They should accept challenging roles that require them to stretch their abilities and apply the broadest possible range of talent.

Leaders should not hesitate to venture into new fields of investigation and enterprise that will broaden their talent and untapped capacities.

A field of unlimited opportunities awaits them.

A leader is first and foremost a positive thinker! His prime job is to set up action - oriented goals. Creative leaders have an ability to be sensitive to the surroundings. They should posses ability and flexibility to adjust quickly to changing situations.

Ineffective leaders are those who do not know their own mind; who take long to decide things on a course of action, whose decisions lack clarity, who take snap decisions, and those who, disclaim responsibility.

Optimistic leaders on the other hand are receptive to new ideas, take calculated risks and shape the minds of others rather than become prisoners of inaction.

Optimism in the workplace

An optimistic workplace is crucial to the success of any organisation. If its employees feel happy, committed and motivated, a company is more likely to enjoy low levels of staff turnover, absenteeism and burnout and high levels of productivity, customer satisfaction and even profitability. Quite apart from any commercial benefits, working in an optimistic environment makes people feel good about themselves, which has a positive impact on all aspects of their life.

Although every single employee can effect the mood of the workplace, it is the leader of the organisation who has the greatest influence. Honest, respectful, hardworking and solution oriented leadership helps to create a positive, meaningful work place. Positive leaders are visionaries who ensure that employees to have a personal stake in the mission of the organisation. Allowing employees to have a say in the organisation’s mission statement gives them a feeling of control and of working toward specific, identifiable goals.

Regardless of your employer’s philosophy, you have the power to breed optimism in your workplace by being an attitude role model. Smile, greet people in a friendly tone of voice and treat everyone with respect at all times. Be a good listener and don’t interrupt - this will show people that you value what they have to say and will make them likely to listen to you when it is your turn.

Create a positive workplace

Rampant negativity, allowed to run unchecked through an organisation, creates a fertile breeding ground for employee burnout. Burnout is a state of physical and emotional exhaustion, the early symptoms of which may include cynicism, emotional withdrawal, lack of confidence and irritability. In a positive workplace, someone would be likely to identify these symptoms in team members (because they would be so unusual) and would probably intervene. However, in a negative workplace, the signs of burnout are hard to distinguish from the prevailing mood and so may be left to develop into anxiety or depression.

If you find yourself working with a negative person, it is up to you to take action before their influence spreads. Negative people often do not realise that they are being negative.

Therefore, the first thing you need to do is let them know what effect their attitude is having on other people. Confront them with honest, objective feed - back, giving specific examples.

For example, if the person complains that a team project they have been working on is futile and poorly executed, point out how demoralising it is for the other members of the team to hear this.

Please remember

. Quality of your thoughts, determines the quality of your work

. You can achieve results, reach the victory target, achieve name, fame and greatness only through lifting your thoughts!

. If you want to be a winner, you must think, work and act as a winner!

Self development and self improvement, efficiency, effectiveness and excellence does not come into manifestation suddenly. They are the results of long and silent positive thinking, positive attitude and optimistic outlook. The end result of long and silent proactive behaviour.

What is positive thinking

. Constructive rather than destructive
. Up-beat rather than gloomy
. Friendly rather than hostile
. Encouraging rather than obstructive
. Enthusiastic rather than disheartening
. Positive rather than negative

How to develop proactive behaviour

1. Positive thinking
2. Pleasant outlook
3. Constructive approach
4. Smart appearance
5. Positive body language
6. Pleasing voice
7. Persuasive telephone skills

How can you motivate your people in a positive way

1. The five most important words “You did a good job”
2. The four important words “What is your opinion?”
3. The three important words “If you please”
4. The two important words “Thank you”
5. The one important word “We”
6. The least important word “I”

Benefits of proactive managerial attitude

1. To yourself
2. To people whom you manage
3. To people who manage you
4. To your clients, customers and the commentators on what you do
5. Feeling good about yourself
6. The effect of positive attitude on a team
7. The response of clients, customers and commentators
8. The way in which positive attitude can unlock doors to:

* New targets
* Greater efficiency
* Better sales
* Better service
* Higher output
* Better quality output
* Better motivated and more satisfied staff.

Right choice and true application

As rightly pointed out by James Allen in his famous work “As a man thinketh” a man is literally what he thinks. “You are made and unmade by yourself”. In fact, it is the right choice and true application of thoughts which makes a man. In short, your personality is your complete sum of all your proactive behaviour.

As long as the body is the servant of the mind, good thoughts and positive images can never produce bad results. Failures and downfalls are always the effects of wrong thoughts, poor images and poorer ideas.

The art of clear thinking is your greatest gifts. If you neglect the art of clear thinking you will be neglecting yourself.

Clear thinking means that you define what you are thinking about and constantly focusing undivided attention on it. Clear thinking also implies that you refuse to get caught up in actions without thinking and planning.

Clear thinking involves deliberate and planned in-depth assessment of your assets, hidden talents, untapped resources and bring out the best alternative choice and better approaches.

Clear thinking takes place at your mental laboratory. You have to synthesse stray thoughts, add imaginative powers, mix with past experiences, heat with the rays of past lessons and produce action oriented self-image.

Your contribution

All of us have hidden resources. Untapped powers. Vast reserves of talents. The tragedy is that no one makes genuine attempts to tap them. Unearth them. We have to develop imagination and clear thinking to unearth such hidden and untapped resources that is in our command.

Our brains become magnetised with the dominating thoughts which we hold in our mind and these magnets attract to us the forces, the people, the circumstances of life, which harmonise with the nature of our dominating thoughts.

The most important gift that you can bring to the world of work is your optimism. Everyone will benefit from your attitude: your family, your friends, your team members in your office and your community.

If you want to change things in the world, you have to start by setting an example, by being positive and encouraging others in the same direction.

A positive mental attitude is not the preserve of a lucky few. You have a choice-choose to think well of yourself, choose to expect success, nothing can persevere, choose to be an optimist.

When you choose optimism, nothing can stop you from creating the life that you want.

When you choose optimism, you give yourself the key to good health, success, satisfying relationships, a meaningful career and creating a positive, productive and optimistic workplace.