Gulliver and Carlin on Optimism

Benefits Of Optimism

George Carlin the late comedian who became famous for his standup comedy regarding the 7 words you can't say on TV was quoted as saying, "some see the glass half full, some see it as half empty, but I see a glass that is too big. Go ahead and Google Carlin to find out for yourself what those words were since they have all made their way to "TV".

If you were fortunate enough to see the cartoon Gulliver's Travels in 1968 one of the characters in the series was named, Glum. He was the pessimist. Anytime a problem occurred or popped up for the group to deal with he would say things like, "It'll never work, we will all be killed." or "it's hopeless it will never work, we are doomed." Do you know someone like that? What effect do they have in your workplace? But today's article share the benefits of filling your workplace with people of optimism.

*What are the benefits of optimism in the workforce?

1. Sets a higher standard in your workplace

2. The tend to be solution-oriented

3. More pleasant to be around, which boosts overall productivity.

4. Highly optimistic people are 103% more inspired to give their best effort at work, according to a study by Forbes.

5. Builds confidence

6. Better Relationship

7. Increases employee retention rates

The American Psychological Association estimates that the U.S. economy loses more than $500 billion and 550 million workdays a year because of workplace stress. By cultivating an optimistic workplace, employers are able to boost engagement and higher levels of empowerment in the workplace reducing turnover that results from unhappy and pessimistic employees.

What The Data Says About Optimism

A study by the Harvard Business Review found that optimists are 40% more likely to get a promotion over the next year, and 6 times more likely to be highly engaged at work. They are also five times less likely to burn out than pessimists!

Data is still important to the process of continuous improvement.

Optimism faces two opposite but equally main shortcomings. Equating optimism with a pie in the sky mentality can be an unrealistic mindset. Optimism is a mindset that positions people to be solution minded rather than problem oriented. Winston Churchill stated, "The pessimist sees difficulty in every problem and the optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." An optimistic mindset gives a person a can do attitude. It sees the possibilities when others see that the solution requires too much struggle and difficulty than it is worth. The pessimist sees the status quo as the goal.

The second shortcoming of Optimism is the propensity to be optimistic even when it may be time to quit and start over. Cut your losses and seek a better route, strategy and execution.

We need leaders who are optimistic. Adaptive Leadership is brimming with Optimism. The adaptive leader sees the opportunity in problems but asks his staff and/or workforce to weigh in on the solution. The adaptive leader is the chief learner and looks to his team to be the experts. Leading any other way you may find yourself being led astray by Gulliver's Travels type characters, like Glum, in your workforce saying, "It'll never work, it is hopeless. We will all be doomed!" Be an optimistic leader that attracts followers with OPTIMISM.