Believe - part 2

Thanks to everyone who contacted me about my first blog! It’s a wonderful feeling when people believe in you and I hope it is one that you experience on a regular basis.

Last week I focused on the concept that we have to believe. I want to take that further and discuss an incident which prompted those thoughts. I was giving a presentation about a tough topic and fielded a comment from the group that was so negatively focused that it really shocked me. I was illustrating the need for a different approach to an issue and an audience member stated, “I don’t know what is wrong with people. Everything we try doesn’t work. Why should we bother?”

Hmmm…where to begin with this one! The audience member truly believed the organization has done everything they could and the intended targets were to blame for missing the message. Except what has been done was very narrowly focused and without much strategic planning. It was also done without really trying to understand what the people actually wanted. How can you blame someone for missing your message without considering that the message might actually be causing the problems?! In this situation, the negative beliefs had taken hold and the broader picture was completely gone. Clearly the audience member lost faith in the organization and its audience. He refused to believe that any effort was a good effort and instead thought that whatever the organization tried was a waste of time. The room seemed to go quiet for an eternity, though it probably was just a mere moment. The effect of his statement dampened the fire of a great discussion. Openness and progress came to a standstill.

Rather than feed the flames of his negativity, I managed to move on but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had stumbled on something. He wasn’t being malicious; he was speaking from his own reality. Upon reflection I realized this brief exchange was enough to understand that even if it is not our intent, we can have a very adverse effect on progress when we don’t believe. The weight of one negative comment can crush many positive thoughts into oblivion. Believing creates energy which begets action. Not believing invites apathy and ultimately negativity.

When we don’t believe that a different outcome is possible we lose the roadmap to change. So, the million dollar question becomes, “how to turn it around?” How do I convince that person from my presentation to believe that sometimes even the underdogs win and tough topics might have solutions? Admittedly this was an “underdog” topic and success will be hard to obtain but I don’t believe that we should just give up before we even start. If you do, then why even take to the playing field. You have already admitted defeat. How many of you have had thoughts or ideas completely shattered by those who refuse to believe that there can be a different way?

There are many different leadership theories as well as change management theories that apply, and I will get into some of them as this blog progresses, but for now I want to focus on sharing personal business experiences. Personal experiences build rapport and help set the tone for delving deeper. So, please reply to this post. Share a story of how someone who didn’t believe became swept away negativity. How did you handle it? Do you have a new perspective on the experience?

As always, thank you for believing in me. Let’s find our personal successes together!