As leaders in o
ur organizations we’re in positions to make lots of choices. One of the things we get to choose is how we interact with those we lead. This particular choice is an important one. We know that because a variety of studies demonstrate that the behaviors we model as leaders directly influence the behaviors of those around us. Leadership contagion is real. My behavioral choices as a leader will impact the choices my direct reports and others make. We see that effect in all sorts of environments – the commercial workplace, certainly, but also in military, athletic, academic, and a host of other fields. The leader’s behavior influences the behaviors of those being led.
As we’re out being contagious and choosing the behaviors we want to spread around our organizations, one to seriously consider is the degree of optimism or pessimism we want to model. In my client work I often ask leaders about the degree of optimism and pessimism they’ve experienced in their own leaders. I also ask them how those leadership behaviors correlated with their own job engagement and performance. Most people can quickly recall personal experiences at both ends of the spectrum: situations when they had a boss who always seemed to focus on the negatives (and job engagement and performance were generally low), and situations when they had a boss who always seemed to focus on the positives (and job engagement and performance were generally high).
As we think about characterizing our own levels of optimism and pessimism, many of us quickly recall the familiar “the glass is half-full” versus “the glass is half-empty” analogy. It’s apt, and for good reason is a comparison we’ve all heard. I recently read a story from the Cherokee culture that makes the same distinction between optimism and pessimism, but in a way that seems much more personal for us as leaders. It was related by Barbara Fredrickson, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She’s a world renown expert who studies the impact of positive emotions. When I first heard the story my initial thought was how it applies to us personally and internally as leaders. After reading it a second time, I began to think more about the contagious impact our choices in this area have externally on our organizations and those we lead. See what you think:
One evening a thoughtful, old Cherokee told his grandson about the continuous battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all. One is Negativity. It’s anger, sadness, stress, contempt, disgust, fear, embarrassment, guilt, shame, and hate. The other is Positivity. It’s joy, gratitude, serenity, interest, hope, pride, amusement, inspiration, awe, and above all, love.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?”
The old Cherokee looked wisely at his young grandson and then replied, “The one you feed.”
I want to encourage you to consider where you’re choosing to land on the optimistic-to-pessimistic leadership scale. That will tell you a lot about how you’re feeding those you’re leading.
Bob Sherwin – Chief Operating Officer








