Realistic Optimism: How Leaders Can Respond to the Delta Surge and Future COVID Variants
As Yogi Berra quipped, “It’s like deja vu all over again!”
In June, employees began exchanging their pajama bottoms for business casual attire as they returned to the office. Teams who hadn’t seen each other in months were energized to be reunited. Leaders hired at the beginning of the pandemic shutdown were meeting peers, staff, and vendors face-to-face for the first time.
Now, less than three months later, return-to-office plans have been redrafted, reconsidered, and deferred. As COVID cases rise again, employees are going through an emotional balancing act not knowing when, if, and how long it will be before they can be certain about anything.
In a July McKinsey survey, one-third of respondents said returning to the office negatively impacted their mental health. In a recent interview, LinkedIn career expert Catherine Fisher said flexibility and work/life balance are the top priorities of job seekers over pay and benefits.
The pandemic has caused many to rethink their life priorities as well as where and how they work. I have clients who’ve changed industries and job roles for those more in line with their values. Clients with 15 – 20 years of experience are seeking lower-level roles with less responsibility so they can spend more time with family or focus on their wellbeing. The stress and anxiety are creating a deep need for meaningful work where our contributions matter.
Keeping employees (and themselves) feeling connected and engaged will require leaders to take an optimistic approach. Optimism is vital for building emotional resilience and supporting our capacity to flex and focus when frustrated by setbacks.
Optimism is often misunderstood. Optimism and reality testing are two emotional management skills that are inseparable from each other. Optimism is not blind faith. It’s not a positive attitude that remains blind to problems, facts, and logic. This kind of Pollyanna mindset reflects a weakness in a person’s reality testing. A leader who engages in pep talks while ignoring the real challenges of work-life today, can cause employees to mistrust the messenger and disengage entirely.
Realistic optimism is an evidence-based, psychosocial skill that involves remaining hopeful and resilient despite setbacks, fosters growth, and reduces stress. The goal of practicing realistic optimism is for leaders to help themselves and others better manage the situations they are facing, see new possibilities, and connect with the people they work with. Realistic optimism builds emotional strength as we recover from recent setbacks and seek new growth.
Realistic optimists are not in denial. They see the problems and communicate those problems with candor to others, while at the same time finding opportunities for constructive and creative solutions. Optimistic leaders adjust and flex - trying different approaches which can lead to new ideas and unexpected opportunities. As one client put it, “We have to communicate not just the what, but the why. We have to acknowledge the context we’re all operating in.”
Realistic optimism is a bit of a mental and emotional gymnastic. It requires holding two, sometimes contradictory truths in our mind at once: to believe that future opportunity and success are real and possible, even as we face current failure (this is called Optimistic Expectation and has been shown to reduce stress and predict better performance).
According to mindfulness expert and coach, Ariadne Ducas, “We can be both realistic and optimistic, even through hard times. It happens once we realize those perspectives don't contradict each other, and that we really can hold both at the same time. We can look at the truth of a hard situation realistically and be aware of hard thoughts and emotions are temporary visitors. In doing so, we recognize our expansive awareness which can hold all kinds of fluctuation and attention. We can view those thoughts and emotions from another perspective. Mindfulness trains us to be able to hold anything that comes up. Shifting to that expansive perspective is how we recognize greater peace, ease, and even optimism.”
Improv actors call this “Yes, and…” Yes, things are difficult, even painful right now…and I can use strategies that will result in a more promising future.”
Here are three exercises leaders can do individually, or as a team:
Set a timer. For 20 minutes, write down every disappointment, setback, every pessimistic thought you have. At the end of 20 minutes, throw the paper away. Throwing the paper away is a physical manifestation of mentally releasing the negative thoughts.
*It’s essential you handwrite during this exercise with pen and paper. This taps into the limbic system (your emotional brain).
If you do this as a team, the team members say out loud every pessimistic thought they have as a group (example: “we never know from day to day what the COVID protocols are for vendors and suppliers”). Each team member writes down the shared statement on their individual piece of paper. The act of handwriting is integral to calming the emotional brain and applying realistic analysis. Each person throws away their piece of paper.
Reevaluate. When you’re faced with a challenge and optimism wavers, you may need to reevaluate your goals in order to visualize a successful outcome.
Adjust goals into smaller, more manageable and attainable segments.
This helps to become more solution-focused at smaller intervals rather than be overwhelmed by a single goal.
For each smaller step, describe what you visualize success to be. Keep focused on these micro-outcomes. As smaller goals are knocked down, optimism will return.
Root your optimism in rational thought and logic.
Ask for feedback on goals you have set.
Seek buy-in from others. Watch for signs of hesitation or questions about the feasibility of what you’re asking.
By incorporating these checks into your daily routine, you can confirm whether your goals will bring others along with you or leave them behind.
To learn more about optimistic mindfulness training for yourself or your organization, visit Ariadne Ducas at Kairos. Mention The Ei Coach and receive 20% off an individual coaching package or group workshop.
Would you or your team benefit from realistic optimism coaching? Interested in measuring your levels of optimism and reality testing? Contact Susan Clarine at The Ei Coach to learn about optimism coaching and workshops. Mention this article and receive 20% off services.
Empathic Conversations is an individual and group coaching experience for executives who need to quickly be aligned with their listeners. Empathy shifts conversations from rigidity and resistance to flexibility and acceptance. Register for our next session by October 1st and save $200 with code EARLYBIRD.