This Thinking Coach Insight is focusing on a significant term, a new thinking paradigm, which is necessary to take into account in order to understand the scope and magnitude of what it takes to build a human, sensitive work environment that encourages the very best of people.
The term is Positive & Negative viruses. This refers to unseen, mental and emotional influences that come out of all of us and affect our environment, either positively or negatively. Viruses are not just things that cause colds or other physical illnesses, they can be far more productive or destructive in their mental and emotional outplay, and in their effect upon decision making. Much can be written about this subject but that’s for later. (Additional TCI’s and Thinking Coach seminars)
Positive viruses concern human qualities that impact the environment in a way that promotes harmony, friendship and productivity. They appear when people consciously decide to take responsibility for improving their work environment and stop looking at everyone else to do it first. These matters are not intellectual, they are very real, and are best experienced in training circumstance to register their full impact, while learning ways to incorporate them practically. At this day and age positive viruses are critical to the future success of any organization simply because so much depends upon the human mental and emotional well being.
What are mental and emotional positive viruses? Here are a some examples; humor, being straight forward, appreciation, value, tolerance for mistakes, live and let live, consideration, anticipation, warmth, inspiration, inter support, care and many more. These viruses are the pillars of the future success of any organization and can have tremendous impact on productivity and long term stability.
On the other hand, negative viruses are disturbing, unresolved matters between people, which, if are allowed to fester, become more virulent and damaging.
There are two types of negative viruses, apparent and hidden. Two examples for the negative viruses that are obvious to detect are issues such as gossip & backbiting.Hidden viruses of the negative type, however, are far more destructive as they are not easily detected and can grow unchecked. These are harmful influences that in the long run undermine motivation & productivity. If not treated thoroughly, in timely fashion, they become embedded in the work environment and continually sour relations between people, consequently preventing people from expressing their full range of talents and skills. An example of a hidden virus is when a person has personal, undeclared agenda resulting in misuse of power. This is prevalent in circumstances such as allowing personal like – and – dislike to affect decision making about issues that concern the whole.
Negative viruses develop, very often, simply because people are afraid to be straight forward or don’t know how to confront people effectively without getting into conflict. Most people are so afraid of conflict that they rather handle disagreement with quiet inner judgment.
There are many more examples, but the full extent of this aspect can only seriously be explored in specific training sessions.
Following are 7 steps that can go a long way to reverse the damaging effect of negative viruses. These steps need to be incorporated a-step-at-a-time (Changes that last a long time require a-step-at-a-time effort and are seldom a result of a Big Bang event)
7 steps to create an environment with positive viruses
The marker of a true professional is to persevere despite personal difficulties and find a way to make the wrong right, and continue to develop despite obstacles. We are all experiencing the stressful effects of a rapidly changing world and we need to find those things that have stabilizing and security providing influences.
We humans have the capacity to become a factory of positive viruses.
Print it
Email it