For the past few months and especially last week, if you have turned on the tv or the radio, you have no doubt been exposed to an overload of criticism. During election periods the criticism quotient is through the roof. Like many, I am over it and glad the commercials and ads are done with for now.
There is a liability to our leadership when it comes to this over exposure. For one - the unavoidable psychological factor of your mind processing negative rants and attacks on people. Whether you are intentional with it or not, your mind is going to hang on to the negation for a while. What happens then? As soon as someone does something that you do not totally agree with - you mentally send a toxic level of criticism towards them and perhaps even verbally pounce on them more than you should have. Additionally, if you are not careful - you will find yourself looking for someone to screw something up so you "have something on them." These are just a few examples of the many liabilities a culture of criticism creates.
When we spend our mental energy on harboring negativity and looking for a messy moment - our leadership weakens and our ability to create a better future struggles greatly.
Trust me, you have some of the mess in you just by nature of our recent environment. My advice to us is:
One, stay away from the news today (it will be there tomorrow) and create your own news by leading at a higher level. Two, encourage people with your smile. Three, give verbal compliments to someone you do not know. Four, praise your team members for what they have done. Five, call someone and tell them you are thankful for their life.
These few things will help you shake some of the cynicism and help you embrace that delivering hope is up to you. Your people and the world around you will tune in to you vs the squawk box.
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