This is a compendium of three studies involving over 800 individuals, men and women, rich and poor, who were followed for more than 50 years, from adolescence to old age. These coping mechanisms are fully explored in Dr Valliant's subsequent book: Aging Well: Surprising Guideposts to a Happier Life, a truly fascinating study that will be particularly interesting to fellow boomers. In The Wisdom of the Ego, Dr George E Vaillant, Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, writes about individuals who have "both the capacity to be bent without breaking and the capacity, once bent, to spring back." Vaillant mentions that, in addition to external sources of resilience (such as good health or social supports), these individuals have important internal sources which include a healthy self-esteem and optimism. Perhaps more significant are the countless studies that have shown that people with an optimistic outlook have healthier relationships, enjoy better mental and physical health and live longer. ( Bachman et al, 2000, cited by Cary Cherniss.) In another study involving debt collectors in a large collection agency, the most successful collectors had significantly higher scores in the area of self-actualization, independence and optimism. Take sales, for example: a study shows that new sales personnel at Metropolitan Life who scored high on a test on optimism sold 37 percent more life insurance in their first two years than pessimists ( Seligman, 1990). There are other areas which are impacted positively by optimism. Those who have a pessimistic outlook typically approach changes to the status quo with the familiar: "We tried this before", "It won't work", or "It will never fly." Such individuals often label themselves as "devil's advocate." How can someone who has a pessimistic outlook embrace change over the safety of the known? In short, you need to have a sense of adventure and an expectation of success. To be innovative, you need to be open to new ideas, wide open to seeing possibilities, willing to take risks and encourage others to take risks – willing to challenge the process in order to create new solutions or products or improve processes. Every "exemplary leader that I have met," writes Bennis, "has what seems to be an unwarranted degree of optimism – and that helps generate the energy and commitment necessary to achieve results."Ĭonsider, as well, the reverse: the effect that pessimistic individuals can have on an organization's creativity and innovation. In The Leadership Advantage, an essay from the Drucker Foundation's Leader to Leader Guide, Warren Bennis tells us that optimism is one of the key things people need from their leaders in order to achieve positive results. They are able to paint an optimistic and attainable view of the future for their followers: they move others from being stuck with "how things are done around here" and help them see "how things could be done better." Highly effective leaders have a transforming effect on their constituents: they have the gift of being able to convince others that they have the ability to achieve levels of performance beyond those they thought possible. Nowhere is optimism more important than in leading organizations. There is a lot to be gained, indeed, in cultivating an optimistic outlook. The truth is, however, optimism has been proven to be a powerful tool that will pay dividends for your personal life and give you a competitive advantage professionally in your career. In writing about optimism, you face the danger of being seen as advocating a "Pollyanna" or quixotic approach. He was considered to be an inveterate optimist, asserting that we live "in the best of all possible worlds." Optimism is an emotional competence that can help boost productivity, enhance employee morale, overcome conflict and have a positive impact on the bottom line.
Ironically, Leibniz, one of the inventors of calculus, is also known for his philosophy of optimism. Just as it is good discipline to solve problems like the velocity of a car at a certain moment in time, it is also crucial to figure out what drives people to give us the very best that they have to offer. While training in calculus is undoubtedly valuable, I believe that training in optimism is also important. "Īmong the topics that young people study before they enter the workforce is calculus, the mathematics of change and motion. This article is an excerpt from Mind Tools contributor and author Bruna Martinuzzi’s book, " The Leader as a Mensch: Become the Kind of Person Others Want to Follow.
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