In any difficult conversation, you need the optimism that it can be worked out. It is also true that we must feel the urgency in getting through such a conversation and go on to a resolution for the situation that created the need for it.
We encounter many such conversations in the workplace. How do we have them without damaging the relationship that exists between us?
Trust is essential in any relationship and vitally critical in business leadership.
A trustworthy leader fosters a positive and productive work environment, promotes transparency, and makes informed decisions. When trust is present in business leaders, it inspires confidence, respect, and loyalty in their team members.
I was featured on the Center For Optimism site with my take on what makes me an optimist.
Here is what it says:
“I was lucky to be born an #optimist, and I sustain that #optimism with three practices. One, by being #grateful for all I have. Two, by #imagining the possibilities of all good things that can happen. And three, by listening to #music that inspires me (Beatles, anyone?). I would say that I am a #realistic optimist and acknowledge that life is not without challenges.”
That’s what Shantha Mohan Ph.D. told me when I asked her what makes her optimistic.
Shantha is an #entrepreneur and author with over 30 years of experience running distributed #engineering teams worldwide. Shantha is a mentor and project guide at the Integrated Innovation Institute at Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley. She is “passionate about humanistic #leadership, using artificial intelligence in innovative solutions, gender equality, and sustainability.”
In an essay, “Optimism: What Every Leader Needs Today,” Shantha wrote, “Optimism is contagious. When a team hears a leader say something can be done, and we can do it together, the positivity energizes the team members to pull together and deliver the best for the organization’s success. Balancing optimism by acknowledging the challenges creates a realistic environment that promotes actions and results.”
Shantha writes, “Leaders also need a healthy dose of realistic optimism, which requires acknowledging the challenges while feeling positive about making an impact.”
Shantha refers to the Beatle’s Song “Getting Better,” which is on our Music for Optimism playlist.
“In my book, Leadership Lessons with The Beatles, I devoted a chapter to optimism and titled it “Getting Better,” one of The Beatles’ songs. A friend asked me why I didn’t choose “Here Comes the Sun,” a song that conveys the essence of hope, as the title. You need hope, but we cannot expect things to be taken care of automatically. We need the drive, commitment to improving, and conviction to succeed. We need action, and we need innovations.”
In this 15-minute interview with Angela Kochuba, who is the Managing Director of Federal Training Academy, I answer the following questions about leadership and “Leadership Lessons with The Beatles”
I traveled to Chennai, India, for the Golden Jubilee reunion of the class of 1971 at my undergraduate alma mater, the College of Engineering, Guindy (CEG), and then to Coimbatore to visit my mother at Serene Shenbagam, a senior community.
In our quest for lifelong learning, there are times when we are learning something new. Sometimes we may have to unlearn what we learned and relearn it to become innovative.
Learning, unlearning, and relearning all require us to be curious.