You can always find the negative in something. It's there - no person or thing is ever perfect.
You engage with colleagues every day that are:
disorganized
poor listeners
not tactful
The list could go on and on.
But - why not look for and emphasize the positive?
Imperfect Families
I live in an imperfect family. The chief imperfect person in my family is me. My son is from Bulgaria - he joined our family 9 years ago this month. He's a great kid - so happy, so joyful, so smart, so loving. I could go on and on.
But - he's imperfect...as I am imperfect. The story and pictures are from several years ago.
In and Out of the Funk
I was reminded of our imperfections on Sunday. We had a great time at church. He was 'flying high' after seeing so many of his friends there.
We picked up lunch at a local taco place. It took a little longer than it normally does. During that time, his behavior deteriorated. And...so did my patience.
When we go in the car I raised my voice. No...I yelled. I yelled at him in frustration. It was a flow of negative words....a flow of negativity.
Within a few seconds, I apologized. I asked for forgiveness. But - this was the beginning of the funk on his part.
Over the next 2 hours, my wife and I navigated some of the worst behaviors we'd ever seen.
Then suddenly - it was over. He was 'luvy duvy' again. He told us he loved us. He told us he needed a few minutes to 'chill out'.
Perfect parents, right?
I'd like to tell you that our perfection as parents is what brought him around. But - it's not. Honestly - he still does things we don't understand at all. But - we do know he responds to positivity:
Positive words at school from his teacher Mr Finan.
Positive words from his his buddies at church.
Positive words and high fives after his recent 100% on a spelling test.
Positive words from us - even when his behavior isn't positive.
Positivity in the Business World
Your teammates...your colleagues - they will fail you. Let me just break that news to you right now.
And - people know when they screw up. They don't need you reminding them of it. Just like our son doesn't need us reminding us when he screws up.
Find the positive in your colleagues. Dig for it if you have to.
Here are some examples of positive words:
You really handled that customer complaint well. Way to go!
You've come so far in your technical knowledge - keep up the good work!
You did a great job of leading our team today - you didn't let the distractions get in the way of leading a great meeting.
Great job on solving the order problem so quickly! It could have been a disaster - but your quick work really made us look good as a company.
Find the Positive
Find the positive and emphasize it to those around you every day.
You won't regret it.
