| "People often say that this or that person | | | | and try harder." |
| has not found himself. But the self is not | | | | |
| something that one finds. It is something one | | | | At the core of Seligman's findings are the |
| creates." - Thomas Szasz, 20th century | | | | interconnected concepts of "learned |
| American psychoanalyst who founded the | | | | helplessness" and "explanatory style." |
| 'anti-psychiatry' movement | | | | Seligman explains, "Learned helplessness is |
| | | | the giving-up reaction, the quitting response |
| Effective leaders are "unreasonable" | | | | that follows from the belief that whatever |
| optimists. Optimists refuse to live in "the | | | | you do doesn't matter. Explanatory style is |
| real world." They live in a world of hope and | | | | the manner in which you habitually explain to |
| possibilities. They see an opportunity in | | | | yourself why events happen. It is the great |
| every calamity. The pessimist sees a calamity | | | | modulator of learned helplessness. An |
| in every opportunity. Optimists excite and | | | | optimistic explanatory style stops |
| arouse others to action by helping them see, | | | | helplessness, whereas a pessimistic |
| believe in, and reach for what could be. | | | | explanatory style spreads helplessness." |
| | | | |
| If you haven't already read Learned Optimism, | | | | He goes on to cite research that shows |
| put it at the top of your reading list. | | | | pessimism is a major cause of depression, |
| Learned Optimism was written by Martin | | | | inaction and inertia, worry, and much poorer |
| Seligman, professor of social science and | | | | physical health (including earlier death). He |
| director of clinical training in psychology | | | | has also found "pessimism is self-fulfilling. |
| at the University of Pennsylvania. In it, he | | | | Pessimists don't persist in the face of |
| reports on decades of pioneering research he | | | | challenges, and therefore fail more |
| and others have done on the effects of | | | | frequently - even when success is |
| pessimism and optimism, ways to assess the | | | | attainable... their explanatory style now |
| degrees of either, and how to change a | | | | converts the predicted setback into a |
| pessimistic style to an optimistic one. His | | | | disaster, and disaster into a catastrophe." |
| work adds an important new twist and depth to | | | | |
| understanding the timeless principles of | | | | We can use Martin Seligman's ABCs to assess |
| leadership action. | | | | our explanatory style: any Adversity we |
| | | | encounter triggers our habitual Beliefs, |
| He writes, "The defining characteristic of | | | | which determines the Consequences of that |
| pessimists is that they tend to believe bad | | | | situation or those circumstances. Learned |
| events will last a long time, will undermine | | | | Optimism has many useful assessment tools to |
| everything they do, and are their own fault. | | | | help you understand whether you tend to |
| The optimists, who are confronted with the | | | | pessimism or optimism and suggestions on how |
| same hard knocks of this world, think about | | | | to become more optimistic. |
| misfortune in the opposite way. They tend to | | | | |
| believe defeat is just a temporary setback, | | | | To see beyond what is to what could be, we |
| that its causes are confined to this one | | | | need to become "learned optimists." It starts |
| case. The optimists believe defeat is not | | | | by working with our teams or on our own to |
| their fault: Circumstances, bad luck, or | | | | "reframe" negative situations and problems by |
| other people brought it about. Such people | | | | looking for the improvement opportunities |
| are unfazed by defeat. Confronted by a bad | | | | buried in them. |
| situation, they perceive it as a challenge | | | | |