Shun negativity

COMMENT

Proverbially, all of us, some days of the week, get up from the wrong side of the bed. As humans, and to prove, we are, we experience mood swings. Happy, one moment; sad and forlorn, the next minute. This oscillation takes place due to the internal conversations that are taking place continually between the sub conscious and the alert mind. We experience fear, apprehension and doubt. Most times these are result of our own failings, rather than the environment.

To the workplace, we bring both sentiments; optimism and pessimism. Moving between these two extremes is also understandably alright; but god-forbid, if any gets stuck at any one end of the spectrum that can be foreboding of dangerous results. While, no one doubts that being a pessimist is not good; it should also be seriously recognised that being an optimist, in a grave situation, can equally be fatal.

For, the discussion and evaluation here, the intention is to discuss the presence of a naysayer on the team. The first sign of a pessimist in the team, is when he demonstrates to be a ‘victim’. The lamentations in such circumstances will be, “I do all the hard-work, he takes the credit” or “don’t expect anything good can happen here, there can be no change”. Over a period of time, the victim status, gets a higher recognition, when the person emboldens the personality with stubbornness and rigidity.

The pessimist in a team is akin to the man who shouts out to those building aircrafts, “don’t forget to keep the parachutes”. Always, imagining that things will go wrong. It is common to hear on the office floor, “It is a sheer waste of time…”; alternatively, it can be re-stated, “It was a good experience, we found out our gaps and shortcomings. Next time, we will do better”. But, no negative thinker on the team would utter, such statements.

In such, situations, the leader is expected to search for the source of pessimism. It could be real or imaginary. In both cases, it cannot be brushed under the carpet for its potential to have a telling effect on results. Hence, hunt down the fountain of pessimism. In doing so, make sure to differentiate always between the person and behaviour. Intelligent managers must possess a high degree of the sense of observation. Look around in the team; seek help from all members to identify, what reasons contribute to a certain pattern of negative behaviour.

In my personal experience, I always found “neglect and in-attention” to colleagues that causes negativity and gives rise to the pessimists. As managers, when you engage with the entire team, it will be easy effort towards building and setting minimum norms and standards for team behaviour. The individual behaviour or reaction, has to be trained and harnessed to remain, subservient to team behaviour.

Negativity entraps the thought process. Sometimes, “pessimism does win us great happy moments” (Sir Max Beerbohm).

The pessimist creates a world of his own, where he is one day the “hero” and on another is the “victim”. A negative colleague, will pride if he without attending rationality, will boast about, how he disagreed with a group conclusion – and here is the self-styled; self-crowned “hero” and where his opinion is put to the bin.

The intelligent pessimist becomes the ‘victim’. We witness these swings in everyday work life.

Possession of negative thoughts and opinion is the beginning of the journey of the ego, from being ego-centric to being ego-maniac – the destination is perennial recognition as a pessimist.

This affliction could be the result of a medical condition or poor family life. The source must be subtly, identified. Pessimism when supported by a medical condition, makes an individual a die-hard pessimist, who ultimately will not find any danger, in getting into the serious state of depression.

In identifying the pessimist on the team, never create a single focus, on a single individual; even if he or she is known for that characteristic. The public recognition of a pessimist will only push him towards further decay and decline. As manager, take aside the negative trouble maker and hear him out; in conversation, the elements causing negativity, will get discovered. Once, these are known and as manager you also evaluate them to be ‘real’ then it demands an immediate corrective action.

If they turn around to be imaginary and flimsy, even then keep the individual engaged on a personal basis – a single bad fish can drown the fresh pond! The optimist proclaims we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true (The Silver Stallion). Negative thinking will never inspire to do better things. It will only adopt and tend towards regression.

At work, it is the lack of comprehension of internal and external forces that influence business, so the pessimist in your team cannot perceive correctly the inter-connectedness of the whole and as such will slide into negativity. A superior manager will recognise this perspective better and will endeavour to show the situations in better light to his pessimist co-workers.

A negative colleague, you would find in most circumstances is not upset by the events, but the way he views them. It must be brought to notice, that life is the way, you see it. As individuals, we must begin to encourage the team members, to see things as they are and not as we, individually presume them to be.

No live and intelligent manager would allow negative comments to go unnoticed. These cannot be left unattended. In ignoring their existence, the possibility is to see them develop into an oak tree of regrets. Confront negativity, with positivity. There are always as good fish in the sea, as ever came out of it. The longest day, a pessimist has to be told, will end, too.

Just as pessimism or negativism cannot be ignored, never lay yourself in a state of thought, that all negativism is essentially bad. Not all pessimism is about being negative, unproductive and baseless. Never forsake the thought, as put across by Elbert Hubbard, a pessimist is a man who is compelled to live with an optimist. The same issue is viewed differently by a fool and a man of wisdom.

It is the eye which makes the horizon (Emerson). Responsibility must be taken for the morale of entire team by jettisoning negativism, amongst its members. Direct and specific steps should be undertaken to remove the aspects that give rise to feelings of negativity, leading up to a state of pessimism and depression.

The enlightened manager knows that having been born under the same sky does not confer upon all the same horizon. Managers must let the charging team to know that what appears to be the end of the street, may actually be only a bend leading towards enlightenment.

Attempt to dispel the pessimism of the pessimist. Never leave a colleague to cling to negative thoughts. As TS Eliot says, when you have arrived at the end of something; you have arrived at the start of something. Drive the pessimist to see opportunity in adversity and difficulty. The sun-sets, the moon rises; the moon sets; the sun rises. The longest night, will have a sun-rise.

Do you know why that cow looks over that wall? She looks over the wall because she cannot see through it, and that is what you pessimist must do with your troubles (negativism) – look over and above them.

Burn the barn and see the moon.

The writer is a senior banker and freelance columnist