Mastering Genuine Positivity Without the Pitfalls

Help your team win by doing your part to eliminate obstacles and to maximize existing resources so your team members can achieve success . Continue to assess and refine how you motivate your team to build genuine work relationships based on trust and mutual respect never manipulation . Please enjoy the episode .

Welcome to the Finance Leader Podcast , where leadership is bigger than the numbers . I am your host , Stephen McLain . This is the podcast for developing leaders in finance and accounting . Please consider following me on Twitter , facebook , instagram and LinkedIn .

My usernames and the links are in this episode's show notes , and you can also follow Finance Leader Academy on LinkedIn , thank you . This is episode number 132 , and I will be talking about the impact of using positivity to manipulate your team , and I will highlight the following topics positivity to manipulate your team , and I will highlight the following topics .

Number one the weaponization of being too positive . Number two , be more realistic in your leadership style . And three , validate your team members' concerns , which can lead to better solutions . Baseball center fielder Aaron Judge said if your team is in the trenches , then you've got to be in the trenches with them .

Harvard Business Review published an article last year by Mita Mallik titled Does your Boss Practice Toxic Positivity ?

It's an enlightening article about how unchecked optimism without any consideration of reality in the workplace can lead to manipulation , burnout and frustration because leadership offers no solutions for obstacles , when we all know that obstacles are real in the workplace , whether it is a lack of resources or a lack of training , being short-staffed or even unrealistic goals .

I believe that leadership is a privilege . Not everyone understands that . Yes , we rise to roles that require leading others , but often there is a lack of knowledge on how to properly motivate our team without manipulating them . I recommend reading this article and applying its lessons . I'll leave a link to the article in the show notes to this episode .

Last week , in episode 131 , stay on Track for Long-Term Success our first check-in for 2025 , I conducted a check-in with everyone on how their goal setting and goal achievement was going so far in the new year . Are you on track or do you need to make a few adjustments ?

This is a great time to update your plan and document your progress after one month in the new year . Now we have to be careful not to misuse positive comments to manipulate our team and our organization . When we set unrealistic goals or expectations and we convince others to go along with that , it could be abuse .

I talk often on this podcast about helping your team overcome obstacles . You have to set up your team for success . You need to provide the resources required to help them achieve team and organizational goals . There is a point where a lack of resources will result in failure and extra effort will not overcome it .

Now , most of you know I served in the Army for a career and we were expected to never fail and to never make an excuse , so I understand this situation . But the military is a different culture and the mission is very , very unique .

In the business environment , you are not literally in violent combat fighting to the last person for a national strategic objective where your very freedom could be at risk . In the business environment , you are making sales to achieve a profitable situation . Two entirely different cultures and two entirely different missions and required commitment .

So ensure your business is properly resourced so your people can achieve the organizational goals or make the adjustments based on the resources you have . The author , meena Malik , walks us through the weaponization of positivity .

She says , and I quote no matter how bad or stressful the situation is or how difficult the circumstances , they convince themselves that simply acting happy or thinking positive will change the outcome . End quote these same leaders push this unrealistic approach to their teams . Team objectives must have matching resources with realistic expectations .

When we lead , we help our team members achieve their goals through coaching , training and mentoring . The weekly team meeting and the one-on-one meetings you have with each person helps to provide an opportunity to address issues to overcome . How do you know you are being manipulated ? Are you required to maintain a fake persona , no matter the circumstances ?

Is happiness required at work at all times ? Does your boss use excessive flattery to get you to perform impossible tasks or achieve impossible outcomes ? If this is happening to you , then make a plan to address it . Why is this so critical for finance leaders ? We need to ask ourselves if the plan or goal set out by the board and executive team makes sense .

For example , as CFO , you need to state your opinion if the level of resources committed matches the growth that is expected . If the CEO wants to stay flat in the budget but grow revenue 30% year over year , is that possible ? What additional resources will be required or what resources need to be reallocated to make this happen ? Can it happen ?

Some may say that it is our job to make it happen , but it is also our job to not practice group think , do everything you can to help shape and achieve realistic organizational goals . The important point for us all is to be careful about surrounding yourself with yes , people .

We want people to follow directions absolutely , but we also want people to question the status quo , to question when things don't make sense . If you want to increase your chance of failure , surround yourself with people who won't question one decision you make .

Leadership is hard , no matter what , because every day , you are trying to maximize possibly limited resources in order to turn it into something amazing . Every day , even when the world wants to stop you at every turn , let's do everything we can to set realistic expectations and to treat people fairly and with dignity .

The other side of this article is to take notice if you are being manipulated . Most of this episode , I am concentrating on leaders doing the right thing , but this article can make you smart so you can notice for yourself if you are being manipulated to help you take action to alter the situation for yourself .

