Positive Leadership

by Dr. Tim Sharp (Leading Executive Coach & Consultant)

If you’re reading this article then you’re a leader. You might not have “leader” or “manager” or “executive” in your title but I’m guessing that if you’re still with me then you are, in one way or other, the sort of person who has, or at least wants to have a significant influence within your team and/or organisation.

And that’s great, because I don’t think we can ever have enough leaders…assuming, that is, we have positive leaders.

Positive leaders energise and motivate. Positive leaders inspire and innovate. Positive leaders encourage collaboration and foster morale and engagement. Positive leaders generate more productivity, better results, and out perform their peers on every imaginable measure. People want to work for positive leaders and organisations want to find and keep positive leaders.

The good news is that we can all learn to be positive leaders; and the even better news is that there’s not just one way to be a positive leader. We can all do it in our own way, using our own style and within our own personality.

Research from the exciting new science of positive psychology informs us that positive leaders tend to:

- Have a clear sense of their purpose and direction; they know who they are and what their role is; they find meaning in their work and help others find meaning and see the bigger picture also
- Be more optimistic; they focus on positives but also face the cold, hard realities of the day; they recognise problems but quickly generate solutions
- Support others; they care for themselves but they also care for their loved ones and colleagues; they’re generous; they recognise talents and abilities in others and bring out the best in their team
- Be self aware and cognisant of their own inner strengths; they know exactly in what areas they excel and they utilise these characteristics as often as possible
- Appreciate and be grateful for what’s good; they focus more on what they have and less on what they don’t have; they catch people when they’re doing things right, not just when they’re making mistakes, and they say thank you

If you’re already doing all this then hold onto your hat because you’re in for an exciting and fulfilling ride; if you’re not, then start making what ever changes you need to make because if you can become a positive leader (and you can because everything I’ve outlined above can be learned) you’ll achieve more happiness and success than you ever thought possible!

Dr. Sharp is one of Australia’s leaders in the exciting new science of positive psychology and happiness. In short, he is one of this country’s leading Executive Coaches, a highly qualified consultant on matters relating to human behaviour and psychology (particularly the application of positive psychology principles within organisations and teams) and a sought after public/corporate speaker. For more information please email info@thehappinessinstitute or visit The Happiness Institute

Article sourced from the rechargelounge.com.au