Transcript Negativity in the Workplace

Negativity in the Workplace
KASFAA Conference
October 25, 2007
Pam Davis
KHEAA & The Student Loan People
Distorted Thinking Styles That Can
Lead to Negativity
• Magnifying: Turns the consequences of an event
into a catastrophe such as, “I’m going to be
fired.”
• Destructive Labeling: Form of overgeneralization, making someone or a particular
situation totally negative.
• Imperative Thinking: Inflexible rules about
how you and others should act usually based on
negative past experiences.
• Mind Reading: Attributes motives that
explain other people’s actions toward a
person or event.
• Divide and Conquer: Overmagnification and wanting others to
support a particular position. Tend to get
support creating division within groups.
Notable Quote
• Extraordinary people talk about ideas.
• Ordinary people talk about events.
• Shallow people talk about other people.
Steve Gilliland
Why does negativity continue?
• Habitual Thinking makes it normal to
focus on wrong.
• Culture accepts it.
• We tolerate it.
• It gets attention.
Change Your Input
• People/Information
• Thoughts
• Actions
• Beliefs
• Character
• Life-path
Notable Quote
• We hire people for what they know……
And fire them for who they are.
Steve Gilliland
Overcoming Challenged Attitudes
• Look for alternative explanations.
• Moods are contagious, both positive and
negative. Do something that will place
you in a positive mood.
• Control your frustration. Choose to
remain calm.
• Stop looking out the rearview mirror
when the big windshield is staring you in
the face. Your vision of each event is
totally up to you.
• Watch with great care who you hang out
with.
• “You become the average sum of the five
people with whom you associate with.”
Jim Rohn
Ask Yourself These Questions
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Who Am I around?
What are they doing to me?
What have they got me saying?
Where do they have me going?
What do they have me thinking?
What do they have me becoming?
The BIG QUESTION: Is that OK?
A Challenge For You
• Shift Focus
• Appreciate ALL people and never label.
• Learn to appreciate the things you take for
granted.
• Influence others more than they influence
you.
STOP – START - CONTINUE
• One thing you’ll STOP doing – it’s not
working
• One thing you’ll START doing – to get
better results
• One thing you’ll CONTINUE doing –
because it’s working