Silent Career Killer: Negative Attitude

A negative attitude says something about you, and it’s likely that it says something that you don’t want it to say. Once you get labeled with a bad or negative attitude, you cannot change that label over night. If you’ve reacted negatively in a consistent manner over time, one positive attitude event does not a change make.

Own Your Attitude

You must take ownership of your attitude, consistently over a period of time. Do this by:

1. Destroy the blame game. When something goes wrong and it was your responsibility, own it. Be honest with yourself and those around you. If something goes wrong and it wasn’t your responsibility, don’t point fingers. Be a team player. Jump in, providing both solutions and alternatives. Don’t engage in witch hunts or CYA actions. Be the confident you, engage and drive remedy activities.

2. Look for the positive in every situation. It’s not natural for everyone, but it can be learned. Try to slow down reaction by absorbing a “full picture” of any situation. Look for positive outcomes or opportunities. If they are not obvious or the negative comes first – look for “opposites” of what you see. For example, recently I was on a weekend trip with a very dear friend and the flight was delayed. While I’m not a fan of hanging out for hours in an airport or airport food for that matter, it gave me much more time with my friend than I expected. It was a nice surprise and allowed us to get caught up in a much more detail.

3. Smile. Yes that’s it. Really easy and doesn’t cost a thing but a simple tactic that makes almost any situation easier. Now, this cannot be the fake camera smile you mastered at 6 years old. It must be genuine. There are two benefits to this: a) Have you ever tried to be a grump while you are smiling? It’s difficult – try it. b) When you smile, others smile in response…it’s human nature. The act of smiling puts others at ease and more comfortable.

4. Choose your words carefully. What happens when you start with “no”, such as “No, that isn’t right” or “No, that won’t work” or “That will work if you want it to fail”. You may be right, but starting that way will make others stop listening to you. Maybe your experience allows you to see a better or different way to do something. Bring the others along with you. Respond by saying “Yes, and we can add”, or “Perfect! That plus this will achieve…”.

These activities are powerful individually and when combined, consistently over-time it will rewire your thinking patterns to identify positive outcomes and approaches. The added bonuses are two-fold: a) Others ‘new to you’ will think you have a positive outlook and b) Those that had you pegged as a negative will change the way they think of you.

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