It’s in the Attitude!

“You may not be able to control every situation and its outcome, but you can control your attitude and how you deal with it.”

?-         Unknown

It seems like every day, we are cast into new and challenging situations at an ever-increasing pace. The power to handle and manage these situations to successful outcomes lies in our ability not only to use our leadership skills solidly, but to manage our attitudes and channel them successfully to others to influence them for good. This is a true core principle of power in leadership!

“Attitudinal Lift”

You’ve likely seen many “winglets” like the one pictured above on jet aircraft. They are a relatively modern innovation whose sole purpose in life is to make a small difference in the amount of lift provided to the wing. This, in turn, reduces air resistance and increases fuel efficiency. It’s only a very small amount of lift on every flight, but over thousands of flights, that’s huge savings! 

In the same way, even a small, positive change in our attitude on a certain situation can create “lift”, and reduce “drag” that consumes our own energy unnecessarily. We can convert that energy into positive movement and further “lift” for ourselves and others.   

Monitoring your Attitude

One of the most important steps you can take toward achieving your greatest potential in life is to learn to monitor your attitude and its impact on your work performance, relationships and really everyone around you. We all have a choice, but to make that choice, we have to be aware of our attitude and how it is guiding our conversations, decisions and activities.  That means we have to step outside of ourselves every day and look at ourselves and say “am I truly looking at this situation in the right way- the way that creates the best outcome for me and the team that I am leading (or a part of)? Is this going to work out well for both me and my partner? What would be the best outcome and how can I contribute best to get there?” 

Don’t be a Hostage to Others’ Attitudes

At the same time, we are being impacted by others’ attitudes all day long! We need to sort those carefully and ensure that we are not being “taken hostage” by those close to us and the negative things that they may say or do. Dr. Zsófia K?rmendy counsels to avoid toxic relationships- you have a choice! Don’t keep complaining about it, make the change. If you can’t make a change right away due to your circumstances, be prepared to turn a negative remark to a positive observation. Approach it with an open mind and without judgment, and don’t remain offended by negative responses. You have control over the way you feel about and handle the situation, and a responsibility to yourself to raise the bar here. 

Taking the right attitude is truly not a panacea for all of our ills; we cannot close our eyes and wish our problems away any more than we can wish that load of dishes in the sink will wash itself and it is done. But if we decide that we are going to appreciate the fact that we have food to dirty the dishes as we work to clean them, the job is much more pleasant, right? I believe so.  

 The Principles

?The Power of our own attitude on the outcome a situation can be enormous. As a leadership principle, it has a magnifying effect- your attitude, as a leader, flows to your team very easily. Monitor it closely! Lift others with your approach, and don’t let anyone take you hostage with their negative attitudes! It’s completely within your power and your choice!  

Where will your attitude…take you?