Are You An Overly Optimistic Leader?

I often write about the importance of optimism when leading in turbulent times and when leading change.  Researchers such as John Hopkins’  Kay Redfield Jamison, Stanford’s Robert Sutton, and Harvard’s John Kotter have all found that positive feelings such as hope and optimism are critical for rallying the troops and moving forward.

At the same time, optimism can be overdone – especially when optimism turns into overconfidence or turning a blind eye to problems and challenges.

Eric Klein recently blogged about this phenomenon, calling it “the problem with being positive.”  He wrote about leaders who shut down conversation and shy away from conflict by overdoing an emphasis on the positive.

The balance of realism and optimism is critically important for change leaders.   Leaders who squash any expressions of concern or who react negatively to problems run the risk of missing major issues that will ultimately impact performance. For this reason, some researchers have started to use the term “realistic optimism”. Michael J. Hurd, Ph.D.  writes that realistic optimism consists of two parts:

The first is that you face facts, at all times, and consider all relevant facts. The second is that you assume the positive is more powerful and more relevant than the negative. Even when most things are going poorly in a particular context, you consider the positive facts such as the strength of your own mind in figuring out problems.

Hurd goes on to say that:

A realistic optimist assumes that the best can occur, at least with effort, without assuming that it necessarily will occur. Realistic optimism isn’t the same as naive optimism. Naive optimism consists of the attitude, “It will work out–somehow. I don’t know how, but somehow.”

My take on this is that effective leaders proactively look for facts, data, and opinions on what could go wrong.  They then take positive action – either personally or by empowering others – to overcome obstacles.  Their actions and words convey confidence and optimism, thereby positively impacting others’ emotions and commitment.

Check out the following resources for some good suggestions on being realistically optimistic:

• The Balance Needed to Lead Change HBR article by Christina Bielaszka-DuVernay, Kerry A. Bunker and Michael Wakefield
• The Problem with Being Positive, blog post by Eric Klein
• Just Enough Anxiety, book by Bob Rosen

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