↗️ How to set a positive tone with a question of just 2 words
You can start your day on the ‘wrong foot’.
Similarly, you can start meetings on the wrong foot, too!
That’s especially important for the productive culture or your regular team meetings.
Here’s a tip how you can set a positive tone with a question of just 2 words:
“What’s better?”
How to make this work well:
- You ask everyone to share what has improved / gone better / worked well since the last time you met
- You will be gently non-compromising. Everyone must contribute at least one thing that has gone better, however small (if that does not exist, it’s a strong red flag to take note of, btw!)
- This is not about ignoring what’s tough and being naive. It is about setting the initial tone, before you naturally also discuss challenges.
What’s the impact of doing this?
- You set the micro culture of the meeting towards the possible + positive.
- It can act as an effective pattern interrupt, to break negativity. You are likely taking the wind out of the sails of professional nay-sayers and pessimists.
- You have a high chance to ‘harvest’ smiles and positive emotions.
- You will often discover surprising wins you were not even aware of.
- You make your team clearly aware of progress made, which is an important motivation factor.
- You show that it’s important for you as Leader to recognise successes and give people a taste of your values in action.
- If you do this consistently, over time people will develop an ‘eye’ for things that work well and they are less likely to be overlooked.
“What’s better” can be a powerful testament to your role as a Leader in setting the micro-culture in a meeting. You have a lot of influence whether you set your meeting on an optimistic or pessimistic trajectory.
And Remember 😀: Optimists will win in the long-run!
Why? They consistently err on the side of the positive, but this miscalculation motivates them to seek opportunities and at least give it a shot. Pessimists won’t try.
Have a great week ahead and hope things will be better 🙂
Any comments and feedback? Let me know below!
Maik
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Maik Frank
Maik is a PCC Executive Coach and the founder of IntelliCoach.com. He has coached and trained over 400 People Leaders to improve their communication skills and offers guaranteed measurable growth to his clients. He also hosts the Coaching Leader Podcast.
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