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An effective and inspiring manager must not be morose and pessimistic, but rather have a positive outlook on the world. However, nothing should be exaggerated. What if you have an excessively positive outlook on everything? Then not only will your career prospects suffer; so will your team and its productivity. Here are five good reasons why a manager must not be overly optimistic.
This text is based on an article at ManagementToday.co.uk.
The ability (and willingness) to learn from mistakes is one of the basic requisites for success. You and your team cannot develop, move forward and improve if you are unable to identify where you have made a mistake and how you can avoid it next time. Overly optimistic leaders do not address mistakes, or even see them, and certainly do not draw sufficient consequences and lessons from them.
Risk management is key to success with projects and team leadership. If a manager wears rose-tinted glasses and ignores risks, the team will languish long term and unnecessarily deprive themselves of good results.
To be overly optimistic is to have an unrealistic approach. The guesswork and opinions of an incurable optimist cannot be relied upon; thus they lose credibility and trustworthiness in the eyes of colleagues, superiors and subordinates.
Excessive optimism is also associated with unrealistic expectations. Overly optimistic leaders often ask the impossible of subordinates because they are unwilling to acknowledge the risks, obstacles and constraints that can interfere with successful goal achievement.
All of the above points then lead to a single outcome: the overly optimistic leader is disconnected from reality and they and their team are unable to respond effectively to change and the prospects that come with their job.
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