ANTHONY OBI OGBO

Organizational Leadership and Management scholar, Anthony Obi Ogbo, Ph.D. is the publisher of Houston-based International Guardian. This article is an excerpt from his new book, “Maxims of Political Leadership”, a deconstruction of thoughts and reflections about issues of management in contemporary leadership

Positive attitude – the cradle of workforce emotional management

A regulation of employee emotions is paramount to creating a decent workplace structure. Whereas using good pay raise and other reward schemes could boost optimism among employees, a lack of positive attitude in addressing management matters might devastatingly deface employee emotional comportment. In organizational leadership, complexities of decision-making engagements in managing could activate a negative attitude among subordinates. Effective leadership thus entails the ability to identify and mitigate such negative challenges through a constructive approach to employee supervision. This article dissects the psychological significance of maxims, alluding to how positive attitude could empower employees with hope and aspiration; promote organizational trust, and foster optimism, satisfaction, loyalty, and sense of responsibility in the production system. As the author noted, intimidating attitude and executive arrogance bear no positive consequences in emotional management.  Rather, they infiltrate work environment with venomous sensation of desolation and hopelessness, leaving subordinates with little or no desire and confidence to effectively accomplish tasks.  

I am not sure if he loved his job, but a Houston-based United States workforce scholar, Dr. Anthony Hancock often starts his staff meeting with this phrase, “I love my job.” He had equally used the phrase to interrupt his presentations at high-level executive meetings. But his job may not be short of a routine workplace day-to-day challenges, emanating from the ever rugged organizational political playfield. Leadership comes with challenges, which could be invoked by in-house decision-making actions or perhaps inevitable advances from external forces.

Leadership is about influencing people. However, influencing subordinates with the sensation of positive attitude is a thoroughfare not just to employee satisfaction and loyalty, but also a tactic, which opens up a canal for organizational citizenship attitude[i]. In organizational leadership, complexities of decision-making engagements in managing could instigate a negative attitude among subordinates. Effective leadership thus entails the ability to identify and mitigate such negative challenges through a constructive approach to employee supervision.

I would agree with the motivation theories of contemporary leadership and management philosophers, especially on positive implications of these theories in building job satisfaction, excellence, and inspirational feat. For instance, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory[ii], Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory of Motivation[iii], and McClelland’s Need [iv]for Achievement Theory bear similar connection that gears toward an unprecedented level of employee motivation, satisfaction, and performance management.

In an austere economy where unemployment is the trend, job security matters more than any measure of reward system. In a good economy, using good pay or raise as incentives and other forms of reward could measure positively in building optimism among employees. Nonetheless, a lack of positive attitude in addressing management matters might devastatingly leave a terrible impression in the emotional component of employee management.

Therefore, Hancock’s “I love my Job” attitude stands out as a suitable maxim which may not necessarily signify an undying love for his job, but instead, reflects a phrase to inspire hope, satisfaction, and confidence into his workforce system. It is fundamentally a rational deduction suggesting that, where the boss feels happy, acts well, and expresses satisfaction, employees would blend into a similar philosophy. They are likely to follow suit, a positive mindset that could further indoctrinate them into a higher elevation of task-performance values.

A regulation of employee emotions is paramount in creating a decent workplace structure. A setting pervaded by adverse phrases of emotional tension and desolation could cripple performance.  In fact, a negative attitude could be distracting and highly contagious in the operational system. Bombastic negative remarks and attitude could pollute the positive sensation of work atmosphere. An emotionally abused work environment is merely a placeholder for performance disaster. Production efficacy could be jeopardized where employees operate under painful conditions of a boss who orates discouraging phrases to settle little issues. I have been in that environment; tested it, and witnessed the damaging consequences of using dispiriting arrogance to manage employee well-being, job satisfaction, and loyalty.

For instance, as a newsroom boss who only focused on production deadlines and quality, I had equally created more harm to my work environment with demoralizing expressions. I had also used phrases such as “have you got another job?” to intimidate supervisors; “Nobody is indispensable” to discourage employee confidence; and “Just do it” to shut down decision-making dialogues. This negative supervisory attitude characterizes a damaging structure in organizational management, and could erode the charisma to build employee performance values.  

On the contrary, “I Love my Job” remains an axiom of workforce performance expectation and determination. Love comes with commitment and responsibility; it comes with spiritual affection and regards for compassion. The phrase further invokes the motivational influence of organizational management philosophy; and signals a constructive but inspirational attitude that focuses on optimism, discipline, confidence, support, and honesty.  These impressions could strategically influence employees in reaching their ultimate destiny.

Attitude, motivation, satisfaction, and performance are fundamental to active workplace structure. Attitude is how we act; motivation impels how we operate; satisfaction expresses our feeling of contentment, whereas performance drives service and product efficiency. A negative attitude toward subordinates pokes destructively into employee workplace satisfaction. It could activate a derail in the production quality, and trigger absenteeism and low turnover. This would explain the inevitability in using encouraging phrases to soften workplace political and managerial anxieties.

