by Inge Beckers | April, 2021 | Inge Beckers, Work
In this 6th blog on positive leadership, I will discuss the importance of enhancing positive meaning at work. As human beings, it is in our nature to experience a search for a meaningful life. We actively seek purpose, also at work. When employees experience this sense of purpose in their work environment, they are likely to be happier, more engaged, and more creative. And when they feel alignment between their roles and the company’s goals, staff turnover goes down and productivity rises. When the meaning of what we do at work is clear, everyone, from the CEO to the customers, will feel the positive effects. What is meaningful work? Having a meaningful job is about the ability to use one’s skills and strengths to the maximum potential and the feeling that the daily tasks are valuable and contribute to a larger project. This feeling of meaning concerns individual flourishing and commitment as well as long-term sustainable innovation, and performance in organizations. Some people bring a sense of meaning and mission with them into the workplace, sometimes it is the organisation that excels at creating a meaningful workplace. 3 different work orientations People work for many reasons. Amy Wrzesniewski, Professor of Organizational Behavior at Yale University’s School of Management has been studying a classification system that can help to recognize one’s orientation toward a job and find ways to attain greater job satisfaction. She describes three different work orientations. People see their work as a job, a career or a calling. When they look at it as just their job, then work is being regarded as a source...
by Inge Beckers | February, 2021 | Inge Beckers, leadership
In this 5th blog on positive leadership, I will explain why positive communication is a key asset to the workplace. What do we mean by positive communication? It is using a language that is based on respect, that builds trust and collaboration and it is as such the cornerstone of creating a psychologically safe workplace in which employees feel connected and engaged. Positive language Positive communication is based on positive emotions and uses affirmative, constructive, and supportive language instead of negative and critical language. Research on why some management teams perform better than other* shows that the ratio of positive statements to negative statements is the single most important factor in predicting organizational performance. Managers who use positive language are twice as successful. They are better at building rapport with others and they have more impact on the way they are perceived as a manager. Positive communication can also help in building a strong company culture by creating clarity about the mission, the values, and the goals of the organisation so that employees know why they are working and what they are working towards. When people feel their work matters, they will be more inclined to working harder and with a much more positive outlook. As a result, the use of positive language is not only more effective but also powerful and inspiring for all employees at every level. Perhaps you have heard the story of the janitor at NASA. When President John F. Kennedy was visiting NASA headquarters for the first time in 1961, he noticed a janitor carrying a broom. He interrupted his tour, introduced himself and...
by Inge Beckers | January, 2021 | Inge Beckers, leadership
So far, I have discussed two strategies to become a positive leader: creating a positive mindset and cultivate a positive climate. The third strategy is to build positive relationships. An organization depends on his individuals to interact and form connections to get the job done. The quality of these connections are the building blocks for bringing out the best in people and organisations and have a huge impact on the business results. As humans, we are innately social beings, we need other people, we need connection. Considering that we spend one-third of our lives at work, it makes sense that we should want to promote positive social interactions at work, and not just in our personal lives. Research from Gallup shows that people who have a good friend at work are more likely to be happy and engaged. Working in a positive work environment results in more creativity and productivity, better customer engagement and increased profit. High quality connections Two well-respected researchers in the field of management and organisations, Dutton and Heaphy have done research on a particular form of positive work relationships, called ‘high-quality connections’. These connections refer to a brief moment of contact – in contrast to a long-standing relationship -and can be considered as relational micro-moments. They can be of high quality (positive), low quality (negative) or neutral. When these connections are of high quality, they create positive emotions and therefore contribute to the individual as well as team flourishing, which in turn will lead to higher organisation’s effectiveness. If employees experience high-quality connections, they feel more engaged, energized, respected and trusted by each other....
by Inge Beckers | December, 2020 | Inge Beckers, Work
In my previous blog, I described the first step towards a positive leadership approach, the positive mindset. We need to learn to see possibilities instead of only what is present and focus on strengths instead of weaknesses. In this third blog, I will explore the strategy of building a positive climate in the work environment. This is not about just implementing a culture of positive thinking, in which negative events are being ignored. It is about using evidence-based practices to cultivate a professional environment that promotes psychological safety, growth and goal attainment. In a positive climate, employees feel more positive than negative emotions which will enable them to move from functioning to flourishing. And well-being – not just performance- is a key element of success. The leader’s influence Gallup is an American analytics and advisory company known for its public opion polls conducted worldwide. Their research shows that up to 70% of the climate in a team is determined by the leader. This means he has a huge impact on an individual’s decision to stay or go and on the employee engagement. And that engagement is directly linked to higher productivity, profitability and quality, as well as lower turnover, less absenteeism and fewer safety incidents. What leaders do, is more important than what they say. They set the tone. We know that emotions are contagious, so when leaders are aware of their impact and display a positive attitude it will reflect on their team, and also impact interactions with others at work. The research is showing clearly that when a company raises employee engagement levels consistently across every business...
by Inge Beckers | October, 2020 | Inge Beckers, leadership
Being a leader can be quite challenging. You are responsible for your team, your department and your business goals. You want to be successful and motivate your people to perform at their best. After all, you all want to achieve great results, no? Well, it might not be that easy. It is not because you are motivated and enthusiastic that your team will feel the same way and perform at their best level. It is not because you are aware of all the goals and objectives, that your team will understand what is expected from them. Positive leadership is about unlocking the potential of your team. When people use their strengths more, they will be energized and achieve better results. Displaying a positive attitude at work creates a multitude of benefits. Not only will people look at you in a more appreciative way which may incline them to help you in more ways, but it is also contagious. Positivity rubs off on everyone else. Fixed versus growth mindset Adapting a positive mindset is about adapting a growth mindset. Carol Dweck did extensive research on human motivation and the power of our mindset. She concluded there are two mindsets: the ‘fixed’ and the ‘growth’ mindset. Her research looked at the origins of those mindsets and the role they play in motivation and self-regulation, as well as their impact on achievement and interpersonal processes (Dweck, 2006). When we translate this to leadership skills, it means that managers with a ‘fixed’ mindset belief that intelligence, personality and strengths are stabile and hardly changeable, and they tend to show what they know instead...
by Inge Beckers | March, 2020 | Inge Beckers, Mindfulness
Mindfulness seems to be the latest buzzword, not only online or in lifestyle magazines, but also in the business environment. This is good news because now more people get to know the concept of mindfulness. But it is also dangerous because misconceptions are being spread about the subject, often because people do not delve into the real meaning of it and make assumptions, which are sometimes only partially true. What is it? To understand what mindfulness is, it is important to know what it is not. Mindfulness is not about sitting in the lotus position. Yes, some people might do that, but there is no subscribed ideal meditation position. You can do mindfulness everywhere in whatever position you want, sitting down, lying down, even when walking. Mindfulness is also not ‘thinking about nothing’. It is about learning to maintain your focus and stay in the here and now. You can choose to put all your attention just on one thing, for example your breathing or you can choose to let all the environmental stimuli in. It is up to you. Mindfulness is also not about religion. Although Buddhist monks have used mindfulness exercises as forms of meditation as a way of reaching enlightenment, you don’t have to be religious, nor a Buddhist to practice it. In 1979, Jon Kabat-Zinn created the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program which was stripped of all religious undertones. His goal was to help counter stress and chronic pain. Since then a lot of programs were created to be used in venues ranging from schools and hospitals to sports teams. We live in a complex...
