Delusional optimism definition12/9/2023 ![]() For both, this turns out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. In contrast, the pragmatic optimist believes that success will take hard work and perseverance. The naive optimist assumes that simply believing and visualising success is enough. ![]() There are, then, two types of optimism that we ought to distinguish: pragmatic optimism and naive optimism. None of us want to follow a delusional leader into the eye of an inevitable storm. Not all optimism is good optimismĪ firm grasp of reality is known to be one of the hallmarks of mental health. In that state, we’ve damped our ability to think clearly, solve problems and take purposeful action. When we hear only bad news, it activates the part of our brain that protects us by responding to threat: fight or flight. This is crucial because we respond to positive and negative messages differently. He was open about the bad news but he countered it with good news. For organisations, this drives collective performance and minimises the negative impacts of change.Īndrew Bailey was not being naive when he outlined the prospects for the UK economy. When we hear balanced messages, our internal drive system engages and motivates us to get focused, pursue plans and make progress. Optimistic leaders are better at telling positive stories about what the future could look like and they help those who are feeling anxious to see there’s a way through the current situation. Engaging communicationīecause optimistic leaders balance the positive and the negative, their communication is more engaging. They move towards positive action, which is a key enabler for change and progress. ![]() Because they look beyond the bad news towards the future, optimistic leaders are likely to be solution focused. The optimistic leader derives business value from active coping: looking to engage with the situation rather than shy away from it. So optimism enhances problem solving, decision making and action taking, creating a constructive strategy to get out of difficulty and deliver business recovery. They tend to more accurately identify causes of success and failure, and correctly assign responsibility for both. ![]() Optimistic leaders are better able to help their organisations respond and adapt to changing circumstances, especially where the need for change was imposed from outside. And leaders who actively choose this approach are much more likely to lead adaptive, successful and innovative organisations. But on the whole, being optimistic about the future is a choice. Of course, we all know those people who remind us of Eeyore on a bad day, with an attitude of: “It could be worse. These differences in our outlook will have reflected the circumstances rather than our inherent outlook. We’ve all had times when we’ve felt optimistic and times when we’ve been a pessimist. Optimism is more about outlook and behaviour than a static trait, making it more malleable than other aspects of personality. But the truth is rather different – and it offers real opportunity for leaders to create value where others are simply defending their position. It’s commonly believed that optimism is a personality trait in the same vein as, say, extraversion. This means that even when bad things happen, optimistic leaders look beyond the events in front of them and focus on the actions they can take to get themselves and their business beyond the current crisis. Optimism is defined as a tendency to expect positive outcomes. But despite the dire consequences of Covid, Bailey remains hopeful of a rapid recovery, anticipating that GDP will rebound by 15% in 2021 with only “limited scarring to the economy”.īy doing this, Bailey highlights a crucial quality that the most effective leaders display in times of great uncertainty and upheaval. ![]() An economy deliberately shut down an ongoing global pandemic and the worst economic outlook on record. If anyone should be pessimistic at a time like this, it’s Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England. Are you harnessing the value of optimism in your organisation, as you manage the economic and cultural impact of the Covid crisis? ![]()
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