Chapter 95. Be a Ruthless Optimist

A leader is a dealer in hope.

—Napoleon Bonaparte

Pessimism is the most fundamental of all the mistakes we managers can make. It is a position, a pose, taken by the manager of not being optimistic about the future of the organization and, therefore, the future of the team.

It is a refusal to prepare for team meetings by learning the rationale behind the latest company decisions. It is a refusal to take a stand for the success of the enterprise. It is a refusal to be an advocate for the organization’s ongoing strategy.

It is also an exaggerated tendency to acknowledge and agree with every issue’s downside without standing up for the upside. Sometimes optimism is a lonely and courageous position to take, which ...

Get 100 Ways to Motivate Others now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.