Herman Cain and the Power of Optimism
Herman Cain may not be our next president, but he can teach the current president, and his fellow GOP presidential hopefuls, something important: how to radiate confidence.
Speaking on NPR's Morning Edition, Cokie Roberts noted that Cain was one Republican presidential candidate who understands the need to convey optimism. Something that Ronald Reagan and his hero Franklin Roosevelt excelled in doing.
With his broad smile and buoyant stage presence, Cain is the antidote to glumness.
Cain exudes the necessary mojo of confidence and optimism successful candidates must communicate. Cain is plain spoken and down-to-earth, and it's hard to top his "9-9-9" plan for clarity. Perhaps it comes from the fact Cain is a successful entrepreneur.
As CEO of Godfather's Pizza, Cain no doubt honed his stellar speaking skills cultivating franchisees. You learn quickly as a corporate leader that franchisees are independent business owners. When dealing with independent business owners who retail your products, you need to be direct, honest, and above all optimistic. If you are not they will flee.
Optimism is an attribute of leadership that is sorely lacking in today's landscape. While I do not buy into the chatter about a dearth of leadership, I do agree that business leaders - at every level - are lacking when it comes to radiating confidence. What can business leaders be optimistic about?
1. Their business survived the greatest downturn since the Great Depression. While the economy is by no means robust, most businesses are solvent once again and making money, too.
2. Employers have invested in people and businesses to prepare for the eventual upturn.
That's the big picture. Leaders must also communicate that optimism through ranks. Here's how I've seen it done.
- Spend time walking the halls and eat in the cafeteria. When out, spend more time listening than speaking. Ask how things are going, then zip it.
- Keep your door open. In today's parlance it means transparency. Insist that every manager keep an open door to employee concerns.
- Communicate the positive. Executives do this relentlessly either in group settings or in one on one sessions with employees and managers. There is enough bad news out there without piling on. Talk about the good things that the business is doing.
Employees are more disposed to follow a leader who exudes positivism rather than one who looks for the negative.
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Image courtesy of Flickr user Gage Skidmore
