Five Ways to Foster Optimism - Emerging Nurse Leader

By Rose O. Sherman, EdD, RN, FAAN

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” Winston Churchill

A nurse leader recently told me that she was having a hard time remaining optimistic in the face of so much uncertainty in the health care environment. She observed that “our leadership meetings seem to be full of bad news, and even our senior leaders seem quite anxious about the future.” Hope and optimism are important messages for leaders to send even during tough times. Before leaders can convey these messages, they must foster a sense of optimism in their own communication and behaviors.

Here are 5 suggestions to foster and project optimism:

1. Smile

Surprisingly, just believing that you have control, even when you really don’t, can affect your physiological response to stress, and your health. A way to do this is to smile and act confident. Even in difficult situations, there are always things to laugh and smile about. The simple act of smiling will make you and others feel better.

2. Surround yourself with optimistic people

Have you ever noticed how whining can be contagious. There are problems in every work environment and people who spend most of their time focused on the negative. Commit yourself to think and speak positively. Spend time with optimists. If you are very upset about a situation, give yourself a time limit to vent your concerns and then move on to more positive thoughts.

3. See the possibilities in every situation

Crisis situations can present unusual opportunities to change even very negative dynamics in positive directions. Stopping to ask important questions such as – What can I learn from this situation? or What does this situation make possible? Be grateful for the tough times because it will teach you to deal with adversity and there are always some positive outcomes from even the most negative experience.

4. Develop an attitude of gratitude

If you actively look for things to be grateful for, you may be surprised at how much good there is in your life. Your appreciation of others can have a very powerful impact on their life and also make you feel better. Great nursing leaders know that it is important to begin with praise and honest appreciation of their staff. During tough times, this can mean much more than a raise that you are unable to give. A culture of appreciation and gratitude is very powerful and benefits everyone on the team.

5. Read history and the biographies of great leaders

I have always been a reader of history and biographies. When you read about the lives of great people, you soon realize that there are periods of great turmoil in everyone’s life. This month, a wonderful movie about Abraham Lincoln has just been released. Produced by Steven Spielberg, the movie is based upon the book Team of Rivals written by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. It is an incredible book and as you read it, you can’t help but be amazed at the conflict and turmoil that Abraham Lincoln faced in his presidency. He had no reason to be optimistic that he could successfully unite the country, but he kept his faith that it could be done.

In The Leadership Advantage, an essay from the Drucker Foundation’s Leader to Leader Guide, Warren Bennis tells us that optimism is one of the key things people need from their leaders in order to achieve positive results. Every “exemplary leader that I have met,” writes Bennis, “has what seems to be an unwarranted degree of optimism – and that helps generate the energy and commitment necessary to achieve results.” As leaders, we have a choice in how we behave and whether we see the glass as half empty or half full.