On the top of my list of New Year’s resolutions is to be less tolerating of negative people. I came to the conclusion that somewhere along the line I became conditioned to accept negative people for who they are as if they are a protected class or culture. The quiet head-nodding or placating the occasional whiner is what a leader does to demonstrate compassion and patience right?
Over the holidays I began listening with a critical ear to conversations of friends and reading the latest news and posts with a different twist. It really started to hit home – I am surrounded by negativity. Then out of nowhere, my wife of 25 years gives me a motivational book “Finish Strong” by Dan Green as a Christmas present. It hit me like a ton of bricks - had I, Mr. Positive become “one of them”? “Oh no” she says, “I just thought you would like the sports antidotes and stories”. Humm…
Over the next few days I consciously engaged with various people with reflection and began to separate critical opinions from negative thoughts. A strange thing happened. With just a few words, I began turning conversations from negative to positive, maybe sharing one of Dan’s stories I recently read or remembering when the Chicago Bears was actually a football team. I had the power to change an entire room’s attitude by saying no to negative attitudes.
I started thinking about my business and all the great people I work with. As leaders we have a responsibility to protect the “attitude” of the business and say no when negativity is lurking in the background. It directly affects the health, productivity and prosperity of the business and everyone connected to it.
Daniel Milstein, CEO and founder of Gold Star perfectly describes three types of negative people to avoid in his book Rule #1 Don’t Be #2:
Mr. Negative
Mr. Negative seems to have a problem for every solution and loves to drain enthusiasm from any new idea. His mantra is the deadly “This is the way it’s always been done.” He’s mired in the status quo like a car stuck in mud, spinning his wheels. When a window of opportunity opens, he’ll pull down the shade. He will zap your energy and slow your momentum. You won’t want to add this person to your team or spend time socializing with them.
The Critic
Critics are known for finding something derogatory to say about everyone, and they are especially famous for trading confidential or negative information about others. Critics are threatened by talented go-getters, and the greater the talent, the louder the criticism.
The Victim
Never able to accept personal responsibility, life seems chronically unfair to Victims. The test questions were worded badly. There was never a real shot at the promotion that went to the boss’s favorite. The deck is always stacked against Victims, and they have nothing but bad luck. They haven’t figured out yet that hard work puts you in a place where good luck can find you, and they are famous for putting in little effort.
The New Year is off to a great start and I choose to say so.
By Greg Miller
Greg Miller is a serial fleet management professional, entrepreneur and president of FleetLogik, a specialized consultancy and fleet management firm based in Chicago IL.