I always felt I was an optimist. Since I am a kid, I have this positive mindset (the "Growth Mindset" described by Carol Dweck). I brought this positive thinking to my career and did my best to share it inside companies I have been working for.
It is not easy every day to be an optimist! You get a lot of push back. You have your bad days, challenges and doubts like any other. When this happens, I remind myself that I am an optimist. I see the glass half full. It always helps.
I am a passionate optimist because I believe that, together with other fellow optimists, we can make a significant change in the world around us. We, as optimists, look at the future differently. We analyze past events differently. We decide and make choices differently in the present. We are willing to optimize every minute of our lives.
As a leader, I believe optimism is a particularly important value to develop in every organization. We need to hire optimistic colleagues. We need to develop optimism and positive thinking during coaching sessions. This makes teams grow and thrive.
Why? I quote Philippe Gabilliet, in his book "Eloge de l'Optimisme" (translated). "The optimism level of an individual - defined as its ability to project oneself into a positive future - will allow him/her to:
- be persistent in making efforts even if the objective is hard to reach
- stay motivated in case of failure, protecting himself from "negative affects" like disappointment, resignation, frustration
- accept difficult realities and attempt to find solutions
- give the best of himself at all times"
I do hope most of you would agree on the tremendous impact the above-mentioned behaviors have in the workplace. The optimist will move forward, take thoughtful risks, experiment, dare to try, develop himself, trust one another. The optimist will help you create the growth mindset you need at work, to succeed and win.