Positivity is crippling your workplace and stifling creativity
Look on the bright side. Keep smiling. Can do. These messages are increasingly prevalent in the workplace, to our significant detriment. And the irony of being briefed by my agent to keep this article “light-hearted” was not lost on me.
I’m going to risk being serious – which is only six degrees from sounding negative – because the cultural saturation of “positive thinking” products runs parallel to rising suicide rates, the quarter-life crisis replacing the mid-life crisis, and 61 per cent of chief executives reporting loneliness hampering their performance.
As a psychologist and business consultant specialising in mindset change, I’ve seen this problem stalking corporate corridors for years.
A stand-out example was in a leading retail organisation with 40 per cent staff turnover, where I discovered world-class systems and scared-but-not-saying-so employees. One of the prevailing mindsets in that workplace was “I have to be positive all the time or I will be seen as weak and be reprimanded or humiliated”.
I witnessed the extent of the issue at a store frequented every Saturday morning by a senior director who lived locally. Product availability and warm customer service were key performance indicators, so the staff retained the director’s favourite products in the storage space until he arrived, leaving those shelves otherwise empty for customers.
They also posted a sentinel near the car park to send word when he was coming near. Suddenly, all hands were on deck, all products were on shelves, and all smiles were beaming. It was operational excellence for all the wrong reasons – and what the director walked into was a lie.
In this organisation, positivity concealed fear. Stress levels were high. Performance was adequate but unsustainable, and creativity was dead – because creativity cannot thrive in a context of pretence. It thrives in one of honesty and mutuality.
Negativity paints dark clouds over blue skies, while positivity puts icing on dog poo and calls it a cake. Ultimately, the stink will strike our noses and a price will be paid.
Authenticity, not positivity is the wellspring of fresh ideas and innovative thinking. When people are allowed to have a bad day, admit their doubts, and operate as human beings instead of human doings, they are more likely to have brilliant days motivated by deep convictions and create extraordinary results even in pressured situations.
I’ve witnessed this in thousands of people and numerous workplaces. I’ve also lived it as a terminal cancer patient who has been urged to stay positive, relentlessly, since my diagnosis five years ago. But I just don’t have a “B Positive” blood type. And it has been the most creative period of my life.
So, what to do about this issue as a leader?
First, admit when you’re having a bad day, because modelling authenticity gives others permission to admit it too.
Second, identify positive mindsets that are undermining your business, and develop strategies to dismantle them. This alone can unlock creativity. You don’t need “creativity” workshops, you need an authentic culture. For example, observe the gap between cheerful behaviour and low morale surveys. This is a clue.
You may also have systems or processes that feed the beast. In that retail firm, we changed a behavioural KPI from “be warm and friendly with customers at all times” to “be honest if you feel stressed, and ask for support”. Staff turnover halved and customer loyalty doubled within a year.
Most importantly, remember that authenticity (which includes genuine joy) liberates creativity, while false positivity stifles it. Learn the difference.
Main image credit: Julian Finney/Getty