Leaders intentionally, deliberately and consistently think positive thoughts.

Research indicates that as much as 75 percent of everything we think is negative, counterproductive, and works against us.  ~H. Norman Wright adapted from Shad Helmstetter

I read this statistic recently in A Better Way to Think: Using Positive Thoughts to Change Your Life by H. Norman Wright and I had to reread it several times.  I kept thinking, is that really possible, really?  Seventy-five percent of what I think could actually be working against me?!

I was recently introduced to the idea of positive psychology and also discovered that the University of Michigan has a Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship in their school of business.  I’m intrigued by the concept and have been reading several books on the topic.

At the University of Michigan they conducted a study and identified the single most important factor in predicting organizational performance, more than twice as powerful as any other, was the ratio of positive to negative statements: 5.6 to 1 for high performing companies.  In other words, the organizations that are performing at an exceptionally high level are quite likely to have leaders who are making nearly six positive statements for every negative statement.  In medium performing organizations the ratio was 1.85 to 1, in poor performing organizations it was .36 to 1.

It would be easy if making random positive statements counted as part of the ratio, but it’s not that simple.  The positive statements should build and strengthen relationships.  UM says there are at least seven techniques and the first three are critical.  The first three include: being authentic and sincere, remaining objective and nonjudgmental, and validating others’ perspectives as being worthwhile.  This isn’t something you can just add to your to-do list; it’s something you have to become, habits to be developed over time.

Martin Seligman (University of Pennsylvania), one of the initiators of positive psychology, said “One of the most significant findings in psychology in last twenty years is that individuals can choose the way they think.”  As leaders, how are we thinking?  How do our behaviors influence how/what others are thinking?  Are we creating a positive or negative climate?

For some, positive might mean upbeat, hyped, charismatic, competitive, etc.  But those aren’t the descriptors of a positive work climate.  Being positive in the workplace takes on a different tenor than what many of us might expect.  A positive work climate is described by behaviors like compassion, forgiveness and gratitude.  In a study of various not-for-profit and public organizations, including General Electric, National City Bank, and OfficeMax, across 16 different industry groups, companies with more positive climates (that is, those that scored higher on compassion, forgiveness, and gratitude activities) performed significantly better in profitability, productivity, quality, innovation, customer satisfaction, and employee retention. (Unleashing Positivity in the Workplace by Ann Pace in T+D Jan2010)

Returning to Norman Wright, he also says that depending upon how active your mind is you may produce more the 45,000 thoughts per day.  Leaders certainly can’t control the hundreds of thousands of thoughts produced each day in their organizations.  However, they can create a culture with a high ratio of positive to negative statements and shift the overall climate of their organization from counterproductive to meaningful, encouraging and flourishing.