Don't Become a S.N.I.O.P. - Your Leadership Depends on It

They've been around since the dawn of time. Those individuals who always focus on the negative. I've heard them called cynics, pessimists, negative nellies, naysayers, and my personal favorite, nattering nabobs of negativism. You know the type, people who are always working to tear down others and their ideas. They are quick to criticize, pass judgment, or reject new ways of doing things. One of my favorite examples of this is the story of Robert Fulton, inventor of the steam engine. Fulton's idea was to use steam as an energy source, specifically to propel a boat that would carry goods up and down the Hudson River in New York. Fulton was unmercifully criticized by doubters who said his steam engine would never work, would blow up, and mockingly referred to it as "Fulton's Folly".

Historians recorded that when Fulton launched his vessel from lower Manhattan on August 17, 1807, local naysayers along the bank began shouting "it won't work, it won't work" as Fulton's vessel began to chug up the Hudson. Well, not only did it work, but it revolutionized the transportation system here in the United States and around the world. There have been many Robert Fulton's out there before and since, but you get my drift.

What is different in today's society, at least from my perspective, is that it seems we now have more negativity than ever before. If you don't believe me, just turn on cable news, or any mainstream broadcast medium of today. Or better yet, just visit any social media outlet. There is more negativity, and quite frankly vitriol, than what I could have ever imagined. Politics is a good example. Our democratic system of government has always been a full contact sport. Remember fist and cane fights in the well of the senate, and in more extreme cases, pistol duels to the death. Throughout our nation's history however, at least most of the time, reasonable politicians from both parties found a way to work together to get things done that were in the best interests of all Americans. Not anymore. Politics have been weaponized along party lines, and it is now one big negative, mud slinging contest. Not only that, but it now seems like everyone wants to get in on the act. And they have, aided and abetted by social media. I won't go any further on this except to say there are examples aplenty.

That brings us to S.N.I.O.P. (susceptible to the negative influences of other people). I first heard this acronym spoken many years ago by the late, great motivational speaker and success coach Zig Ziglar. Zig taught that there was a lot of negativity and negative people in the world, and that if you were to overcome it, you had to do two things. First, if your own personal inclination was to tilt toward the negative, Zig said you had to change your orientation one positive thought at a time. That is, you have to transition from a negative worldview to a positive one.

Zig famously and hilariously called this negative view of everything "stinking thinking", or "hardening of the attitudes", and rightly said it would taint every aspect of your life. His second directive was that we should not become S.N.I.O.P.'s. That is, we mustn't listen to and internalize all of the negative things that we hear and see daily. Zig said that there are plenty of people ready and willing to fill your mind with emotional garbage. He wondered aloud why we would allow that to happen. For example, if someone filled our house with garbage, we would likely call the police. Why then, would we stand idly by, and let other people fill our minds with negative criticism, hurtful words, and other forms of verbal garbage. That was the same question raised by clergyman, Dr. Norman Vincent Peele in his famous book, The Power of Positive Thinking. Both of these great men recognized the power of words, and their ability to either lift us up, or tear us down.

While negativity can stunt your personal growth and success, it can absolutely destroy your leadership and career success. We have talked many times in this blog about the transition from team member to team leader. Once in a leadership position, you most simply change the way you think, act and behave. While your leadership journey is sure to be impacted by too many negative inputs, it can be mortally wounded by mishandling the negative influences you are sure to encounter in a leadership role. First, any leader worth his or her salt displays a positive, can-do attitude toward people and their mission. There is nothing more depressing than hearing a leader moan and commiserate with his or her employees about how bad things are around here. As the old saying goes, lead, follow, or get out of the way. You gave up your right to gripe and complain the day you moved into a leadership role.

Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, don't let negativity creep in and impact your own self-confidence. In other words, don't let yourself become a S.N.I.O.P. History dictates that all leaders are criticized and judged unfairly from time to time. That just goes with the territory and is to be expected. Developing the mental toughness and resilience to deal with slights, criticisms, and unfair critique is part of having thick skin, and is a fundamental leadership skill.

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