How to Help Your Team Feel Optimistic (Even when it feels there are non-stop challenges)
Do you feel like you are constantly surrounded by negative information? When you turn on the news to catch up on current events, do you feel weighted down by global challenges? It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the constant barrage of negative information and obstacles. From politics and the economy to global events and local community issues, it may seem too much to handle for you and your team at times.
In addition to these pressures that are out of your team's control, your coworkers, just like you, are also dealing with pressures at home. Whether it is the demands of being a parent or caretaker, or financial needs, the feeling of never-ending stress is a lot to manage. How do you keep your team feeling optimistic and hopeful about the future despite everything happening in their external world?
As a leader, you are the Chief Happiness Officer in your organization, and it is your responsibility to help your team maintain a positive and hopeful outlook in the face of these challenges. Optimism affects physical health, and boosts productivity, engagement, team morale, innovation, and loyalty to your organization. Below are six strategies you can quickly implement to help elevate team morale, especially during times of uncertainty:
1. Be authentic and vulnerable. It is crucial to be honest, and real about present challenges. Do not pretend that everything is perfect when there are known stressors. Talk with your team about the uncertainty and what makes them nervous or anxious. Share your own experiences and how you are coping with stress, anxiety, and challenges. This will help your team feel understood and supported.
2. Communicate the positive. While there is no shortage of negative news in the world, plenty of positive developments are happening every day. Share these stories with your team regularly and focus on the good things happening in your company, industry, and community. Follow positive news networks and ask your peers to share positive events that are happening in their team or division. Create a culture where people share their wins on a weekly basis.
3. Help your team grow their optimism muscles. During your weekly meetings, tell your team that you will use this part of the team meeting to strengthen the optimism muscles. Encourage your team to talk about what they are hopeful for and what possibilities they see for themselves, the company, the industry, and the world. Communicate that our brains are plastic and can change and grow. By doing this, you create a support network for your team to lean on each other and to help overcome obstacles.
4. Fall Up - Focus on the opportunities and possibilities within challenges that your team is facing. Discuss significant challenges your organization is going through, and then brainstorm the available options and opportunities from these challenges. What opportunities await if you lose an important customer or if your organization must lay off people? Shawn Achor’s research proves that when people believe that they can “Fall Up” from a challenge, they will become more resilient and successful despite the setbacks at work.
5. Remind your team of their inner strength and resilience. Discuss the challenges your team has already overcome. During team meetings, ask your team to talk about a time when things were challenging at work or with the economy and how did you overcome it? What resources did you use? What tools did you use? Remind your team how resilient and adaptable they are and how much they learned from the past challenge. Share inspiring stories of huge challenges that you have overcome personally and professionally.
6. Lead by example and take care of yourself. As a leader, you can only be optimistic if you are taking care of your well-being. Make time to prioritize your mental, physical, and spiritual health to set a positive example for your team. Optimistic people are healthier; they live longer, so it is up to you to set this example for your team.
Remember, happy leaders are successful leaders, and by following these steps, you can help your team stay optimistic and energized even in the face of difficult circumstances. There are always opportunities and possibilities within challenges; as a leader, it is your job to help your team see them.
If you want to learn more techniques to help your team, contact Tia today!
Arrive At Happy's mission is to inspire transformation through the science of happiness. Tia Graham, founder, partners with organizations and individuals to increase their daily happiness and success in all areas of their lives. Relying on science-backed empirical data, she has gained the insight needed to prove and teach that happiness indeed leads to success.
Tia has a Certificate in Happiness Studies and a Certificate in Teaching Happiness from Harvard's Tal Ben-Shahar and The Happiness Studies Academy. She is a Certified Chief Happiness Officer from Woohoo Inc., Europe's premier Happiness at Work organization.