More recently, information from over ten years of research in the areas of Positive Psychology and Positive Organisational Psychology are being used in businesses and organisations to create Strategic Optimism.
Strategic Optimism means having a positive expectation for the future that contributes to flourishing and well-being. Human flourishing is described as the sum of positive emotions, positive actions and positive meaning.
Here are four strategies that directly contribute to flourishing and Strategic Optimism:
- Positive Climate
- Positive Communication
- Positive Relationships
- Positive Meaning.
Optimism is part of Emotional Intelligence which can be learned. It helps you be more effective in your career and have a more fulfilling personal life. Research shows the benefits of optimism to be linked to:
- Perseverance
- Good morale and popularity
- Effective problem solving
- Academic, athletic, military, occupational and political success
- Positive mood
- Good health and a long life.
You may be wondering what role negativity or pessimism has. Research indicates that it can lead to:
- Depression
- Passivity
- Failure
- Social estrangement.
Strategic Optimism sets high expectations that actively let you avoid thinking much about negative things that might happen. This allows you to take action on your goals. If strategic optimists set lower expectations or play through possible outcomes too much, their anxiety increases, and their performance decreases.
Moods and emotions are contagious. They impact leadership, job performance, decision making, creativity, turnover, teamwork and negotiations. The kind of optimism that is most beneficial for leaders is referred to as Strategic Optimism. It works best when anxiety is low or not present. Leaders need to be positive when the future can be changed by being Strategically Optimistic.
