Healthy business – part two – a positive attitude

by | Feb 12, 2016 | HR Blogs

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I’d like to share with my readers my thoughts on the effects of a positive attitude – both for staff and the wider business.

Many people are proud of the fact they expect the worst from actions and plans, indicating that way they never get disappointed and occasionally get a buzz from things working out well.  They call this ‘realism’, seldom stretch their thinking or expectations and tend to get what they expect.

Other people  have a more positive attitude to actions and plans – planning for success and flexible enough to find solutions when their plans are thwarted.  Positive thinking people can accept an action id unsuccessfully and immediately look for other options or check out the original intent to identify if factors have changed, thus requiring a major or minor change in the original plan.

Positive, realistic people are motivating, engaging and successful, creating  inspired teams and departments and in the process can develop resilience and wellbeing if they all pace themselves and look after physical and emotional needs.

In my time as a Consultant, I have seen this work brilliantly with inspirational team leaders positively working with the colleagues to achieve a goal then having an away day chosen by the group.  They regularly celebrated interim goals and shared success and explored the lack of success to find another way forward or round the obstacle.

Physiological and Neuroscience research is showing us that the “feel good factor” improves our immune, digestive and musculoskeletal systems  as well as our cognitive and emotional wellbeing, making us fitter in both body and mind………………………………….can’t be bad!

Or so you would think?  This team was eventually broken up and the inspirational leader forced to leave the Business……………………………sadly that is how others react when they feel threatened, out of their depth or just unable to  understand how inspirational people work.  This cautionary comment is made not to dissuade positivity but to encourage many others to value the approach, even if they believe they are unable to match it.

 

Ann will be chairing the Health@Work Summit 2016 on the 12th of May. To find out more information on the conference, including speakers and the agenda, click here.

About Ann McCracken

Ann McCracken is a Director of AMC2 and the vice president of the International Management Association (ISMA UK) – the professional body for stress management Practitioners.

She specialises in developing a positive and resilient working culture in organisations by introducing effective strategies in performance and wellbeing at all levels. The effectiveness of such a positive working culture is measured and assessed using AMC2 Corporate Diagnostic innovative surveys which include measurement of psychosocial factors, stress and wellbeing. Having initially trained as a scientist, she carried out research with DEFRA and consultancy in the NHS.

She spent 10 years in Education before retraining as a stress management practitioner in 1996. She is the author of Stress Gremlins©, regularly writes/broadcasts and is an external lecturer at Westminster University. She is also a Key Note/Motivational speaker/Conference Chair.

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