The Power Of Positive Leadership: How and Why Positive Leaders Transform Teams and Organizations and Change the World

The Power of Positive Leadership: How and Why Positive Leaders Transform Teams and Organizations and Change the World (2017) is a self-help book by best-selling author, speaker, and consultant Jon Gordon. The book provides a practical framework for leaders in all areas to inspire and motivate their organizations by cultivating a positive mindset. Through real-world examples and actionable strategies, Gordon demonstrates how positivity drives organizational success, resilience, and meaningful change in both leaders and their teams. In doing so, he touches on themes of Establishing a Positive Culture, The Need for Effective Communication, and The Importance of Connected and Accountable Teams.

This guide refers to the Kindle version of the 2017 Wiley edition.

Summary

Gordon opens by claiming that being positive impacts everyone for the better. He says that he isn’t a positive person by nature; he has to work at it by reading about and practicing positivity. This led him to write his 2007 book The Energy Bus, a parable in which a negative man named George takes a bus ride and learns the 10 rules for transforming his personal and business experiences.

In working with many companies, sports teams, schools, and other organizations that used The Energy Bus, Gordon has witnessed firsthand the power of positive leadership. His goal with the current book is twofold: to explain how and why positive leaders make a difference and to provide a simple framework to help anyone become a positive leader who inspires and improves others.

Leaders face numerous challenges, and for that reason, positive leadership is not fake “Pollyanna positivity”; it is multifaceted. Gordon cites research linking positivity and optimism with a demonstrated competitive advantage in business, sports, and politics.

Gordon’s framework has nine principles for enhancing leadership qualities and putting positive leadership into action. The first is the title of Chapter 3, “Positive Leaders Drive Positive Cultures.” Creating a positive culture is a leader’s most important job because in addition to energizing people and fostering teamwork, it sets the tone for the organization. Gordon points to Alan Mulally, the former CEO of Ford, as an example. Mulally led a corporate turnaround at Ford by creating a culture centered on the idea that every employee should be committed to the company’s goals and to one another.

Creating a positive culture requires that the leader understand the organization’s values and desired reputation. When Gordon asked leaders employed by Rick Hendrick (owner of a racing organization and car dealership) what they stood for, they all had the same answer: “servant leadership.” A leader must not only communicate the organization’s vision but also live by its core values, broadcasting passion and positivity for both the team and their mission. One reason why leaders don’t always focus on culture is that it can’t be easily quantified, as sales can. It also requires time and energy, but it must be nurtured for the team to succeed.

Gordon’s second principle is the title of Chapter 4: “Positive Leaders Create and Share a Positive Vision.” He explains the importance of articulating the organization’s vision and communicating it often since it drives the plan to move the organization forward. The vision is like a telescope that shows the big picture; the plan is like a microscope that focuses on the things that must be done to realize the vision. For instance, football coach Dabo Swinney turned around Clemson’s football team by communicating the vision of winning a national championship.

Chapter 5, “Positive Leaders Lead With Optimism, Positivity, and Belief,” lays out the third principle in Gordon’s framework. He lists the many reasons why people give up before reaching a goal, including fear, adversity, and rejection. Optimism, positivity, and belief counteract these obstacles—e.g., fear believes in a negative future, and faith believes in a positive one. Neither has happened, so it makes more sense to believe in the positive future.

Not only do leaders need to cultivate this attitude, but they also need to identify the people in their organization who are believers and weed out those who are not. Positive leaders look at failures as opportunities for growth and lead with faith despite the world’s negativity. Their employees are facing the same battle, and it’s the leader’s job to inspire them. 

Gordon’s fourth principle is found in Chapter 6: “Positive Leaders Confront, Transform, and Remove Negativity.” Leaders ignore negativity at their peril since it will eventually sabotage an organization. One coach referred to negative players as “energy vampires.” Gordon argues that leaders should first try to transform energy vampires through empathic listening and understanding. If these efforts fail, however, the leader needs to remove the negative team members so that the others can do their best work. Complaining is a form of negativity, and leaders cannot complain if they are going to foster a positive culture.

Chapter 7, “Positive Leaders Create United and Connected Teams,” focuses on Gordon’s fifth principle: how positive leaders create unity. Leaders within an organization must be connected and focused on the same goals; narcissism at any level undermines the group. Gordon recommends various ways to build connection—e.g., having each team member share a defining moment in their life. Regardless of how one cultivates connection, the old, dictatorial style of leadership that focused on to-do lists rather than people no longer works. It tapped into the part of the brain associated with fear and survival. Leaders who are themselves experiencing stress need to recognize it and find something to be thankful for in the moment.

Gordon’s sixth principle is the subject of Chapter 8, “Positive Leaders Build Great Relationships and Teams.” Every team member wants to know if the leader is trustworthy and if they care about the individual. To build trusting, loving relationships within a team, leaders must communicate and get out of the office and interact with the team. Listening is especially critical, as it both informs the leader and makes the other person feel important. Gordon advises giving praise openly before peers while delivering criticism privately. Other techniques to communicate positivity are nonverbal, including gestures such as smiles, fist bumps, and back pats. For these techniques to work, leaders need to genuinely serve their teams and put the needs of the team before their own. A “caring trademark,” like writing thank-you notes to employees, is a unique way to show appreciation.

Chapter 9, “Positive Leaders Pursue Excellence,” lays out the seventh principle in Gordon’s framework. The pursuit of excellence requires that a leader combine love and respect for employees with accountability. Gordon believes in tough love but prefers the idea of “love tough,” in which the leader challenges and pushes the team. Positive leaders help their team become craftspeople rather than carpenters—people focused on making art, not just building something.

The “one percent” rule is part of the pursuit of excellence and asks the leader or team to give 1% more time and effort on a particular day than they gave the day before. Excellence also requires clarity and action, as when Mulally laminated images of Ford’s management policies, processes, and strategies on a two-sided card to share with everyone in the organization.

The eighth principle is the subject of Chapter 10: “Positive Leaders Lead With Purpose.” Leaders can struggle with positivity at times, and having a purpose is the solution. Work itself doesn’t bring happiness, which instead comes from the meaning and purpose that a leader brings to the work. Mulally transformed Ford because he gave his employees a greater purpose, drawing on Henry Ford’s vision to “open the highways to all mankind” (152).

Positive leaders have grit, the subject of Chapter 11 and the last of the nine principles in Gordon’s framework. Grit, as defined by Angela Duckworth in her 2016 bestseller Grit, is the ability to work hard for a long time toward a goal, persevering in spite of adversity. Positive leaders find a way to navigate through or around the roadblocks they encounter. However, grit also involves loving what one does because love has more power than fear. Failure does not define a leader but instead helps build character. Gordon closes the book with a message of hope, pointing out that personal change can help leaders support and inspire many others.