21. From Control to Trust: The People Positivity Journey

Over the last nine years, The Ready has seen firsthand how organizations designed to be people positive (a.k.a. a foundational belief that people are eager to contribute and capable of change) outperform those that aren’t. Turns out when you treat people like adults, it boosts your team’s motivation, adaptability, and contribution.

The only catch? Unlearning nearly everything traditional leadership and management science has taught us for decades. Once beliefs like “People are lazy,” “People can’t be trusted,” and “People will actively abuse any flexibility they get” get baked into an organization’s culture, it’s tremendously hard to change. But not impossible.

In this episode, Rodney and Sam get candid about the fears that come with letting go of control, offer real-world examples to help skeptical leaders flip the script on trust, and explore how people positive principles can lead to long-term benefits.

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Mentioned references:

• "the tower"
• Theory Y vs Theory X
• "Dan Pink stuff"
• mastery: BNW Ep. 63
• "psychological safety episode": AWWTR Ep. 20
• "nature vs nurture"
• "complexity conscious"
• "discretionary spending discussion": AWWTR Ep. 16, question 3
• negativity bias