What would happen if we sat in a room with 100 people and asked, “Have you ever had a bad boss, or do you currently work for someone you dislike?” Sadly, most of us would raise our hand.  

A survey conducted by GoodHire in 2022 asked 3,000 full-time American workers within 10 job sectors to identify if they would “quit their job because of a bad manager.” The answer was staggering; 82% of people said they would quit. Then, 83% of those workers “said they could do their own job without their managers.” All that negative energy between workers and managers during the typical 40 hours a week that Americans put into their jobs is horrific. The survey also found that “American workers most desire a manager who is honest and authentic.” Most of us have not had the consistency of this type of leader in our careers.  

In Cory Scheer’s book Closing the Trust Gap: Taking Action on What Matters Most for Leaders, Teams, and Organizations (Scheer, 2023), he explains why the lack of trust among employees and their supervisors is a significant problem. Scheer states, “When trust has been broken, a scar will always remain. As a result, the trust dynamic will never be the same. The process of reconciliation, healing, and forgiveness is important. However, efforts deployed to restore trust to sameness will remain futile.” Considering we do not trust our leaders, the inability to enjoy our work can affect our entire career path. With such a dishonest work environment and mistrust ever present, there is one way to mend the connections with our leaders over time. 

History     

The concept of “positive psychology” was coined in 1998 by Dr. Martin Seligman, a psychologist and researcher who eventually founded the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania in 2003. Dr. Seligman created a theory of wellbeing called the PERMA Model, which includes five elements:  

• Positive Emotion  
• Engagement  
• Positive Relationships  
• Meaning  
• Accomplishments/Achievements  

These components are vital to sustaining successful relationships in and out of the workplace. All leaders, no matter their level, should have a basic understanding of each element to provide a motivating and engaging environment for employees to thrive and succeed.  

Dr. Seligman’s research and understanding of positive psychology provides a “facilitative rather than prescriptive” approach to life. According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, the meaning of facilitate is to “make (something) easier, or to help (something, such as a discussion) run more smoothly and effectively.” Imagine if suddenly, the 80-plus percent of disgruntled workers in the United States woke up tomorrow, went to work and found out their job was easier, meetings ran more smoothly and their bosses thought they were effective in their tasks. What a difference we would see in our society! To think the more positive emotions, engagement, and positive relationships we build at work, the more we eventually find meaning in our lives, and therefore, it leads to more accomplishments and achievements. Overall, people would be happier (at work and at home) and enjoy going to work every day instead of dreading Monday like it is the plague and celebrating Friday like it is the guiding light to freedom.  

The theory of positive psychology eventually generated the study of positive leadership, which involves “leadership styles, techniques, and behavior that can be classified as deviant—positively deviant (positively deviant means that the style, technique, or behavior the leader engages falls outside of the normal range observed in leadership.)” If we look at the bell curve of leadership styles, with negative leadership styles on the left and positive on the right, what we find is that mediocre leadership styles permeate the workplace, leading to disengagement, frustration, resentment, bitterness and ultimately a lack of trust.  

Within the mediocre leadership styles comes poor communication, questionable decision making, lack of motivation and potentially a blasé attitude about supporting, coaching and encouraging employees. This bell curve is precisely why so many Americans struggle at work; there is a direct correlation between how their bosses treat them to their attitude and effort.  
The components of positive leadership consist of the following:  

• “Positive leadership involves experiencing, modeling, and purposefully enhancing positive emotions. 
• A positive leader is interested in his or her employees’ development as well as the bottom line. 
• High self-awareness, optimism, and personal integrity.” 

When we see positive leaders in action, their employees are typically more “loyal,” “committed” and “willing to go above and beyond” the scope of their daily tasks due to their respect and trust of their leader. The old saying, “You catch more flies with honey,” holds true here. Positive leaders find a way to inspire and motivate, not hinder or impede.  

Analysis  
Three of the Leadership Theories (Bradberry, Greaves, J., 2014) support this idea of creating a more positive leadership style for upper management.  

• “Theorem 7: Expressions of support that are freely given by a leader, respect and loyalty, are valued highly by followers and returned in kind. Expectations of support demanded but unearned by a leader, leads to resistance and interferes with organizational progress.  
• Theorem 9: Just as successful outcomes require adaptable plans, successful relationships require adaptable temperaments.  
• Theorem 10: Effective leaders create an environment in which the truth is valued, but accept that it can’t always be heard in its purest form.” 

These theorems tie directly into the positive leadership style and the benefits of each. Joyce E. A. Russell, a contributor for Forbes, said it this way:  

“Positive leadership has been shown to have a beneficial impact on the satisfaction, engagement, and performance of individuals, teams, and organizations. It’s not easy for anyone to display a constant positive perspective, especially during challenging times. It requires dedication, persistence, and continual focus for a leader to be optimistic, upbeat, and encouraging around their employees.” 

Positive leadership provides many traits and skills for an individual to develop:  

• “Positive affect 
• Mindfulness  
• Hope 
• Confidence  
• Self-esteem 
• Self-efficacy 
• Locus of control  
• Emotional stability 

Investment in oneself as a leader can create an entirely different dynamic within a team and improve performance and productivity immediately.  

Conclusion 

Positive leadership is a game-changer for organizations, teams and employees. More companies and organizations should implement the strategies and styles of positive leadership to improve overall workplace satisfaction. The outcome (Bradberry, Greaves, 2014) is brilliant, “A true leader is genuinely concerned with the welfare of others and is able to express this concern on a personal level with everyone he or she leads.” When employees feel like their leaders truly care about them as a person, it makes them feel included, valued and appreciated.

Sources  

Ackerman, C. (April 8, 2019). Positive Leadership: 30 Must-Have Traits and Skills. PositivePsychology.com. https://positivepsychology.com/positive-leadership/  

Bradberry, T., Greaves, J. (April 22, 2014). Leadership 2.0. Brilliance Audio.  

Korolevich, S. (January 11, 2022). Horrible Bosses: Are American Workers Quitting Their Jobs Or Quitting Their Managers?. GoodHire. https://www.goodhire.com/resources/articles/horrible-bosses-survey/  

Madeson, M. (February 24, 2017). Seligman’s PERMA+ Model Explained: A Theory of Wellbeing. PositivePsychology.com. https://positivepsychology.com/perma-model/  

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Facilitate definition & meaning. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/facilitate 

Pennock, S.F. (September 20, 2016). Who is Martin Seligman and What Does He Do?. PositivePsychology.com. https://positivepsychology.com/who-is-martin-seligman/  
 
Russell, J. E. A. (May 29, 2021). Positive Leadership: It Makes a Difference. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/joyceearussell/2021/05/29/positive-leadership-it-makes-a-difference/  

Scheer, C. (November 23, 2023). Closing the Trust Gap: Taking Action on What Matters Most for Leaders, Teams, and Organizations. Streamline Books.  

Souders, B. (March 14, 2019). What is Applied Positive Psychology?. PositivePsychology.com. https://positivepsychology.com/applied-positive-psychology/