Keeping positive when things are rubbish

Keeping positive when things are, frankly, just a bit rubbish at work. This is what we're going to be talking about today on how to lead the podcast for CEOs, founders, and leaders who want some clear tools, techniques, and strategies to help them lead well so their teams thrive and results follow. I'm Kate Waterfall Hill, drawing on over 30 years of leadership development experience.

Before we dive in though, a quick reminder if you find my approach helpful and want to go deeper through my book online course, how to Lead Digital Academy, the Leadership Accelerator Premium Group Coaching Programme, both of which are accredited by the Institute of Leadership Team Workshops or one-to-one coaching, please visit waterfall hill.co.uk.

Let's start off, as we always do, and see what Linda, the bad manager might alter ego on social media, has to say about keeping positive when things feel rubbish at work.

“So team, as you all know, we have lost three of our major clients. Uh, but it's not a crisis. No, it's an opportunity. Of course, we'll have more time to be creative, less stress. And finally, that chance we've all been waiting for to tidy up the share drive. Although without those key clients, we might well be bankrupt by Christmas.

William will want to take action. We might all be made redundant. Oh God. I'm gonna end up working at Greg's. Sorry. Um, I, anyway, what I meant to say was yes, let's all stay positive. Sure. It'll be fine.”

Well, thanks for that, Linda. That's really helpful. But let's talk now about how to do it better, because the reality is work isn't always rosy.

Sometimes work is brilliant. Other times it's just a bit pants. It might be that a contract falls through at the last minute. Market changes, wipe out months of planning. A senior hire doesn't work out, or sometimes it's just the relentless grind of too much to do and not enough resources to do it. Staying positive in these times isn't easy, but as a leader, how you show up shapes how others respond.

Now it's really important to get the difference between toxic positivity and resilient positivity absolutely right, because toxic positivity is the, you know, keep smiling. Everything's fine approach, and that denies reality. It dismisses people's concerns and can actually make morale worse.

On the other hand, resilient positivity acknowledges the difficulty, but also holds onto perspective hope and solutions. It's about saying, yeah, this is tough, but here's how we're going to tackle it together. Or how shall we tackle it together?

Even better. It balances honesty with hope and the leaders people tend to respect most are the ones who balance both. They face reality and help others see a way forward.

You might have heard of the leadership guru Brene Brown and her work is so powerful. She describes vulnerability, not as weakness, but as the courage to show up and be real when there are no guarantees.

Leaders who dare to say, I don't have all the answers, but I'm here with you, often inspire more trust than those pretending to be bulletproof.

In fact, Brene Brown puts it really plainly. She says, vulnerability is the birthplace of trust, creativity, and resilience, and that's exactly what's needed when work is challenging.

So why does positivity matter so much in hard times? Why does your outlook matter so much? Well, because mood spreads, psychologists call it emotional contagion. Your outlook ripples across your team. Positive emotions, broaden thinking, Barbara Fredrickson's broaden and build theory shows.

Positivity literally widens our cognitive capacity leading to better creativity and problem solving. Negative emotions on the other hand, tend to narrow it down to fight or flight or even freeze.

Engagement drives performance. Gallup has repeatedly found that managers account for around 70% of the variance in team engagement. So engagement is directly linked to whether people stick around or head for the exit. In other words, your attitude isn't just about keeping spirits up, it directly affects performance and results.

I like to throw in a real-world case study from time to time, and this one's a good one. Airbnb crisis Communication at its best. When COVID-19 hit Airbnb's bookings collapsed almost overnight, as I'm sure you can imagine, and their CEO Brian Chesky had to lay off a quarter of the workforce, but he wrote to employees with clarity, empathy, and detail.

I'm sure many employees were hit hard by the outcome, but actually he explained the what, layoffs and the why, the financial collapse of travel, and the now, what support for employees with severance equity, healthcare, and job search help. So the message was compassionate, practical, and human. He didn't pretend everything was fine. He showed vulnerability and care. And those show real hallmarks of resilient positivity.

Another real-world insight from Airbnb about authentic clarity. Judd Antin, who led teams at Airbnb later wrote about crisis in leadership.

His advice, the secret to effective leadership in times of change is to provide authentic clarity, not full certainty. Communicate frequently, be transparent, and speak in a genuine, empathetic voice. Great advice. And that's Brene Brown's teaching in action too, isn't it? Choosing courage over pretending clarity over comfort.

Another real-life case study is Starbucks and a cultural crisis in 2018 after a high profile racial bias incident in a Philadelphia store. Starbucks, CEO, Kevin Johnson responded decisively. He apologized publicly and personally.

