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Managing Team Negativity

Overcoming a Pessimistic Environment

Negativity can spread quickly through your team and organization.

It can be incredibly hard to work with, and manage, people who have a negative attitude. These people seem to reject new ideas automatically, and they can often view change with distrust.

Although negativity may at first seem like just an annoyance, it can spread quickly through a team or organization, resulting in increased absenteeism, higher staff turnover, lower morale, and decreased productivity. So how can you stop it?

Everyone in an organization should assume some responsibility for stamping out negativity. But managing negativity in a team and organization is especially important for leaders and managers. In this article, we'll examine ways to manage negativity within your team, and in your organization.

Managing Your Own Attitude

A team's mindset and attitude often come from "the top," from managers and from other influential people in the team or organization. So, before you search for the root causes of your team's negativity, it's important to look at your own attitude first.

Even if you think that you have a positive attitude, ask yourself the following questions, and think about whether you could be contributing to other people's negativity with your own attitude and actions: