If you are managing a professional team, the people working for you will likely represent a range of optimism and pessimism. You may be worried that these differences will create conflict and interfere with the team’s work. But the truth is, effectively managing optimism and pessimism in business settings can improve collaboration, and make your team as a whole more successful.
How Optimists and Pessimists See Work Differently
Optimism and pessimism are two different explanatory styles that individuals adopt based on their upbringing and life experiences.
- Optimists generally take a favorable view of the events happening around them, and expect the most favorable outcome. (i.e. They hope for the best.)
- Pessimists tend to take an unfavorable view of events and expect the least favorable outcome. (i.e. They expect the worst.)
In one simplistic example, an optimist is a person who sees a glass as “half-full” while the pessimist sees it as “half-empty.”
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If you manage a team, these different perspectives will often show up in the way your employees approach their work. Optimistic workers may maintain a positive mindset, even in the face of obstacles, but they also may have unrealistic expectations about their ability to get work done. Pessimists, on the other hand, assume that things will not go according to plan. They may have a more negative mindset, but they also can be better able to predict problems before they happen. As a team leader, your job is to manage your employees’ optimism and pessimism, to get the biggest benefits from each perspective.
How to Leverage Optimism in Business Management
It is easy to see how optimistic team members can push your company forward, making it more productive and keeping things positive in the face of challenges. As a manager, there are things you can do to leverage that optimism to reach the best results.
Optimism in Setting Company Visions and Goals
One of the best places for unfettered optimism in a business setting is in a strategic planning meeting or brainstorming session. Optimists find it easier to dream big and take risks, because they believe that things will work out in the end. That means it can be easier for them to imagine new avenues for the company’s success.
Adopting a Growth Mindset
Optimists tend to be more proactive than their pessimistic counterparts and will often take the lead in doing new things for the company’s success. This means it can be easier for them to adopt a growth mindset and “shoot for the stars.” They often will encourage one another toward personal development, and provide positive reinforcement and excitement when achievements are made or deadlines kept.
Maintaining Motivation Through Optimism
Optimists aren’t only helpful when things are going well. They can often be the ones driving motivation in the face of adversity. Because of the way optimists see challenges and adversity, they can be great leaders, helping one another get through the hard times by focusing on “silver linings” and focusing on better times to come.
How Pessimism Can Help You Manage Your Business
For a long time, optimism was seen as “good” for business, and pessimism was seen as bad. However, in recent years, it has become clearer that including pessimistic viewpoints can be essential to successful business management.
Keeping Goal-Setting Realistic
Pessimists are sometimes called realists because of their strength of being able to foresee challenges and tendency to prepare for the worst. Including pessimists in your goal-setting sessions can keep your feet planted in what is achievable, and avoid setting realistic expectations that will only cause anxiety and burnout later on.
Preparing for the Worst Through Contingencies
If a person tends to think pessimistically, they likely are able to identify potential pitfalls or obstacles far sooner than their optimistic counterparts. This defensiveness means they often will already have ideas for possible solutions by the time optimists have fully identified the problem. Making space for pessimists to develop contingency plans can help smooth out the roadbumps in your company’s future by giving you a path forward when times get tough.
Using Criticism to Solve Problems
Pessimists are known for being critical of new ideas. Sometimes, that can be seen as taking the winds out of the team’s sails during brainstorming or holding team members back. However, constructive criticism is actually good for business. By creating space for pessimists (or anyone else) to safely express concerns, you can vet your ideas in a safe environment and develop stronger solutions using their critical thinking skills.
When Optimists and Pessimists Work Together
Managing optimism and pessimism in business means finding ways for your team members to work together, taking advantage of everyone’s strengths within a collaborative environment. As a manager, that may mean facilitating conflict resolution sessions, or establishing boundaries against antagonism or inauthentic optimism. By making space for both optimistic brainstorming and pessimistic problem solving, you can take advantage of the benefits of both mindsets, and use them to develop a stronger future for your whole team.
David Stanislaw is an organizational development specialist with over 25 years’ experience in helping leaders develop and implement creative leadership strategies. Through business consulting and facilitation, David helps businesses and teams improve productivity and team cohesion. Contact us to meet with David to make your creative business thrive today.
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