Now let's talk about the impact of using positivity to manipulate your team . Number one the weaponization of being too positive . I love optimism , but can optimism to the extreme be harmful ? It sure can . When faced with crisis , we need leaders ready to find solutions , not just make everything sound wonderful .

Should you be a leader building confidence , definitely , instead of doom and gloom ? Of course , again , yes , so it comes down to our approach . Be honest , take charge and lead your team without the fluff . Now trickery becomes apparent . People are smart , so if you're consistently trying to trick them into something , they will figure it out .

Just like I asked you to respect your team , you don't want to lose their respect . Your team wants to be valued and treated with respect . Flattery to get your way is a bad move . It's not leadership , it's manipulation . This is particularly true when it comes to resource gaps .

When you are trying to trick your team into doing way more than their capacity , you have a duty to manage and then fix the gaps . Short-term , not great solutions can be exercised if you are honest and if you , as the leader , also assume some of that extra workload . Number two be more realistic in your leadership style . Always start with yourself .

When faced with an organizational or team problem , do you lead with integrity , honesty and with trust built into your actions ? We all face pressure to deliver fantastic results every month and to come up with a great idea . But what do you do when the results are not great or if you are short-staffed but with lots of work to complete ?

There are many ways to attack a staff resource problem . Set your priorities , which means you have to direct more on what projects get worked first . Protect your team's time from unwanted and less important requests and cancel wasteful meetings . This , again , is a way to protect time , and another lever you can pull change your processes .

Make sure your processes are easier so you can save time and eliminate some frustration . Be truthful and authentic in all your communication and how you treat people . That's basic leadership . Treat your team right , take care of them and they will take care of you , including doing extra when it is required . But you as a leader , has to show up first .

Self-awareness is a necessary skill , but seek feedback on how you speak to your people and how you motivate your team . 3 . Validate your team members' concerns , which can lead to better solutions . I always encourage leaders to be great listeners . Don't be dismissive . Listen and comprehend .

I had to learn to be an active listener over the years and I am still learning . I had to learn to be an active listener over the years and I am still learning . I realized I needed to change when I was a unit commander in the Army and I had just started my MBA program . Active listening was a key topic and I dove in .

You have to be deliberate when listening . You need to drop everything and turn to the person who is talking and validate what you are hearing . The next step is to apply what you learned from your team . You should be able to learn something significant that can make a positive difference .

Next is to develop a realistic plan when faced with a problem , take the lead and I expect you to sacrifice also Sacrifice right along with your team if you need to make drastic changes Now .

As finance leaders , we face a myriad of problems while trying to determine why something happened , and we have to give direction to our team on what data to pull or what type of information should be analyzed . We may need to try different things to help senior leaders make better decisions .

The pressure is great indeed to figure out something , and often quickly , and often the data doesn't support what we projected to happen . So how do you deliver such news and how do you motivate your team to find a better solution ? When things go wrong , we can blame or we can find solutions .

We can choose to manipulate our team or we can become the leader our team deserves by leading the process , by leading with integrity and not with coercion or tricks or even manipulation . Now for action . Today , the great leaders know how to listen to their team members , especially to the team member with vast experience .

I'm also assuming that leaders want to make a genuine contribution to making a difference without using manipulation to get what they want during tough situations . I recommend you assess your process for getting people on board . When faced with a tough problem , how do you address the workload and how do you address performance improvement ?

I was asked to speak at a finance leadership development program . It's a three-week virtual training event to help you unlock critical skills so you can reach for higher roles in finance and accounting . It is called the Office of the CFO Boot Camp . Topics include the CFO mindset , strategic Influence , change Leadership , and Executive Presence and Communication .

You can find more information and how to sign up at financeleaderacademycom Select Boot Camp in the top menu . I will also drop a link in this episode's show notes If you are listening to this episode . Later there is a plan for additional workshops , so keep checking that link .

Today I talked about the impact of using positivity to manipulate your team , and I highlighted the following points 1 . The weaponization of being too positive . 2 . Be more realistic in your leadership style . 3 . Validate your team members' concerns , which can lead to better solutions .

I want to thank Mita Mallik and Harvard Business Review for publishing this article . It is so important to realize what we are saying to our team .

We have to be aware of our words and our actions when it comes to leading our team , and if you use intentional manipulation to sway your team to work a certain way or to work harder instead of being honest , so please let's find a better way to do it . And if you are an aspiring leader , developing realistic leadership is key to success for your team .

As leaders , we have tools to help our team with workload and priorities . That's what leaders do , so let's help our team and lead from the front , as we say in the Army . Please read the article and there is a link in the show notes . Great article . I recommend it for your development . I hope you enjoyed the Finance Leader Podcast .

You can find this episode wherever you listen to podcasts . If this episode helped you today , please share it with a colleague . Until next time , you can check out more resources at financeleaderacademycom and sign up for my weekly updates so you don't miss an episode of the podcast . And now go lead your team and I'll see you next time . Thank you .