The power of positivity

Realizing change starts with creating the motivation to change, people either need to feel the pain or see the light. Sharing your dream of a better future truly inspires people, as you can see in the book ‘speeches that changed the world’. It shows that hope wins from fear. John F Kennedy’s “Man on the moon” speech of 1961 or Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” of 1963 are still being shared today. Positivity is contagious.

Framing change as an opportunity inspires people in a more sustainable way than communicating risks ever can. This becomes very clear when we look at some of today’s major problems such as the COVID pandemic or climate change. While the lockdown caused people to work at home in the first place, it’s the longing for a better work-life balance that makes sure people will continue to work from home for a few days per week. Linda Steg, Professor of Environmental Psychology at the University of Groningen, and her PhD student Anne van Valkengoed showed that negative framing of climate change can lead to anxiety, denial, and complacency. On the contrary, when people were led to believe they could make a positive contribution behavioral change happened more often.

What are the key drivers of change for your company? And how do you explain the need to change to your people?