Positive leaders bring out the best in us

Everything looks brighter when the sun shines. As Monty Python already said 40 years ago: ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’. That closely connects to how I look at the world and try to convey it to the entire organisation. I believe that positivity is a driver of our success. And research shows that it is. Harvard Business Review studied the impact of positive energy among leaders. It turns out that when leaders display positive relational energy, relationships and organisations rise to a higher level.

the impact of positive leaders

The study shows that positive energisers lead to higher levels of engagement, lower turnover and enhanced feelings of well-being among employees. Positive energisers are far higher performers than others but also positively influence others’ performance. People tend to flourish in their presence. In addition, positive energisers exist in greater numbers in high-performing organisations than in average-performing organisations. When a leader is a positive energiser, the organisation also has greater innovation, teamwork, better financial performance – including productivity and quality – and workplace cohesion. Among employees, this leads to greater job satisfaction, well-being, performance and relationships with family (Seppälä & Cameron, 2022).

‘With the entire leadership team, we are following an internal, tailor-made leadership programme to become even better leaders.’

long term success

This positivity leads to success and happy employees, crucial values within DVJ. That is why we believe it is important to invest in our teams through training and programmes. With the entire leadership team, we are following an internal, tailor-made leadership programme this year to become even better leaders. Not only for the well-being of our employees but also our clients in terms of innovation and service. We give each other feedback and feedforward to develop the role of leader even better. And not only among ourselves, but we also involve the entire organisation. We see this as a continuous learning process. The research by Harvard Business Review also shows that positive energy is much more effective in the long term. Especially in the current labour market, leadership can make a difference.

‘Especially in the current labour market, leadership can make a difference.’

a contagious effect

As the research also indicates: you can compare it to the ‘heliotropic effect’. Plants naturally turn towards the light and grow in the presence of light. In nature, light is the life-giving force; photosynthesis only occurs in light. So, it is important that light is and remains a consistent factor. Human beings have the same attraction. Positive relational energy nourishes us and makes us come alive, and has a contagious effect on others (Seppälä & Cameron, 2022). Within DVJ, the investment in good leadership is shaped by a positive approach to creating an even better environment for our employees, and ultimately, for our clients. After all, everything looks better on the bright side of life.