Starbucks shut, 8,000 US stores for racial bias training impacting 175,000 employees. And the company engaged external experts and local communities to rebuild trust. He didn't hide behind PR spin. He admitted failure, took responsibility and acted boldly, and that honesty carried weight.

I'm sure not everyone responded positively, but he gave it a good go. Imagine this scenario. You're leading a team during a turbulent restructure. Perhaps you are right now, the future is uncertain and people are anxious, and how should you respond?

If you panic complain, or worse still disappear, your team's going to feel unsafe and overwhelmed. But on the other hand, if you pretend everything's fine, when it clearly isn't, they'll lose trust.

So I suggest you acknowledge the challenge, honestly, and then frame it with calm determination. This is difficult, let's talk about how we're going to tackle it together. And then people lean in instead of checking out. And share openly what you do and don't know, and remind people of their collective strengths.

This way you create psychological safety and resilience, and this is vulnerable leadership in practice, admitting uncertainty while still leading forward.

So, I've now got for you seven practical strategies for keeping positive when things aren't going so well. First of all, name the reality. Clearly don't downplay or sugarcoat it, saying this is challenging, or this is not what we wanted is so much better than pretending. Naming the reality shows respect and builds trust.

Secondly, separate facts from fears. When times are tough, fear can spiral. Ask yourself and your team, what do we know for sure, and what might we be imagining? So the fact is say a client has cancelled their contract, and the fear might be that the whole business will collapse, but facts can be managed.

Fears need to be acknowledged but put in perspective.

Number three, reframe the narrative because language really matters. Instead of saying, oh, this is a disaster, try, this is a setback. What can we learn from it instead of everything's falling apart? Try, we're going through a rough patch, but here's how we're going to get through it, or let's work together to get through it. Reframing isn't spin. It's choosing language that helps people see possibility. Then number four, control the controllables. Help your team focus on what they can do.

We can't control global markets, but we can control how we manage our clients and adapt our processes. We can control how we communicate with each other and with our customers, with our suppliers and with our people we can control how we work together. So this keeps people from drowning in things they can't influence.

Number five is looking for small wins because. Positivity builds through momentum. Celebrate small victories, a client renewal, a solved problem, even a good meeting. It signals progress when the big picture just feels heavy.

Number six is modelling resilient habits because your behaviour really sets the tone. If you are visibly frazzled, your team will mirror it. So instead, take breaks and encourage others to do so as well.

Speak openly about how you're managing stress. Show calm in your responses.

Resilience isn't about never wobbling, it's about recovering and showing recovery is possible. And then number seven, stay future focused. When things feel bleak, people get stuck in the immediate pain. Ask, what will this look like in six months time? Often the current crisis feels less all consuming in the bigger picture.

Remind people of when we've got through difficult things before and remind people of the vision, yes, this is tough, but here's where we're heading.

So just to recap those seven practical strategies for keeping positive, name the reality clearly. Separate facts from fears. Reframe the narrative. Be careful of your language. Control the controllables. Look for the small wins and celebrate them. model resilient habits. And finally, stay future focused.

Just a quick word on things you might want to avoid, pitfalls or traps that we tend to fall into. Watch out for over cheerleading. Don't plaster on a fake smile and tell people it'll all be fine. They'll see through it. Negativity bias also don't obsess on what's going wrong. It just drains everyone's energy.

Okay, and finally, try not to be inconsistent. Your team can cope with bad news, but what they can't cope with is unpredictability in you. Here's some practical tools you can use today. Some simple things you can try with your team when things feel a bit rubbish, three wins. Check in at the end of the week.

Ask everyone to name three wins. However, small

Circle of control on a whiteboard or a digital whiteboard list what we can control and what we can't, and focus energy on the first. Then write some future headlines. Ask if newspaper wrote about how we overcame this, what would the headline be? It sparks ideas and optimism. Also have some humorous moments.

Appropriate humour is one of the fastest ways to reduce stress and restore perspective. So in closing then, let's have one final reflection. Think about how you show up when things are rubbish at work. Do people see denial, panic, or do they see a leader who faces reality, admits vulnerability, but still offers hope and direction?

That certainly Brene Brown's definition of courageous leadership, choosing vulnerability, honesty, and empathy over armor, bravado or silence. and this is the kind of positivity that actually sustains people through difficult times. Not only will your team members feel more motivated, but you'll feel calmer too, because real leadership studies, everyone.

That's all for today's episode of How to Lead. Until next time, if you want to avoid being like Linda, the bad manager, keep leading with clarity, care, and curiosity. If you've enjoyed this episode, do follow for more leadership insights and if you'd like more personal support, check waterfall hill.co.uk.

For information about my services, please spare a moment to like leave a review and share this episode. The best leaders are clear on the vision, care deeply, and approach interactions with curiosity, not judgment. Until next time, thanks for listening.