Avoiding the Dark Side
By Dr. Trish Holliday
In the Star Wars series, Luke Skywalker was tempted by the evil Darth Vader to join the dark side and use his powers to defeat those who were rebelling against the control of the Empire. Luke had to fight against this powerful temptation constantly, finally overcoming it and becoming a leading hero in the struggle.
How do you as a leader respond to negativity in the workplace? Studies on cognitive processing have indicated that constant exposure to complaining reinforces negative thinking and behavior. Let’s face it, in today’s work environment, with the constant change, demand for increased efficiency and effectiveness with fewer resources, and interpersonal struggles, it is easy to be pulled to focus on the “dark side” of it all. Employees, leaders and staff, who resist change and may not understand the importance of it, often create a toxic work environment that becomes infectious. Leaders within organizations need to be aware of such negativity and resolve to not become harbingers of similar attitudes.
Leaders can learn to overcome the negativity in the workplace by following some basic practices.
1.
Consider how you interpret and react to situations. You are the one, the only one, who has control over how you respond to situations, good and bad, in the work environment. We often go about in “auto pilot” mode, reacting in the same way time after time to the challenges of the day. If reactions tend to run to the negative, then stop and think seriously about changing the way you initially respond to those situations. Change the thinking process, change the behavior.
2.
Learn to position yourself to recognize and respond to good ideas. Constantly and purposefully expose yourself to the positive side of situations and concepts. Rather than constantly going to the “dark side,” or the pessimistic view, take the time to put thought to what good there is in such situations and concepts.
3.
Be accountable for how you respond. When you catch yourself slipping back into the negative, hit your reset button and get back on track. It is easy in the fast-paced, challenging work environment that today’s workplace throws at you to become habitual in how you respond to negative situations. Changing behavior starts with the mind, deciding to make a change and then being accountable to follow through. As leaders in state government, the need to constantly evaluate how you respond to the negative that confronts you. By purposefully changing the way you think about, and handle, such situations and ideas, you can begin to avoid the “dark side” of work, and become a more successful leader of people.
This article was originally published in HR News Magazine in July 2016.