Our words carry invisible impact, impact that has a direct impact on our relationships and performance. As leaders, it pays to be far more deliberate about the words we use, and research has found direct correlations between our communication, our performance and the climate we create.
With research increasingly finding that creating thriving cultures is becoming more of a ‘must have’ than a ‘nice to have’ for leaders and their organisations, it can be invaluable for leaders to understand the simple switch that they can make themselves to shift to a positive climate.
‘Employees don’t quit their jobs, they quit their bosses’ is a headline we often see in leadership literature, along with statistics such as ‘seven in 10 U.S. workers say they would leave a job if they had a bad manager,’ (LinkedIn’s Workforce Confidence survey.) Leaders are often under increasing pressure to perform in challenging circumstances whilst instigating high engagement and productivity across their teams, and what can help is if we flip the script.
Now that we are well and truly into 2025, many of us will be planning for the year, setting goals, committing to projects, and productivity will be front of mind. We will all hopefully be feeling refreshed, revitalised and with a renewed focus for the upcoming months. To sustain this, we need to ensure that amongst our long list of actions we include and prioritise the key ingredient that is flourishing.
In the ever-evolving landscape of leadership studies, one concept has emerged as a beacon of optimism and transformation: positive leadership. At its core, positive leadership is not just about achieving goals or maximising productivity; it's about fostering an environment where individuals flourish, relationships thrive, and organisations prosper.
Our brains can consciously process dozens of pieces of information every second; simultaneously, we are unconsciously processing thousands more in the background. To keep up with all stimuli around us, we create mental shortcuts to make decision-making easier. When this happens, unconscious bias can creep in.
We know that wellbeing in the workplace is a game-changer. Happy people are more resilient, more productive & more engaged, and this has proven to increase the bottom line. Where traditional HR Policies often outline what 'not to do' and focus on a deficit model, a positive psychology approach applies to all elements of the HR process – including language.
After years labelled a discretionary “soft skill”, two decades of scientific and business research has demonstrated the value of emotional intelligence. This white paper examines the science, practice and business impact of emotional intelligence in the workplace.
"Emotions are flowing throughout your organisation and impacting every thought, behaviour and decision. Your choice is not whether they exist or not; your choice is whether you will be smart about them.” – David Caruso
Leaders who focus on bringing out the best in people and themselves can transform the way their organisation functions and achieve exceptional results. This article expands on research from Kim Cameron, shared at the World Congress of Positive Psychology in July.
