Could You Be A Positively Energizing Leader? with Kim Cameron
Aug 6, 2021
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Kim Cameron, a renowned professor of management and organizations, discusses positively energizing leadership. He explains how positive energy translates into leadership, recognizes positive energy at work, and shares examples of its impact. The importance of genuine motives, support, and contribution in making a positive impact is also highlighted.
Positive energy is more predictive of performance than influence or information, and positively energizing leaders can have a significant impact on individual and organizational outcomes.
Positively energizing leadership involves behaviors such as expressing gratitude, fostering self-efficacy, problem-solving, and being trustworthy and authentic.
Deep dives
The Power of Positive Energy
In this podcast episode, Professor Kim Cameron discusses the importance of positive energy in leadership and organizations. He explains that just as living systems are attracted to light and positive energy, humans also flourish in its presence. Cameron emphasizes that positive energy is more predictive of performance than influence or information, yet it is often overlooked in organizations. By fostering positive energy and engaging in behaviors that help others flourish, leaders can have a significant impact on individual and organizational outcomes.
Positively Energizing Leadership
Cameron introduces the concept of positively energizing leadership, which goes beyond traditional views of leadership as influence or information. He emphasizes that positive energizers are not just charismatic or extraverted individuals, but rather people who exhibit behaviors that help others flourish. These behaviors include expressing gratitude, fostering self-efficacy in others, problem-solving, and being trustworthy and authentic. Cameron notes that positively energizing leadership is a set of behaviors that can be developed and practiced.
The Impact of Positive Energy
Through empirical research, Cameron demonstrates the significant impact of positive energy in individuals, teams, and organizations. Positive energy is linked to improved performance, engagement, innovation, satisfaction, and overall organizational effectiveness. Furthermore, positively energizing leaders have a five-to-one ratio of positively energizing people to those they de-energize, making a substantial difference in the workplace and beyond.
The Practice of Virtuousness and Contribution
Cameron highlights two key practices that can cultivate positive energy and leadership: virtuousness and contribution. Virtuous behaviors, such as kindness, compassion, and forgiveness, contribute to human flourishing. Additionally, contributing to the well-being of others has been shown to enhance one's own well-being. Cameron emphasizes that positive energy is not about false positivity or talking oneself out of challenges, but rather about authentic behaviors that create positive relationships and make a difference in individuals' lives.
Kim Cameron is a professor of management and organizations at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business. He’s co-founder of the Centre for Positive Organizational Scholarship and professor of higher education in the school of education at the University of Michigan. Kim is recognized as among the top 10 organizational scholars in the world and his work on virtuousness, downsizing, effectiveness, corporate quality culture, and the development of leadership excellence has been most frequently downloaded on Google. He has also published more than 140 academic articles and 15 scholarly books, the most recent of which is Positively Energizing Leadership, which is due for release in August this year.
In this week’s episode, Dr. Paige Williams talks to Prof. Kim Cameron about Positively Energizing Leadership.
Thanks so much for joining me again this week. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of this post.
You can also listen to all the episodes of Making Positive Psychology Work streamed directly to your smartphone or iPad through stitcher. No need for downloading or syncing.
Until next time, take care! Thank you, Kim!
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