The Power of Positive Belief in the Workplace
If someone were to ask you about your beliefs, you might think of deeply personal things like religion or political views. But, beliefs are far more pervasive in our everyday lives than many realize.
Whether we are aware of it or not, underneath every instance of action and communication are our beliefs, which are made up of the ever-growing culmination of our life’s experiences and thoughts. While some beliefs may change or fade, many others become ingrained in us; as a result, most people don’t question their long-held beliefs, even though they form our assumptions about the world, others, and ourselves. In that light, it’s evident understanding and becoming aware of our beliefs is vital to becoming the best leaders we can be.
Where Our Beliefs Come From
While the study of belief is a relatively new field, early findings suggest that our beliefs are learned from the dominant culture in which we’re raised. They help us fit into our communities, which in many respects is a good thing. However, we can also subconsciously adopt harmful habits of thought that can be quietly destructive, particularly in the workplace. Some examples of negative and harmful beliefs are statements like:
“I’m a type-A personality and I can’t change”
“No one is as committed as I am to quality work”
“There’s just never enough time to get everything done”
“Good employees are hard to find”
Beliefs like these sap your energy, unnecessarily limit your potential, and have a trickle-down effect that can harm your whole team.
How Our Beliefs Protect Us
You can think of your set of beliefs as a wall that protects you. Made up of early and reinforced experiences, they help you make sense of the world and guide you to what feels to you like appropriate actions. Without this sense of protection, the world can seem frightening and chaotic. However, unless you question the truth behind your beliefs, especially long-held ones, you risk ineffectiveness as a leader.
Beliefs and the Workplace
Similar to how we know that the dominant culture in childhood determines the beliefs we carry into the world in adulthood, workplace culture has a significant influence on the beliefs of the people working there. Workplace cultures, which are the combination of not only the beliefs of every team member, but also their emotions, attitudes, values, and behavior, are huge cultivators and preservers of beliefs.
Commonly held negative beliefs in the workplace can lead to things like:
Micromanaging
Blaming others
Poor time management
Exhaustion
As a result, workplace beliefs, which drive the behavior of the entire organization, should be regularly examined by leaders.
The Power of Positive Belief
When it comes down to it, our only real currency is our attention. When we pay attention to things that help us cultivate positive beliefs, it will have a ripple effect of positivity that will begin with you and radiate out to your entire team.
How to Cultivate Positive Belief in the Workplace
The work begins with questioning our assumptions. When a negative repetitive thought pops up, such as “there’s never enough time to get everything done”, stop yourself and ask yourself:
Why do I believe that?
Is this necessarily true anymore?
If the answer is “yes”, ask yourself what will prove that it’s still true
Test the assumption – if it proves to be false, throw it out.
Testing and letting go of assumptions and beliefs can be scary. However, it can be very liberating to let go of something that was holding you back from being the most effective leader you can be.
Let us be clear – change can be difficult, especially when it comes to examining core beliefs that have been with us since childhood. In fact, most people are resistant to change until the pain of not changing becomes too much to bear. However, the work can be worth it. Creating, real, lasting, and positive change in the workplace can begin with you, and Leadership Delta is here to help. Contact us today to get started. Be the change. Be the delta.