How To Boost Your Career Altitude With a Positive Attitude

by Tony Colangelo

December 12, 2023

Why Your Attitude Has a Critical Impact on Your Career Success:

As we begin career planning for 2024, focusing on increasing your Positive Attitude can significantly enhance your success in the New Year. No matter how innately positive we are, we all get worn down by the constant challenges in today's fast-paced business climate. The good news is that we can work on increasing our Positive Attitude as our behaviors can be modified and developed over time. Great leaders continually work on maintaining a Positive mindset as it increases their focus and resilience when confronted with obstacles, allowing them to stay motivated and on track to attain their goals.

HR Magazine reported in a recent survey of 600 companies that 87% of employers value a positive work attitude over qualifications?(HR Magazine UK -August 2022)

Investing in building the behaviors to build a more resilient and Positive Attitude provides one of the highest payoffs you can receive in your career development. I will provide proven methods to help you improve yours in this article.

"Whether you think you can or you think you can't - you're right." Henry Ford

What Is Attitude and How Is It Measured:

An individual's Attitude is a combination of predisposed behaviors that significantly influence your outlook and behavior. How you behave is shaped by several factors, including your values, beliefs, personality, experiences, and emotions. Values include your convictions relating to things such as honesty, respect, or hard work. Beliefs are what you hold to be true, including religious or political beliefs. Experiences are the events you have encountered in life that shape your perspective. Personality is a set of traits that defines your character, i.e., your level of extroversion or openness to new experiences. Finally, emotions such as happiness, anger, or fear significantly influence how you perceive the world. All these factors work together to form your Attitude, which can be positive or negative, optimistic or pessimistic, or somewhere in between. By first understanding these various traits that contribute to your Attitude, you can then learn to modify and develop new behaviors that increase your level of Positivity.

One of the most widely used methods to measure and evaluate an individual's Attitude is through observation and 360-degree peer evaluation techniques. These methods are highly effective when conducted by a trained professional, such as an executive coach, who observes and analyzes an individual's behavior using industry-standard methods. An experienced executive coach will also help you interpret the results of the Attitudinal surveys and work with you to build a plan focused on modifying and developing behaviors that will enhance your Positive Attitude.

6 Strategies To Increase Positive Attitude:

1. Exude Optimism:?A Positive Attitude is believing that things will work out for the best, even when your situation seems dire. An optimist looks for the good in everything and expects positive outcomes. Self-belief is also vital; knowing your abilities can significantly impact a successful outcome. Optimists also learn to pivot when necessary from their original position on topics or decisions when new information becomes available. Stay agile, be open to new ideas, and be willing to take calculated risks on high payoff opportunities.

2. Possess "Fact-Based" Enthusiasm:?From a business perspective, enthusiasm without any fact base is a fool's game. As one of my leaders used to say to me, "Let me temper your enthusiasm with a dose of reality." Enthusiasm based on reasonable facts, no matter how small, provides the fuel to make things happen. Accepting things as they are, without dwelling on the negative, helps you focus on the realistic outcomes of opportunities. Remember that a Positive Attitude is not about ignoring negative emotions or pretending everything is perfect. It is about finding ways to focus on the positive aspects in all situations and developing a strong mindset to overcome challenges.

3. Demonstrate Strong Resilience, Creativity, and Problem-Solving Skills:?These three traits are always at the forefront of a Positive Attitude. 1). Resilience is the ability to bounce back from setbacks and challenges by learning from them and moving forward with a positive mindset. 2). Creative thinking allows you to view challenges and opportunities through multiple lenses and points of view to create unique solutions. 3). Problem-solving skills are also critical for a Positive mindset; a best practice is ensuring you have a clear and concise "problem statement." With this proactive approach, you can be confident you are tackling the root of the problem and are laser-focused on the core issue to maximize the energy put forth to develop solutions.

"Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude" Zig Ziglar

4. Fly With the Eagles:?People with great Attitudes surround themselves with Positive people who inspire them to reach their highest goals. There is no better way to energize your Positive Attitude than to brainstorm with goal-oriented and motivated colleagues. Also, avoid toxic colleagues who want to bring you down with negative Attitudes.

5. Dare To Be Different:?If you have read any of my "Leadership Lessons" Blog series, I often reference the power of "Daring to be Different." Studying great leaders, you will notice they usually exhibit several unique traits that set them apart and draw people to them. In a world of sameness, if you want to stand out, "dare to be yourself" and show the world what makes you unique.

6. Exhibit an Attitude of Gratitude:?Always be thankful and appreciate the positive things in life, no matter how small they may be. A positive person is grateful for what they have rather than focusing on what they lack. Another key characteristic of an Attitude of Gratitude is always looking to "give first" in relationships without expecting to receive. The beautiful thing about this giving approach is that you will notice that you receive unexpected gifts in return over time. A person with gratitude lifts others and inspires them to be their best. Studies show that grateful people are happier, more satisfied, and live longer. Having an Attitude of Gratitude also enables you to connect emotionally with others, helping you build much deeper and stronger relationships.

Summary:?Enhancing your Positive Attitude calls for an optimistic outlook, enthusiasm grounded in reality, resilience, creativity, adeptness at problem-solving, spending time with inspiring colleagues, being true to yourself, and maintaining a mindset of gratitude. Develop these qualities to increase your career trajectory, gain personal fulfillment, and inspire others to achieve their goals.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments on this topic.

Tony Colangelo?is a Certified Executive Coach and Founder of eXecutive Factor Coaching. Tony is also a Speaker and Author of the Blog Series "Leadership Lessons I Wish I Learned When I Was Younger". Tony has over 30 years of experience in Leadership roles in the management consulting and information technology industries.

Contact Tony Colangelo on LinkedIn DM or [email protected] for a free consultation on achieving your full Leadership potential.

This article is Leadership Lesson # 20?from Tony's Blog Series "Leadership Lessons I Wish I Learned When I Was Younger,"

Copyright ? 2023 eXecutive Factor Coaching Inc.