Meerkats and Puppies

"There is simply more of a market for statements about potential dread events"--Nicholas DiFonzo, The Watercooler Effect, page 32.

We are wired to be far more sensitive to threats than to opportunities.  Anyone in leadership must take this into account at all times and behave accordingly.  It takes about six times as much effort to move a positive proposal forward in an organization as it does to get a negative idea rolling.  

I am not a behavioral psychologist, so my ratio is a rough estimate at best. However I know that it takes about five or six positive statements to dispel or counteract every negative statement.  That ratio is true in marriages, for example.  Healthy marriages depend on partners who work at giving each other positive strokes far more often than negative ones.  The same is true in organizations.

For a while the television show, Meerkat Manor, was wildly popular.  The meerkats are cute critters, but there was far more to it than that.  We humans love to look at anything or anyone that resembles us.  Every time those meerkats popped up on their hind legs and scanned the horizon, millennia-old instincts were activated inside of us.  They were looking for any potential threats, ready at a moment's notice to sound the alarm.

We are creatures of the savanna as well.  We recognized that behavior without a conscious thought.  There is more of a market for threat information because that's how we've made it this far.

We have limited cognitive capacity, of course.  If we spend all our time, energy and attention on our hind legs scanning the area for danger, we have very little time left to respond to potential opportunities.  Anyone who has ever done a SWOT analysis with a congregation knows this.  It is always easy to populate the "Threat" quadrant with dozens of items.  The "Opportunity" quadrant is often woefully empty.

So, what to do as a leader?  I must always remind myself first to expect resistance.  Every new idea, suggestion or plan will be regarded to some degree as a potential threat that requires further examination.  I must still be disciplined as I roll out a proposal.  I can't let myself be deterred or depressed by the first six negative responses.  Working my way through those reactions is just part of doing my job.  I need to affirm the concerns I hear without ratifying the fear underneath.

I have to remember, second, that threats are real.  I am an optimist and an early adopter.  I have met very few new ideas that I didn't like.  So sometimes I minimize or even ignore the very real threats that new proposals might contain or engender.  Those who respond with caution serve a key function in an organization.  While I wouldn't want a board of directors filled with naysayers, a few wisely cautious folks keep the train from derailing.

And then I have to embrace my leadership role as the one who is always ready to play.  Our Viszla puppy, Bella, is my role model for that.  She is the eternal optimist, always inviting a game of fetch or tug.  Every time she comes in, she heads for the treat closet on the off chance that someone might notice her obedience and reward her.  She is ever vigilant for opportunities.

There are plenty of meerkats in any organization.  Welcome them, but be on the lookout for the puppies. They are the real treasures.