Your attitude determines your altitude – in business and in

life. You can’t change someone else’s attitude for them. But

this powerful adage is a great reminder that you can put in

front of anyone who needs an attitude adjustment. I want to

talk about a few of the many ways each of us can develop a

winning attitude every day. It’s what leaders do.

Marcus Aurelius, the great philosopher who ruled the Roman

Empire, said it simply: “Our life is what our thoughts make

it”.

Dale Carnegie, speaking to that quote said: “Yes, if we think

happy thoughts, we will be happy. If we think miserable

thoughts, we will be miserable. If we think fear thoughts, we

will be fearful. If we think sickly thoughts we probably will

be ill. If we think failure, we will certainly fail. If we

wallow in self-pity, everyone will want to shun us and avoid

us”.

Am I advocating a Pollyanna attitude toward all our problems?

No. Life isn’t that simple. But I am advocating – in the

strongest terms – that we assume a positive attitude instead of

a negative one.

Mental attitude - the power we hold in our heads. Reality can

be changed dramatically by a single thought. In nutrition the

adage is you are what you eat. In terms of leadership, it’s

more likely you are what you think. Contrary to what people

want to believe, outside influences don’t usually determine

your happiness or success, rather it is how we react to those

influences – good or bad. So how do you change your reactions

to those outside forces?

Make how you react a conscious priority, which means practice

daily.

Humor is vital. When things aren’t going your way, keep

everything in perspective and relax. I laugh. Others throw up

their hands. Whole industries get very cynical.

Positive self-confident feelings not only help you achieve

more; they also make others want to be associated with you.

People are drawn to others who have an upbeat outlook, who have

a can-do attitude. Constant complainers don’t collect an easy

following.

Positive self-confident feelings not only help you achieve

more; they also make others want to be associated with you.

People are drawn to others who have an upbeat outlook, who have

a can-do attitude. Constant complainers don’t collect an easy

following.

One of a leader’s most important jobs is to set a positive and

self-confident tone, exuding the attitude that failure is not

an option. A positive attitude is the cornerstone of

leadership. It’s the same confidence that a quarterback, a

golfer, or a tennis star projects every time they come out of

the locker room.

To gain strength from the positive and not be sapped by the

negative, here are a few ideas:

Focus on the 90% of your team who will run with your vision and

your plan - don't let the "negative nellies" drain you or poison

your team.

Tap your spiritual essence at work too - use your spirit and

your heart to move you and your work forward.

Break the negative energy cycle – if you see yourself spiraling

down or in a rut, mix it up, breakup the routine and do

something fast that lifts you up. When you see one of your team

members in a rut of unproductive or unprofessional behavior

address it, don’t let it fester.

Active listening – takes time. Work at it, to hear what your

team wants. Often just by being heard, problems can go away and

people really make a big turnaround.

You must be the emotional manager of your office - not your

assistant, not the new hotshot you just hired. In a family,

parents must be the emotional managers or chaos rules the home.

In your business, you must wear that mantel, albeit reluctantly

at times. It’s part of your leadership role and power. Hone it,

as well as your reactions to external events, and you’ll see the

culture around you shift to the positive.

Jim Collins points out in Good to Great: When in doubt, don’t

hire – keep looking. You can’t grow revenues consistently

faster than your ability to get enough of the right people to

implement that growth and still become a great company. So

unless candidates for the open position have that can-do

attitude and are a strong fit for your company in who they are

– don’t hire them. The skills can be taught; the and-then-some

positive attitude cannot.

As my friend Doug Emerson (doug@profitablehorseman.com) put it

recently: “The prerequisite is attitude. Attitude is the one

thing we can’t change in employees. You’ve got a good attitude

or you don’t. Given adequate ability and desire to learn,

everything else can be taught to employees with good attitudes.

I have tried many times to teach good attitudes and have come to

the conclusion it is about as easy as making a mud fence.”

A negative attitude will pull you down and with it your

professional results. A positive attitude will pull you over

the rough spots and energize you to lift your results to new

heights – to match your vision. Whether you need an attitude

adjustment a couple of times a day, once a week or only

occasionally, never forget that your attitude determines your

altitude. Don’t let outside people or events bring yours down.