In his 1950’s best seller, The Power of Positive Thinking, Norman Vincent Peale stated,
If you think in positive terms, you will get positive results. That is the simple fact.
Of course, thinking alone does not solve problems, but how we think about the problem certainly frames our response to it. If we think we can conquer a challenge, we are much more likely to think of a solution than if we think we have no chance.
Henry Ford is often quoted as saying,
Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right.
The power of the leader is to forge the path for can-do thinking. We need to create the space for people to think they can. Within that space, people will find the desire, the energy, the ideas, and solutions needed. As we embark on a new chapter in American history this week, the biggest change is the attitude people are filled with. The economy is still in rough shape. The war is continuing. However, people are feeling hopeful. The only thing changing from Monday to Tuesday is leadership, and that change is what gives people hope.
Regardless of who each of us voted for back in November, we must acknowledge the power that instilling hope has had. Believing in the ability of the people to affect change has affected change. Where we go from here is based largely in where we think we can go and what we think we can do.
If we don’t see possibilities before us, we will never reach them. However, if we do see the possibilities, we will plan and act in such a manner that we just may reach them. It is the leader’s role to help followers see the possibilities. In his December 12th post titled The First Task of Leadership, best-selling author Mark Sanborn wrote,
John W. Gardner was Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under Lyndon Johnson. He was a great American, advocate for education, and wise thinker. Gardner said, “The first task of a leader is to keep hope alive.” His words couldn’t be timelier.
What are you, as a leader, doing to keep hope alive during these tough times? What can you do to inspire a positive, can-do attitude in your people?
Effective leaders have vision. Vision to see what can be achieved and the ability to ensure that the capabilities of those he/she serves are best supported to make that vision a reality. It is very easy to say we must keep hope alive and create a can do attitude. It is a far greater challenge to instill the confidence in those who must do in order to achieve results in potentially bite size chunks that build enthusiasm and confidence that the vision can be a reality. Big mountains or big challenges are difficult to conquer if the roadmap to execution is not in line with capabilites or a clear vision of what the view will look like at the top following the journey.
The leader sets the stage but those that do need to believe in the doing.
In the case of a president, he is not always able to lead us to be positive because there are other forces in play. The media is the major wild card and it can play a very significant role.
In Obama’s case the media chose to take a very positive view of what he is doing and where he will lead us. The result is that people literally fawn over Obama and almost consider him a messiah.
In Bush’s case, the media chose to play a very negative and damaging role, one which tore him down and denigrated what he was doing and where he was leading us. They judged everything Bush did negatively. Whether his actions were good for our country or bad had no bearing on how the media judged him.
So the leader is not always able to establish a positive vision.
Best regards, Ben
Author “Leading People to be Highly Motivated and Committed”
Christopher – a return visit! Thank you. I am game to reword the question, to your point: What are you, as a leader, doing to “instill the confidence in those who must do in order to achieve results in potentially bite-size chunks that build enthusiasm and confidence that the vision can be reality.” I believe that inspiring a can-do attitude is not far from instilling confidence. Perhaps we are saying the same thing?
Ben – thank you for stopping by L2L and for taking the time to read and comment on my post! As I read your comments, I thought of the old chicken and egg story. Which came first, presidential action or press commentary? Press commentary or public opinion? Public opinion or presidential action? We’ll never really know, but it’s an interesting question, isn’t it?
Eleanor,
Chicken or egg is always an interesting question.
But the media response to Bush and Obama to which I referred had nothing to do with chickens or eggs or to reporting the news, only to advancing an agenda. This is the new journalism.
Best regards, Ben
Eleanor,
I think we are in line with thinking. To your revised question, I think the most important leadership technique if you will, rather a very human one, is listening and then a discussion of how to achieve best results. This takes a bit of vision of the leader but more importantly the ability to take a doer down the path of self direction to that vision. satisfaction is achieved for all when the means equal the gola in the end and those that do feel fulfilled in the doing. Simply communication and mapping the way to overcome challenges and collaboration to achieve.
To Ben…I am not sure that the leadership position can be much tied to what Eleanor is talking about here. Partisan as we all may be I think reality is as in organizations it is who you surround yourself with, if Bush had not had such a burden of who is really pulling the strings he or Cheney from day one, perhaps his decision would have been taken more for face value. I cannot think of a President in recent past who has not been seen as leader, Bush unfortunately never gave me that feeling. Again probably partisan but your commnets probably are too.