What is attitude in leadership

To have a great attitude in leadership, we must constantly be aware of the things that are influencing us. However we need ask ourselves ; Does attitude affect leadership? what type of attitude is needed in leadership ? Is it really important that a leader possess a certain type of attitude to be effective?

Before we can answer these questions, we need to understand what attitude really mean. We should know the place of attitude in a leader’s life and in the followers’ lives as well. You must have heard it so many times that your attitude towards a certain thing will determine if you will get it or not.

So in this article, we will see how true the above statement is. More importantly we will also look at the types of attitudes and the ways in each affects the team whether positively or negatively.

What is Attitude ?

You will find a lot of definitions when it comes to attitude. While they are numerous definitions, they mean the same thing. For instance, attitude is defined as a mental construct or an emotional entity that characterizes a person; it is how a person perceives other people, a place, a thing, or an event and this in turn influences how the person thinks, acts or reacts.

In short, attitude is the basis of our thoughts and actions.  However the funny thing about attitude is that we build it based on past experiences and it guides us on how to react when in situations similar to those past experiences.

Therefore, attitude is not just a behavior or a mental state, it is an integral part of who we are.

Types of Attitudes

There are basically two types of attitudes, either one on each end of a spectrum; the positive and the negative attitude.

Positive Attitude in leadership:

This type of attitude is one that embraces experiences and brings out the good in them. A positive attitude in leadership is filled with a characteristic “can do” spirit, and someone with this kind of attitude always want to get whatever they are assigned to do done and well done. This type of attitude is what is expected of leaders as they will bear the responsibility of convincing others to do what is best for the team, regardless of how unpleasant they find it.

Negative Attitude in leadership:

This attitude does no one any good. It is however attached to people with low self-esteem and holds them back from achieving what they should and prevents them from reaching their potential. We have seen this time and again among teenagers who are obviously skilled at something but due to one or two failures, they neglect what they should nurture.

While there are people with negative attitude towards certain things, there are people with positive attitude towards the same things. However, in the middle of the spectrum, there are those who have never experienced the things other have not to talk  of forming an opinion or attitude towards it.

How Attitude in Leadership affect Teams?

When you encounter things for the first time, it is difficult to form an opinion on them except we’ve experienced those things for a while. The opinion we’ll form at whatever point we do that, will be positive, negative, or neutral. A positive opinion shows that our attitude towards that event, if we come across it again will be positive, meanwhile a negative opinion says we do not like it and will not like to partake in it. However, a neutral stance says we might give it another try.

These opinions are what we form, every day, of our tasks as part of a team. Here are some ways attitude affects leadership and teams.

Influence:

The leader is an influential figure in a team. He or she is the determinant of what direction the team goes. It is, therefore, important that the leader of a team be passionate and have positive attitude towards the team’s objective.

With the leader’s influence, those who are negatively poised will shift their ground and will want to give it a try.

Work Ethic:

A leader with a negative attitude towards work is only telling the followers to lazy around. One of the hallmarks of a leader is the ability to take charge when no one is willing to. A person with a negative attitude towards work cannot take charge, let alone influence others to work.

Result:

A team that fails to work is bound to fall short of their goal. Without the positive attitude, a positive result cannot be gotten. Positive result is the outcome of a collaborative effort towards achieving a common goal. In this case, when there’s no will, there will be no way, and nothing to show for whatever little work that was done.

Conclusion

Attitude is important, especially as a leader and it really is everything. Fix your attitude as a leader to improve your self-esteem. As a follower, develop the right attitude and stop dragging your team back. Attitude is acquired. Whatever awry experience you had previously, you can unlearn that negative attitude and learn a positive one.