Inspiring impact: What positive leadership means to me

I’m thrilled to be one of the winners of the first annual Positive Leadership Awards . I was nominated by someone from the team along with 11,687 others from across the world, and was one of the 24 people selected. Organized by the Positive Leadership Institute, the awards honor people who help people, teams and organizations thrive through impactful leadership practices. It’s a great recognition of the company culture we strive to cultivate at Qcify.

Proof of Positive Culture

Most people are familiar with the term Proof of Concept (POC), which demonstrates that a concept or business idea is feasible. But as a company grows, I think it’s also essential to have a Proof of Positive Culture (PPC). At Qcify we invested in our company culture more than ever over the past year. Writing out our culture manifesto was a good way to distill what our culture is about. It’s always been clear to our team members, but it helps to put it down on paper so that other potential team members know it too.

It's also good to cultivate self-awareness from the start: Who do you want to be? What do you stand for? We are clearly aligned with a culture of positivity, and it’s becoming clearer and clearer how we put that into practice at Qcify. The enormous degree of goodwill and gratefulness that we get back are proof of our positive approach.

The most concrete example of that is that someone on the team made the effort to nominate me and to justify why my nomination deserved to be considered.? The awards focused on positive leadership elements such as:

• Positive Motivation: Giving team members the opportunity to grow as individuals
• Positive Capital: Creating positivity, hope and resilience, and best practices for positive leadership
• Positive Direction: Convincing the team to go beyond just doing their job
• Positive Climate: Creating a positive atmosphere that encourages authenticity, inclusion and trust.

What positive leadership means to me

For me it’s not about the award itself, although it’s always nice to be recognized. Being consciously involved in leadership and having a positive role in the company and in the world as a whole has always been important to me. I don’t want to be the boss, I want to lead my team and also the industry toward the future. Positivity is an important element in that vision.

At the same time, I don’t buy into toxic positivity. There has to be room for authenticity and genuine emotion. The team has also seen me in tears. I don’t wear rose-colored glasses or live in a fantasy world. When things go wrong, I try to approach the situation in a positive way, though not necessarily with a smile on my face. Every negative situation also holds possibilities. Taking the positive approach doesn’t necessarily guarantee a positive outcome, but it helps us use whatever influence we have in the best way possible.

It’s a mindset of being a work in progress

For me positivity isn’t about being giddy with good vibes, but rather a constructive outlook to help navigate the rapidly changing circumstances that shape our society. I’ve always tried to look ahead and not cling too hard to the status quo. Our world is constantly shifting and developing and we have to stay open to change.??

My coach has helped me cultivate this growth mindset. We also cultivate it among the team by having every member who joins do a team assessment to build awareness of their own role and their relationships with colleagues. I believe people are never done with working on themselves, and this may be the essence of positive leadership. People who believe they’ve reached the summit are the ones who can fall the hardest. When you strive for positive leadership, you will always keep climbing.

What do you think is the best way to lead positive change? I’d love to hear your vision!