Protecting the Positive - It's Not Automatic

Many business people over the years have said to me how important it is to have a positive attitude, that if you have a positive attitude, everything else will be fine. In working with positive leadership strategies for 25 years, I have discovered from clients that having a positive culture in your business takes a whole lot more than a positive attitude. In other words, a positive attitude is necessary but not sufficient.

In my book, What You Say Is What You Get(R): The Secret Language of Great Business Results, I present the Engine and Four Wheels model of positive leadership. The Enging is a positive attitude or leadership philosophy. However, without the Four Wheels, your car goes no where, regardless of how powerful the Engine is. Wheels 1, 2, and 3 desribe the positive leadership system needed to keep your business on track.

Wheel 4 describes the negative things you must stop your eomployees from doing, and prevent them from doing again, in order to protect the positive culture you have so carefully constructed. One of those is negative gossip. This is so damaging that it can un-do all of your good work immediately by bringing in an insedious negative element into your positive culture.

One time, when I began work on a project for a troubled team, the first thing I did was to request that they stop gossiping outside their team about how bad it was. Fortunately, they agreed and within a few months, we created a dramatic positive turnaround. As long as they gossiped, they continued to upset themselves, reinforce how terrible things were, and worsen their image with others outside of the team. Had they not stopped gossiping, their successful turnaround would have been blocked.

Benefits of no negative gossip: This team discovered that when they stopped gossiping, their morale, communication, results, and image were free to improve dramatically.

How often do you hear negative gossip in your organization?
What steps do you take to prevent or stop it?

If you allow gossip, you are sending the message that it is okay to gossip in your company. Remember, what you allow is what you get. Your company deserves the best. Take a stand for it!

Appreciatively,

Dr. Linne Bourget

"Building Success on Your Best"
Linne Bourget M.A. M.B.A. Ph. D
www.whatyousayiswhatyouget.com
National pioneer in positive leadership & change
Founder/CEO ITLC
Institute for Transformation Leaders, Coaches and Consultants
Co-author, Bestselling book, Wake Up, Live the Life You Love - Finding Personal Freedom
Author of the new positive leadership book,
What You Say Is What You Get(R): The Secret Language of Great Business Results
What You Say Is What You Get(R): Your Positive Quotient PQ (TM) Questionnaire
What You Say Is What You Get(R): Your Appreciative Quotient AQ (TM) Questionnaire
What You Say Is What You Get(R): Secrets of Powerful Appreciation for Parents and Children of All Ages, 2 Hour 2 CD Audio Book by "Dr. Appreciation"
Coming soon!! Dr. Linne's Power Course on Intuition for Business Success!
"The greatest challenge is taking complete responsibility for your own greatness."
Dr. Linne's Positive Power Quote

Visit our positive new blog:
http://drlinnebourget.blogspot.com

Copyright 2005-2008. All Rights Reserved.
Dr. Linne Bourget, M.A., M.B.A., Ph.D.