Positive Leadership Pays Off

by Ray B Williams

Consider this scenario: an executive walks into the office and has a brief exchange with the receptionist, pointing out problems with the previous day's work. The executive then holds a staff meeting where the employees are criticized for poor performance or attitudes. Later that day, the executive has an unpleasant discussion with a customer who is complaining about the company's service. By the end of the day, the executive's negative to positive exchange ratio is significantly unbalanced.

What does this have to with leadership, employee performance and ultimately, business results? Two words: positive psychology. The practice of positive psychology is part of the larger movement championed by psychologist Martin Seligman, the author of "Authentic Happiness and "Learned Optimism."

Research conducted by Seligman and others point to the effect of positive emotions on people, organizations and customers. Among other things, they emphasize the impact of positive attitudes and thinking, optimism and resilience as powerful forces that determine both happiness and success.

In the past decade, scientists have explored the impact positive to negative interaction ratios at work and in peoples' personal lives. They found that this ratio can be used to predict, with remarkable accuracy, everything from workplace performance to divorce.

This work began with psychologist John Gottman's exploration of positive to negative ratios in marriages. Using a 5:1 ratio, Gottman and his colleagues predicted whether 700 newlywed couples would stay together or divorce. He scored their positive and negative interactions in a 15 minute conversation between husband and wife. The follow-up 10 years later revealed he had predicted divorce with 94% accuracy.

So what is the optimal positive to negative ratio in organizations? A recent study by psychologist Barbara Fredrickson and mathematician Marcial Losada found that work teams with a ratio grater than 3:1 were significantly more productive than those with lower ratios. The research uncovered an upper limit of 13:1 at which productivity declined. They concluded that completely blind optimism and unrestrained positivism can actually be counterproductive.

Howver, Tom Rath, co-author of New York Times bestseller, "How Full is Your Bucket," says managers and executives need not worry about breaking the upper limit. The levesl of positive emotions in most companies are woefuly inadequate.

When leaders display positive emotions, others take note, and more importantly, take action. Positive leaders don't sit back and wait for things to improve. Instead, they are always trying to catch excellence in action. They call attention to what is right, rather than looking for things that are not working or need to be fixed. This raises the organization's positive to negative ratio and its productivity.

Positive leaders raise the flow of positive emotions, not just because it's the nice thing to do or to be liked. They are less concerned with what they can get out of their employees than they are with looking for opportunities to invest in their employees. They understand the degree of positive leadership can significantly affect their company's bottom line.

About Ray B Williams
Ray B Williams is Co-Founder of Success IQ University a company based in Phoenix, Arizona providing the most innovative products and services to help professionals, entrepreneurs and business owners be more successful in life and work.
Ray is also President of Ray B Williams Associates, a company based in Vancouver B.C., providing executive coaching services.
Ray has been an executive, management consultant and coach for over thirty years, working with leaders throughout the world. He is also a Certified Hypnotherapist and Master NLP Coach. Ray has written a number of books on leadership and writes a regular column for the National Post, Canada's leading newspaper.
Ray is in demand as a speaker, coach, consultant and author throughout North America.
www.successiqu.comwww.raybwilliamsassociates.com;
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