Become a Positive Leader

Although being positive doesn't come naturally to everyone, it should be every leader's goal to lead with a positive attitude. Jon Gordon describes the importance of positive leadership, practical ideas and principles to become a positive leader, as well as shares examples of the impact positive leadership can have on any culture or organization.

One of my favorite sections of the book was titled "More than Words". In this section Gordon shares the importance of having a positive vision and mission, but how much more important it is to have positive people who are on a mission. At J.W. Speaker, our mission is to "Be the Best. Make Money. Have Fun". These words mean nothing unless we have individuals and leaders living this culture. It is my personal mission to live this culture, and lead others in the same direction, as it takes everyone to truly create a culture.

The book spends a lot of time talking about creating positivity, which any aspiring leader would find valuable. The books also explains a very important part about creating a positive environment; confronting, transforming, and removing negativity. I really enjoyed this section because it helped shape various scenarios and road blocks to creating a positive culture and described tactical ways to help suppress any of the negativity that might get in the way.

For me, the single most important lesson from the book was in order to stay motivated in creating a positive culture, you must define your purpose. There will be days that go by where you feel you aren't making a difference, and it will be easy to give up if you don't have a purpose to drive you. Every great leader must first find their purpose, and then live that purpose every day.

This was a quick read which provided such powerful ideas and lessons around creating a positive environment; and I would recommend the book to anyone, not just leaders.