Optimistic Leadership (#228)

The Confident Leader

BOOST YOUR LEADERSHIP IN UNCERTAIN TIMES

If you are a consistent reader of the newsletter, you know that I spend hours each week with top leaders from across the country. They often ask one very interesting question.

“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.”

– Franklin D. Roosevelt (American president)

This Week’s Edition

What is optimism and how can I become more optimistic?

Clarify Your Thinking

The question almost every leader asks is: 

What are you hearing from other leaders?

This question reveals that leaders yearn to know what other leaders are experiencing. Because their role can be isolating, they want intel on what their peers are navigating. As they compare their experience, they realize they aren’t alone in the things they are handling on a day-to-day basis. 

If you think no one else is facing the challenges you are experiencing and you don’t have anyone to confide in, it can make for a very lonely leadership experience where you might question your confidence.

Old Thinking: I might be the only one facing these challenges. I’m not feeling particularly optimistic about my options. 

New Thinking: Surely I’m not the only one who’s experiencing this. Let me find others and determine how they are navigating their situation. Their ideas, solutions, and tactics may allow me to be more optimistic about the future of my circumstances.

Thoughts Lead to Actions

So, what am I hearing from top leaders in these coaching sessions right now?

Optimism.

Each leader is expressing genuine heartfelt optimism. They are sharing that they are optimistic about:

• Their ability to succeed in this business climate in the coming year
• The economy
• Prospects’ openness to their products and services 

This type of optimism can feel good, but it is based on variables outside their control–the economy, prospects, etc.

It results in potential optimism swings:

• When the variables seem negative, I might be pessimistic. 
• When the variables seem positive, I can be optimistic. 

Let’s reframe. Optimism is a skill evaluated in most emotional intelligence assessments. The definition of that type of optimism is: the future will be better AND you have a hand in making it so. 

This means your optimism can transcend your current circumstances. You can believe that the future will be better, AND you can get busy making that happen. Ask yourself these questions to get your optimism on track:

Step 1: Do you believe that tomorrow can be better than today?

• If “yes,” move to Step 2
• If “no,” answer this question: Why not?

Step 2: What is your vision for “tomorrow”?

• What do you want?
• Define that specifically.

Step 3: What is the first step you can take to make that vision a reality?

• Create a plan from what you know has worked before.
• Buy a plan. Utilize an expert who has a tried-and-true plan.
• Borrow a plan. What else has worked in other areas of your business? Borrow that plan and apply it to this situation.

Optimism is not thinking positively. It is a choice to see the future positively and take steps toward fulfilling that vision. 

Boost Your Performance

Watch this week’s video for additional thoughts on optimism during this time of the year.

What’s Your Opinion?

What are you optimistic about? Share it with me at robin.pou@robinpou.com

If you are going to be a leader, you might as well be a good one. Don’t let doubt count you out. Have a confident week!

Robin Pou, Chief Advisor and Strategist

We live to make bad leadership extinct so forward this newsletter to others who strive to be confident leaders. 

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What is “The Confident Leader”?

During the Covid-19 Pandemic, I began a video series called “Panic or Plan?” It was designed to equip leaders to navigate the doubt they experienced and to rise in the confidence they needed to lead during turbulent times. It took off. I then started this newsletter to equip leaders in the same fashion each week for the doubt that crashes across the bow of their leaderSHIP.