The power of a positive leader

Leading is  more than just steering a ship. It's about painting a vivid portrait of a brighter tomorrow and empowering others to wholeheartedly invest themselves in making it a reality. This is a particularly acute priority in times of uncertainty and complexity, like we’re experiencing in 2024. When every day’s headlines are cause for further worry, the leader needs to show a brave face and keep spirits up.

Yet all too often, leaders get caught up in mainstream pessimism like everybody else and focus on the negative when considering the future. This may be because our modern society emphasizes risk avoidance. But as leaders striving for excellence, we must rewrite this narrative. Championing a positive vision for the future is essential in helping the people we lead to live with purpose and always seek more.

As human beings we experience different levels of reality.  The most common concept is what we experience via our five senses, but there are many others.  A positive perspective on the future improves outcomes on at least three levels of our reality – the physical, the psychological and the organisational.

A positive perspective at any one level has consequences for the others.  For example, a leader’s personal enthusiasm and positive attitude towards the future (psychological level) will impact the approach taken towards the future of their employees (organisational level). Similarly, a positive culture (organisational level) will help a new hire also develop a more positive attitude and belief in the future (psychological level).

There are two fundamental truths for leaders to remember: Firstly, our actions wield immense power in shaping outcomes. Secondly, a positive perspective infuses our actions with the energy of optimism, heightening the likelihood of favourable results.

Now, let’s dig deeper. 

The Physical Level

The brain is made up of neurons, cells that produce electrical impulses.  Thoughts are essentially combinations of these electrical impulses firing in different parts of the brain.  Experiments tracking where neurons produce impulses under different circumstances have shown that the parts of the brain that “light up” when we see something are the same parts that light up when we think about that same thing.

Thought precedes action.  It is necessary to have thoughts in order for the brain to send instructions to other parts of the body to act in a certain way.  If one wants to pour a glass of water, one must first have the thought about that future action before carrying it out.  Therefore if one wishes to attain a positive goal in the future, one must form positive images and maintain positive thoughts for the rest of the body to act towards it.  This applies as much to going to the kitchen to pour a glass of water as it does to building a company that dominates an industry, it just means that the image must be held in the mind for a longer period of time.

When we experience emotional thoughts, the hypothalamus in the brain assembles proteins known as peptides, which match these emotions.  The peptides enter the bloodstream and are transported to cells around the body.  All cells have receptors in their cell walls, which accept or reject peptides, as well as nutrition and other chemicals, into the cell.  Once inside the cell, the peptides cause it to behave in a certain way. 

Cells exposed to a recurrent influx of peptides matching certain emotions like stress or depression over an extended period can lead to the deterioration of their receptors, causing them to function less efficiently. As cells replicate, this dysfunction propagates, resulting in a quicker aging process in comparison to a body with balanced positive emotions. A positive perspective, therefore, not only helps maintain better physical health, but also enhances our capability to actively shape the future.

The Psychological Level

While thought precedes action, belief drives action.  What we believe about the future influences how we behave in the present.  Regardless of any present adversity, one's belief and optimism for the future can motivate actions to achieve an envisioned goal.

This is evident in Nelson Mandela's life. Despite a life sentence, his decision to pursue a postgraduate law degree while in prison on Robben Island reflected his belief that he could contribute positively in a better future. The absence of belief or hope for the future, as Viktor Frankl noted in his accounts from the Nazi concentration camps, can lead to individuals succumbing to both mental and physical decay; “the prisoner who had lost faith in the future – his future – was doomed.”

Having a meaningful purpose or a 'why' to strive for enhances endurance, as highlighted by Friedrich Nietzsche's quote, "He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how". However, it's essential to be realistic about future possibilities to avoid disillusionment and maintain hope. Following the Taoist principle of 'going with the flow' and holding onto your goals lightly enough that you can change them as necessary is also important.

So thoughts precede action, belief propels action, and action shapes the future. As the philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson put it, “There is no thought in my mind but it quickly tends to convert itself into a power and organizes a huge instrumentality of means.”

The Organisational Level

Since we don’t live in isolation, there are always others who will have an impact on us and our dreams. We, in turn, have a similar impact on those around us, most especially those who we lead. We actually co-create the future. As the author Margaret Mead is most famous for saying, “never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

The ability to influence the way that others think is important for co-creating the future.  A positive attitude, like yawning or laughter, is infectious behaviour. Sports teams tend to win more home games than away games because of the volume of their supporters’ cheering. Unfortunately, negative attitudes from those who want to “kill the dream” can also be infectious. It is the infectious nature of hopelessness that lies behind the famous “Broken Windows theory” proposed by criminologists and applied in New York in the 1990s to restore order and hope for a better future.

Moving from a focus on negativity to a focus on the good and the positive is the cornerstone of the technique of Appreciative Inquiry. This approach involves evaluating and augmenting successful organisational behaviours rather than focusing on rectifying mistakes.

One of the technique’s eight principles, the Positive Principle, states that asking positive questions of people in an organisation, causing them to focus on what is good and what works well, brings out the best in them and inspires them to act positively and think creatively about possible positive futures for themselves and the organisation.  Trying to analyse only problems, on the other hand, fills the organisation with stories of why things fail, demoralises employees and undermines relationships and forward movement of the organisation.

Leading from the front

The future does not exist until it is observed. If you follow quantum physics, you will know that Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle shows that the observer can change the future path or position of an electron just by acting as an observer. So it is impossible for anyone to have no impact on the future, even if we think we are just passive observers. By accepting this and acting purposefully and positively, we are better able to have a positive impact on the probable outcome.

At multiple different levels of our reality, leaders have the ability to affect outcomes by being an active participant in creating the kind of future we want to be a part of. This means that the more we practice a positive approach to the future, the more we and the people we lead are likely to experience positive outcomes socially, psychologically and in our physical wellbeing.

When Henry Ford said, “I am looking for a lot of men who have infinite capacity to not know what can’t be done”, he meant that he was looking for people with positive attitudes to help him create a world-leading company, not people whose minds were clouded by negativity.

At a time when people around the world struggle to see a positive future, it is especially important for leaders to demonstrate that the outcome of a positive outlook is in most cases positive. In the words of Steve Jobs, “the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” It is the role of leaders to help them see that they can, and to lead by example with a positive perspective on the future.