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OPTIMISM VERSUS REALISM AND OPENNESS

Leaders have a key role to play in maintaining hope and commitment in the face of transition. When people are stressed by a crisis or major upheaval, they look to their leaders for positive energy and confidence. Optimism is the ability to see the positive potential of any challenge. A leader who exudes optimism is a “glass is half full” kind of person who communicates and conveys that optimism to others.

But optimism must not be blind or ungrounded. It should be balanced with and validated by realism and openness. This means having a grounded perspective and a willingness to be candid. Leaders who are realistic are clear and honest about assessing a situation and prospects for the future. They are candid and open in communicating what is known and not known. When managers exhibit realism and openness, they speak the truth, don’t sugarcoat the facts, and are willing to admit personal mistakes and foibles. Credibility is essential for leading through change and transition. When leaders fail to be honest and candid, trust and credibility are damaged.

Sometimes, managers overdo the optimism side in an effort to encourage others to make the transition. When overdoing optimism and underdoing openness, they are usually thinking, “I’m supposed to buy in, inspire people to do this work. I’m supposed to be optimistic. My people can’t know that I have my own doubts, concerns, and unanswered questions.” This behavior, however, may create a false sense of reality that can lead to complacency. Most people can tell when a leader is overdoing optimism. They view this as naïveté at best and deception at worst. Opposing or more realistic opinions are blocked and can lead to poor decision making. Overdoing optimism erodes trust in the leader and deflates the motivation and energy of employees.

However, underdoing optimism and overdoing openness can also erode trust and shut down progress. The leader sets up a situation of too much talk and not enough direction and action. The leader plants doubt and dilutes hope. Either the leader or the group may become paralyzed by inaction and fear of making mistakes. Loss of confidence in the leader adds to the confusion of change and transition, as well as disloyalty, indecisiveness, and untrustworthiness.

A leader who effectively blends optimism with realism and openness exudes honesty and integrity. People in the organization are energized by a clear vision that takes into account current reality. People trust the leader not to ignore problem areas or try to mislead them. Rather, the leader is optimistic even with a clear understanding of the difficulties involved. Because of this, group members feel confident in both the leader and themselves to address what’s coming. Leaders who are both optimistic and realistic display two important characteristics:

1.  They are genuinely committed to the change, strategy, or initiative. True optimism comes from belief in the purpose or direction of change. The authentic leader is committed to the fundamental approach for achieving goals, yet is able to adapt and improvise in order to get there.

2.  They aren’t afraid of truth. A commitment to genuine change requires honesty and clarity. An effective leader won’t shy away from reality. In fact, such leaders will ask the hard questions and foster an environment of honesty and candid discussion.

Leaders who demonstrate a good level of optimism

  offer hopeful projections of the future

  generate a contagious level of energy, enthusiasm, and optimism

  are creative and thoughtful about the challenges of the change process

  create and communicate a clear vision

  push themselves and others to set and strive for stretch targets

  consistently walk the talk

  authentically present the range of possible strategies and risks

  offer engaging ideas and plans

  know what others need to be successful

Leaders who demonstrate a good sense of realism and openness

  make others comfortable by sharing of self

  have open channels of communication

  trust the team to be capable of handling the truth

  are honest and engaging in discussions

  acknowledge setbacks and mistakes

  don’t try to mask real problems

  use candor to engender trust and respect

  recognize barriers and limitations, and don’t try to hide them

  share and empathize in a genuine way

Making It True

Here are ways to learn to balance optimism with realism and openness:

Show your enthusiasm. Energy and optimism are contagious. Rather than telling people that they should be positive and optimistic about the future, strive to be open and visible in modeling grounded optimism for them. Being optimistic speaks more powerfully than setting policy, making pronouncements, or cheerleading. If you are honest and sincere in your commitment to the future, people will read it on your face and observe it in your approach. But you can’t fake it. If you aren’t truly committed to where you are going, people will most likely see that as well.

Don’t blow smoke. Avoid putting a false positive spin on decisions or events that are inherently negative or difficult to handle. People will see through these attempts and add personal resentment to the dislike they may already be feeling about the transition process.

Seek to understand obstacles and to learn from other perspectives. Don’t overdo optimism and self-confidence to the point of not recognizing genuine barriers, obstacles, limitations, or mistakes. Use candor and honesty as vehicles for cultivating a higher level of trust and respect. Sharing the truth often provides a springboard for generating creative strategies and renewed energy.

Maintain open channels of communication. It is essential that you know what is going on, but people may not readily tell you the truth or give you feedback. You have to set the tone and model the behavior that makes truth telling okay. Although your instinct may be to retreat with your trusted advisers, you need to make a conscious effort to stay visibly connected to a broader circle of people. Make it clear that you want employees to share their concerns as well as their constructive ideas with you.

Trust people to be capable of handling the truth. Tell them what you know and own up to what you don’t know. Most people understand that difficult challenges don’t come wrapped in simple solutions. They don’t expect their leaders to be superhuman, emotionless, or infallible. Indeed, they will be skeptical and cynical if you wear a mask and try to pretend to be something that you are not. Fight the urge to play the hero.

Don’t hide from your reactions. Don’t try to bury or deny your own human reactions to ongoing events. Powerful transitions trigger real emotions and feelings of loss and grieving in all of us. People pay close attention to their leaders in such times and are looking for indications that their leaders are real people who are capable of having human emotions like their own. They also look to you for validation that these emotional reactions are normal and acceptable. While people cannot wallow in their discomfort, it is quite normal for them to start there. Sharing honestly and from the heart will allow the grieving process to proceed in a more predictable fashion that will facilitate organizational healing in the long term.