2-8-2012
We?ve all been there. You?re working on an important project and one of your team members, co-workers, or even manager is the eternal pessimist. I like to call people like this, Eeyore. You remember Eeyore, the gloomy donkey from Winnie the Pooh. The words and phrases you often hear from pessimists are things like, ?it won?t work?, ?I can?t?, ?why?? Not only can these people de-motivate others they can also derail a project.
So what do you do to assist the Eeyores in your life? Ignoring them is not the right answer although many of us choose this as the solution, thinking that they can?t be helped.
You first have to remember that they didn?t start being a pessimist last week. They probably came out of the womb looking at the world in a negative light. So any change that does occur is going to be small and slow. So be very alert to the smallest positive change and praise them for it when you observe it!
When I work with leaders who are focused more on the negative, the challenge is to get them to open their eyes to more options then what they initially see. In fact often they see no options. I will also challenge their beliefs that often lead them to a negative conclusion. For instance, if I hear ?I can?t? from someone, the next questions are: What makes you belief this? What proof do you have? How solid and reliable is the proof? The goal is to get them to start seeing things in a more balanced realistic way.
The other part to the process of managing the pessimist is to get them to see how they are impacting others around them. A good first question when someone claims ?I can?t? is: If you can?t do it, how do you think it is going to impact others on the team? What resources or assistance do you need so you ?can??
It won?t happen overnight but if you take action and don?t ignore the pessimist you will start to see some positive changes.
Beth Armknecht Miller is Founder and President of Executive Velocity, a leadership development advisory firm accelerating the success of senior executives and the companies they lead. Her career spans over 30 years and includes management positions in Fortune 500 companies as well as several entrepreneurial ventures, one of which was honored as an Inc 500 winner. Visit www.executive-velocity.com or http://executivevelocityblog.com
(2/8/2012 2:35:19 PM)
Larry,
I totally agree that if you have a pessimist whose behavior is toxic to the organization, then they need to be shown the door. On the other hand, there are those who genuinely want to improve and once they see the impact that their negative thoughts have on others and are coached through identifying ways to decrease their pessimism they can become less of a negative person from the outside. They learn to internalize many of the negative thoughts.
(2/8/2012 10:16:17 AM)Sunny article, but I think the best medicine for an eternal pessimist in times of great transition is to wrap your arms them lovingly and escort them to the door. Help them find a place to work where their beliefs are aligned with those of the company's.
I know from personal experience that it takes a tremendous amount of energy to manage change and to generate positive momentum with those who are even halfway willing to give it a try. The eternal pessimist--especially a senior-level seller--is like a saboteur--running around planting bombs everywhere and sowing negativity in the minds of everyone else.
Would love to hear some success stories where great managers have turned an ETERNAL pessimist (not an occasional one) around.
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