Realistically, I-love-my-job leadership philosophy serves as an approach to effective management through positive verbal pronouncement and recognition of realities of organizational structure. It is a fact that most organizations spend a fortune in extrinsic motivational standards, but the most exceptional value of positive verbal influence is that it does not cost a dime. It is a great motivator, which could psychologically boost employee’s organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). A reciprocation of such acknowledgment could usher a higher-level tribal attitude among employees and increase performance beyond normalcy.

Hancock’s approach, fundamentally exemplifies good leadership demeanor. A good leader must be equipped with the temperament to motivate rather than dissuade.  His demeanor must signal an excellent value-centered approach toward emotional management.  This leader must espouse positively significant phrases that would pamper employees with hope and aspiration; promote organizational trust, and foster optimism, satisfaction, loyalty, and sense of responsibility in the production system. Intimidating attitude and executive arrogance bear no positive consequences in emotional management.  Rather they infiltrate work environment with venomous sensation of desolation and hopelessness, leaving subordinates with little or no desire and confidence to effectively accomplish tasks.  

[i] In the grammatical setting, citizenship is a status of being a naturalized member of a particular country. In the industrial situation or perhaps organizational psychology, citizenship holds a distinctive function of individual voluntary commitment within an organization. Referred to as   Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB). This concept triggers a devoted attitude of loyalty and obligation in the workforce  that transcends contractual tasks

[ii] American psychologist, Abraham Harold Maslow was best known for his work, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – a health-related psychological model that predicts the priority of human needs.  Maslow’s hierarchy of needs reflects a five-tier model of motivational theory in psychology of human needs, illustrated in categorical levels of a pyramid.

[iii] Psychologist and motivational management theorist, Frederick Irving Herzberg became famous for his work on job enrichment and the Motivator-Hygiene theory called Two-Factor Theory. This study address workplace job satisfaction and dissatisfaction.  His famous article “One More Time, How Do You Motivate Employees?” dominated the market, and became one of the most valuable management publication from the Harvard Business Review.

[iv] American psychologist, David Clarence McClelland became famous for his work on motivation Need Theory. In his Acquired-Needs Theory, the theorist explained how individual’s specific needs are molded by life experiences. McClelland’s Expectancy Value Theory of Motivation focuses on three specific reasons: achievement, affiliation, or power. Need for Achievement (N Ach) sets the standards to excel;   Need for Power (N Pow) shapes the desire to hold influence power over subordinates; whereas the Need for Affiliation (N Aff) creates the desire for interpersonal relationships.

QUOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE

 “Leadership comes with challenges, which could be invoked by in-house decision-making actions or perhaps inevitable advances from external forces.”

“Influencing subordinates with the sensation of positive attitude is a thoroughfare not just to employee satisfaction and loyalty, but also a tactic, which opens up a canal for organizational citizenship attitude.”

“A lack of positive attitude in addressing management matters might devastatingly leave a terrible impression in the emotional component of employee management.”

♦ “I love my Job” attitude remains a suitable maxim, which may not necessarily signify an undying love for a job, but instead, a phrase to inspire hope, satisfaction, and confidence into the workforce system.”

♦ “A work setting pervaded by adverse phrases of emotional tension and desolation could cripple performance.” 

♦ “A negative attitude can be distracting and highly contagious in an operational context. Bombastically negative remarks and attitude could pollute the positive sensation of the work atmosphere.”

♦ “An emotionally abused work environment is merely a placeholder for performance disaster.”

♦ “Negative supervisory attitude characterizes a damaging structure of organizational management and erodes the charisma to impel employee performance efficacy.”  

♦ “Attitude, motivation, satisfaction, and performance are fundamental to active workplace structure.”

♦ “A negative attitude toward subordinates pokes destructively into employee workplace satisfaction. It could activate a derail in the production quality, and trigger absenteeism and low turnover.”

♦ “I-love-my-job leadership philosophy serves as an approach to effective management through positive verbal pronouncement and recognition of realities of organizational structure.”

♦ “Organizations might spend a fortune on extrinsic motivational standards, but the most exceptional value of positive verbal influence is that it does not cost a dime.”

♦ “A good leader must be equipped with the temperament to motivate rather than dissuade.” 

♦ “The demeanor of a good leader must signal an excellent value-centered approach toward emotional management.”

♦ “A good leader must espouse positively significant phrases that would pamper employees with hope and inspiration; promote organizational trust, and foster optimism, satisfaction, loyalty, and sense of responsibility in the production system.”

♦ “Intimidating attitude and executive arrogance bear no positive consequences in emotional management.  Rather they infiltrate work environment with venomous sensation of desolation and hopelessness, leaving subordinates with little or no passion and confidence to effectively accomplish tasks.”

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