Forums

I'm finding a lot of information on how to improve the negativity of your directs.  But I'm searching for how to help yourself maintain your own positivity when working on this tasks.  It's really tough to remain positive when there are some seriously strong negative personalities around.  It's even harder when they have been with the company "forever" and you are newer and younger than them!  Add to that the "If it's not broke, don't fix it" corporate culture and they've doing things the same way for 30 years.  

SDGabriel's picture

Hi BJMacom,

it might sound ridicolous, but I would suggest to write down three things that went well each day. Just for yourself, in a personal notebook.

I do not work in an environment liek the one you describe, but I had a time when I only focussed on the stuff that did not go as I'd like and was getting really frustrated with my work. Applying this technique forced me to find good, positive things (which were there!) and greatly improved my overall mood. 

Good luck, Susan

NLewis's picture

Hear hear Susan!  I do something similar - "What am I grateful for today?  What did I learn?  Who can I help tomorrow? " Although I work for a great company there is a considerable amount of inertia.  Much like you BJ I work with people who've been here 30+ years.  Often newer employees get frustrated at the lack of improvement but I've found there is progress.  It's just incremental.  It's more of a sea change than drastic reform. 

BJ - My advice is be the positive change you want to see and you may be surprised.  Being mired in negativity can be hard but when being a professional matters most.  That's when we square our shoulders and show people how it could be done.

Ten years ago our average lead times were 3 weeks in a manufacturing environment that required 4-8 weeks.  The executive team are also the sales staff and they had all the power.  It looked hopeless.  But we carefully cultivated an understanding of how their aggressive promises were hurting our Customers and the company.  Today our lead times are 8-12 weeks.  It didn't happen overnight because we banged our fists and demanded it.  It happened because we stayed focused, professional, and positive, and eventually they came around.

Good luck!