Beware of Positivity
Mar 31, 2024
“Positivity is one of our values” said the CEO “but there’s a little group of engineers who really don’t seem to believe in what we’re doing?” That's worrying, and especially worrying if you are a first time CEO with a bit of imposter syndrome. Especially if you feel that they are pretty bright people.
So if you are the CEO what should you do about them?
- Put them on a training course?
- Move them out of the business?
- Or ask yourself whether they are right and you are wrong?
When you dig into what has gone wrong with businesses there are always people, the doubters, the whistle blowers, who knew what was going wrong but were ignored, rubbished, and fired. They were often the tip of the iceberg, calling problems out while others in the business were too afraid of the repercussions or were swept along on a wave of positivity.
If you want your business to be successful then encourage positivity by all means but welcome the criticism and treat it with the seriousness it deserves. Do the same with whistleblowers. Not all of them are out to get you, some are out to save you and the company.
