Boost Your Team’s Optimism

By Bill Taylor for Harvard Business Review | March 3, 2021

These are trying times. But the job of a leader is to set a tone that empowers people to do their best work. So when the whole world is feeling down, how can you steer your team toward optimism? Here are four pieces of advice:

1. Make room for “organizational foolishness.” While careful planning and project management are important, you also need to create space to unleash your team’s imagination, creativity, and fun.
2. Invite everyone to become a problem-solver, then give them the autonomy to fix things and pursue new projects. Fostering a spirit of agency on your team will help them adopt a more optimistic mindset.
3. Strengthen personal relationships. Ultimately it’s human connections — with clients, patients, and colleagues — that keep employees upbeat and motivated.
4. Share and celebrate good news. There’s a lot of bad news right now, but as a leader you can put a spotlight on positive developments. Try distributing a newsletter that highlights what’s going well, or carving out some time for gratitude and positivity in your next team meeting.