Optimism measures whether the employees feel like they are optimistic about the future given the information that is currently known.
The question behind the driver is: "How often do you feel optimistic about the future in [company name]?"
How to succeed with Optimism
To ensure that your employees score high on this driver, you can make sure they:
Understand, and buy-in to the long-term strategic vision and direction of the team or company
Have belief that the unit and company will be successful
Feel comfortable even in the midst of uncertainty because of job safety and psychological safety.
Trust that issues or problems will be addressed, discussed, and solved
Typical root causes for unsatisfactory scores
Below are the root causes that explain the lower score in the vast majority of cases.
Job uncertainty
Employees are afraid that they themselves do not have a place in the company in the future.
Management skepticism
Employees are critical of management decisions, strategic direction, or lack of transparency.
Hopelessness
Employees are facing critical dilemmas or challenges that they do not believe can be resolved in the foreseeable future.
Lack of psychological safety
Employees experience a low level of psychological safety.
Ideas for improving
Note: The root cause is what guides a good action that will improve the status quo from a bad action that's targeting something that might already be working. It's only possible to provide good ideas in the context of a root cause.
If job uncertainty is the root cause
Ask yourself: Is it clear what their future and potential career development may look like in the company?
You can try asking the employees how clear it is to them what their future and career development in the company looks like and thereby learn if you should spend some time talking with them. If so, book them for a walk and talk or similar - ask them why it isn’t clear, how you can make it clearer, and tell them why they should be calm. You can also consider involving a development plan in this conversation if such exists, or create one with the employee - see development and feedback 1:1 plan in our Leadership Playbook
Ask yourself: Is it clear what their role consists of and how they are contributing?
Consider whether the expectations of their work, the boundaries of their role, and how they contribute to the overall company goals are clear enough by asking the employees about this. If it is not clear enough, book them for a 1:1 conversation to talk about this more thoroughly - you can use the well-being conversation card for Contribution from our Leadership Playbook.
Ask yourself: Do you communicate often enough about financials?
If your employees feel uncertain about whether they will lose their job within a certain amount of time due to being part of a smaller company, market changes, or other financial struggles, it is a good idea to calm your employees by letting them know more details about the finances. People sometimes fear the worst, and in that case, transparency can really help. Make sure people actually understand the numbers you present - and that they feel safe asking questions they may feel are “stupid”.
Ask yourself: Is there a good reason for the employee to worry about this?
If there is a chance the employee is right - that they might lose their job - then you should be as honest with them as you can, but say what concrete things you will do to avoid it happening.
If skepticism is the root cause
Ask yourself: Do you create a safe space where the employees can freely share concerns, questions, and frustrations?
Make sure to give the employees frequent opportunities to share their skepticism with the management and get their questions and concerns answered. This can be done by town halls or team meetings. A prerequisite for this to work out is to have a high level of psychological safety. See our Leadership Playbook for inspiration on how to improve the psychological safety of your team.
Ask yourself: How transparent are you about managerial decisions?
The employees might be skeptical due to missing knowledge about managerial decisions and/or financials. Thus, it is a good idea to calm your employees by letting them know more details about the reasons for your decisions and why you use the financial resources the way you do.
Ask yourself: Is the strategic direction and the reasoning behind it clear enough for the employees?
Consider inviting for a team session about the strategy where everyone can feel free to ask questions and share their thoughts. Take into account what they say and explain the WHY as well as you can. If some employees still have difficulties understanding or accepting it, invite them for a walk’n’talk or 1:1 to discuss further: Be curious about their point of view and remind yourself that what feels like “resistance” to you is actually an expression of their passion for the company and its future.
If hopelessness is the root cause
Ask yourself: Is there a space for the employees to share their challenges and dilemmas, and a clear plan for how to solve them?
Make sure to arrange 1:1 conversations where the employees can openly share challenges and dilemmas with you. You can use the well-being card for Optimism in our Leadership Playbook for inspiration. Also, make a clear action plan with them on how to overcome the challenge or dilemma in the foreseeable future - or at least next steps from here, if the challenge is too big to solve here and now.
Ask yourself: Is there any action I need to take as a leader to help resolve the dilemmas or challenges they experience?
Ask the employees how you can help them overcome the dilemmas or challenges they are facing. As a leader, it is your responsibility that the employees have the best possible circumstances to do their work and thrive while doing it. If they are somehow stuck and you can do something to help them out, then it is a good idea to prioritize this to show that you take them seriously. Even if you cannot help them on the concrete dilemma or challenge, make sure they know you will listen to their frustrations.
Ask yourself: How do I make sure to keep the employees’ hopes up?
It is a good idea to continuously follow up on their dilemmas and challenges, how they progress from here, and how you, as a team and as a leader, will overcome these in the foreseeable future. If the challenges are temporary, remind them that these will only exist for a limited time.
If lack of psychological safety is the root cause
Ask yourself: In our team, is it safe to speak up or show vulnerability?
For your team to feel comfortable and optimistic, also in challenging times, you have an important role in ensuring that they are safe enough to have the more difficult conversations and speak up about concerns, mistakes, etc. Psychological safety can seem somewhat big and intangible to understand and manage. Therefore, we advise you to read our chapter on Psychological Safety, where you can find more information about the subject and inspiration on how to increase this in your team.