Tips for Using Positive Emotions

What qualities would make a lasting difference in your leadership and work environment?

• Creativity and innovation
• Resiliency
• Appreciation by both you and your employees
• Proactive problem solving

These qualities suggest an open-mindedness that is possible only in a positive environment. And that’s what our work promises.

Fight or Flight. It’s human nature to respond to perceived threats with a fight-or-flight response—a primitive response that rightfully kicks in when we are being mugged or otherwise under attack.

That same reaction often occurs in a business setting. And there’s nothing wrong with that, either. A quick decision or an emergency to deal with prompts the feeling that the time to act is now.

Broaden and Build. When negative emotions such as defensiveness, detachment, and fear arise, your engagement and contribution shut down. That can damage others’ trust in you and make them uncomfortable and defensive themselves. Positive emotions create a "broaden and build" response, according to Barbara Frederickson’s research. This mindset leads to openness, playfulness, creativity, insight, and engagement. When you espouse those qualities, you build valuable connections and friendships that support you and your colleagues during both difficult times and good ones.

A Core Value. Does all this positive talk make you nervous? Sometimes positive people are annoying because they fail to take real issues into account. But you need not worry. This is the real thing. Because you assimilate so fully, you exhibit positive leadership as a core value, not a set of canned responses.

Ten Ways to Create a Positive Work Environment. You can begin right here, right now, tocreate a positive work environment:

1. Share positive experiences. Whenever possible, avoid focusing on problems. That only saps energy from your organization. It’s easy to forget that there is more good than bad happening.
2. Encourage one-on-one positive feedback. Give people a chance to share positive feedback with one another before a meeting starts.
3. Reframe comments and ideas in a positive light.
4. Look for what’s possible rather than what’s not.
5. Show a video clip that creates positive emotions.
6. Engage in active problem-solving.
7. Learn, share, and use team members’ strengths.
8. Be kind, compassionate, and helpful
9. Create opportunities for play.
10. Track progress and publicly acknowledge it.

These tips are easy to weave into everything you do once you set your mind to it. We recommend you choose one regular meeting and employ these ideas each time. Notice what impact positivity begins to have as it becomes a natural part of every meeting.

And don’t worry—this need not stop the meeting from having a clear purpose and focusing on its goal.