Become a Better Manager by Improving Your Attitude

Become a Better Manager by Improving Your Attitude

Anyone can easily become a better manager, simply by changing attitude and becoming more positive about things. This article explains.

Think back to the last time your company faced a major setback. Likely, with it there was a great deal of stress among your entire team, and a lot of pressure on you. These situations are inevitable in a work environment, but it doesn’t have to be negative and bring the entire team down. Instead, it should be a time for reflection, assessment of opportunity, and action.

Some managers can get bogged down by setbacks, and it can poorly affect the output of the entire team. Others, though, will come out stronger and ready to take charge and improve the situation immediately.

So what sets these two managers apart? The answer is simply their attitude.

Attitude is the decisive factor separating failure from success.

If you have little faith in your ability to achieve your goals, you’ll likely to end up doing exactly that.

Conversely, if you have a positive attitude that shouts “I can do this” – you’ll likely find yourself winning the game of life.

In this article, you’ll learn how to:

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  • Develop a positive attitude at work and become a model for your employees
  • Why it’s importance to lead positively
  • How your attitude as a manager affects your business’ bottom line

How to develop a positive attitude

The simple answer is by overcoming difficulties and facing your fears head on.

Do these things enough times, and eventually you’ll build the confidence you need to succeed as well as taking possession of an unshakeable positive attitude.

Not only can this attitude transform your day-to-day living, but if you’re a manager, it’ll help you lead your team in a fresh, dynamic way.

Everybody goes through setbacks at some point in their career–sometimes major setbacks. It’s a harsh reality that cannot be avoided.

Instead of wallowing in sorrow or harbouring major regret about the setbacks you have faced in your role, take the setback as an opportunity for change.

Don’t stay stuck–rather, use your time and energy to find opportunities which will put your entire team ahead. With the right attitude, anything can seem possible.

This may sound crazy, but facing setbacks (and handling them well) is the secret to being a successful manager!

This is because it is impossible to think of new ideas or fully understand new experiences without stepping outside of your comfort zone–and what faster way to get you out of your comfort zone than to be faced with a setback or obstacle at work.

Any manager who has met great successes has also faced many setbacks, as nobody wins on every try.

Since setbacks at work are unavoidable, it’s important to track your team’s  progress and always celebrate the small benchmarks. Weekly reviews are helpful to assess where your team is and to acknowledge all of the small wins of the week. Every accomplishment, no matter how small, is an achievement; so, be sure to take note of them and share them with your team.

Tracking progress is also a great way to find and mitigate smaller hindrances that impede your progress, so that you can find a good work-around before they become a major problem.

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Why it’s important to lead positively

Positive leadership will not only help your team; it will improve every aspect of your company or organisation.

The trick is to evaluate your current management style and see where you can make improvements towards a more positive approach. Even if you think you already practice a positive leadership – there’s always room for improvement.

To give you some inspiration for making changes to the way you manage your team, I’ve listed below three unexpected benefits that you and your team can gain:

A good attitude affirms employee potential

If you use deliberate strategies to consistently create more positive experiences at work, everyone will notice the difference.

Productivity will be up. Confidence will soar. And employee satisfaction will follow the same trajectory.

So what’s one of the best ways of fostering this positive environment?

Affirmative bias.

This is where you focus on the unique strengths and capabilities of your employees.

For example, one member of your team might be detail-oriented, so you should encourage them to work more in the area of statistics and analysis. Another team member might have a persuasive, outgoing personality. You could help them play to their strengths by suggesting they take on more presentation and sales duties.

When you ask your team members to do the things they’re naturally good at – they’ll thank you for it.

Positivity embraces negativity

Positive leadership builds on negativity to create new positive outcomes.

How does it do this?

By seeing negativity as an opportunity and a fuel for change.

For instance, imagine if one of your best team members announced he was leaving the company and going to pastures new. This could be seen as a major blow in terms of loss of knowledge, skills, drive, etc.

However, it could also be seen as a golden opportunity for the remaining team members to take on new tasks and to stretch their skills and capabilities.

Embrace negativity instead of being defeated by it, and you’ll find circumstances turn in your favour.

Positivity helps your bottom line

As I stated earlier, when you lead positively, then you’ll find yourself heading up a happy team. And happy people focused on creating great experiences is an excellent competitive advantage to have.

Each time your team interacts with customers, their positive attitude will shine though – often winning the customer over to your side.

Positivity can be transmuted into hard cash!

It’s not wishful thinking. It’s working with human nature.

Nobody likes dealing with negative people. It’s a definite turn-off. This is why friendly, upbeat teams and individuals will always win the day.

How to apply positivity to your managerial role

Now that you’ve learned some of the tangible benefits of positive leadership, let me give you some tried-and-tested steps to take to begin moving your managerial skills to a whole new level.

The first (and most important step) is to change your mindset by throwing out your negative thoughts and habits and replacing them with positive alternatives. When you do this, you’ll trigger a catalyst of changes in your attitude, and the way your team responds to you.

Once you’ve adopted the above, then add the following to the mix:

  • Utilise emojis when using Slack, Chats or other correspondence. It makes you seem more approachable and human, and keeps the tone positive.
  • Keep a planner of gratitude.
  • Always praise improvement, no matter how small.
  • Praise great ideas in team meetings – calling out team-mates who generated the ideas.
  • When reviewing employees work, always look for one positive thing to say about it, and recite that commentary first.
  • Ask teammates for input, and ask often. This will make them feel like their opinions matter and that they are a valuable contributor to the team.

Finally, I recommend you make a point of celebrating your victories – whether big or small. This will remind your team members that hitting major milestones is a wonderful and exciting thing.

In Summary

When your attitude is upbeat, enthusiastic and focused – you’ll provide the perfect example for your team to follow.

They’ll naturally pick up on your passion and zeal. And they’ll want to be part of the positive vibes that you’ve set in motion–and from there, business will radically improve overall!

In short, having a positive attitude can help:

  • encourage and affirm potential in your employees
  • your employees see the opportunities within obstacles
  • model positive behaviour that will transfer to your customers

All that’s left is for you to start putting these tips into action. And as legendary self-help writer Napoleon Hill once said: “Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.”

 

About the Author

Leon Hois the founder and CEO of Lifehack. Influenced by both Western and Asian culture, Leon has decades of experience in management, technology, self-improvement, and productivity.