The Face of Positivity
Each year I deliver a guest lecture at the University of Lynchburg’s Masters of Public Health Program. As in years’ past, I talk about the importance of building and nurturing Personal Brand. Part of the presentation involves asking each participant what their definition of leadership looks like. The first response came quickly and confidently from a young man near the front of the room. He proudly declared, “Positivity”!
I usually listen to the responses and nod in agreement because most are typical of what I hear throughout all my travels; honesty, leading by example, humility, being a servant leader, trustworthy, competent, and the list goes on. But in this case, I asked him to tell me more if he didn’t mind and while I can’t recite his exact words, the message was clear. He explained how working with a positive leader motivated him to do more, to achieve more. I could not have said it better.
I am now entering year six as the CEO of Johnson Health Center and Impact2Lead. I made the decision long ago to approach life with a “glass half-full” mentality. I found that no matter how tough things would get along the journey, approaching from a positive viewpoint gave me the energy I needed to tackle adversity and challenges.
But what does the face of positivity look like? In both work and life, things are going to go wrong. As I was trying to figure out my career path in those early days, I stumbled a lot. It was usually other people getting an undeserved shot at what I had worked for or some recognition that I clearly earned above them. I worked so much harder than them…so I thought. In looking back, it was not necessarily the work I was doing but rather my approach to doing it. I was positive as long as things were going well. When things weren’t going so well is where I struggled. This was certainly not the face of positivity.
I worked hard on this as I matured. I watched others and I tempered my approach to things. I learned that the people I enjoyed working with the most were not only high producers but always looked at a challenge as an opportunity. I strove to be like that. I also took stock in my personal life and the same rules applied there as well. The caliber of people who gravitate towards you when you represent a face of positivity is remarkable. Know this too, the people who tend to suck the life out of you could write a book on negativity and ultimately bring you along for the ride if you are not careful.
The impact of positivity drives expediency when you want to accomplish something. It moves emotion and unleashes potential in others. As a leader, you surround yourself with these people. You model the way so others can see it, feel it. When things are going great, life is grand. When you hit a challenge, then you see what you have. If those who have joined you on this journey are able to shift from challenge to opportunity, you are in business. If there are those that can’t (and there will be), you try to help them and do it quickly. The key here is, will they learn from the opportunity?
The face of positivity during a challenge is best described as establishing the vision, i.e., what the outcome is going to look like. Then leading or working with others closely on finding collective solutions regardless of any fault. When you have a team that is oriented to putting a face of positivity on a project or challenge, great things are going to happen. Consequently, if a challenging situation turns to blame and finger pointing, you are in for a long struggle and will need to evaluate these members of the team – they develop or move on. This goes to work and life in general.
I have witnessed many faces of positivity since I became a convert years ago. I see it in my staff at the health center. It can be a smile, a word of encouragement, a willingness to jump into a project and take on a unique challenge, a kind word for others in our peer recognition group on our company intranet or helping our most vulnerable patients in times of despair.
The face of positivity inspires hope. Life is about hope, always has been and always will be. When my wife Kena was diagnosed with a rare form of stage 3 ovarian cancer (Granulosa Cell Tumor - GCT), it would have been so easy to abandon the face of positivity for many reasons that I won’t go into here. Being a woman of profound Christian faith, I asked her if she questioned God “why me”? Her immediate response was “why not me”?
Throughout the debilitating chemotherapy treatment regimen, she became an inspiration for others at the Alan B. Pearson Cancer Center in Lynchburg, VA. Oddly enough, she lost energy and hair but never the smile and face of positivity that impacted so many lives. During one of the last treatments in late 2018, a frail female patient from the cubical next door asked Kena how she could come in every week with such a positive view and constant smile. Kena told her to hang on while she finished then went over to speak with and encourage her. This was an impactful moment and the two became friends and to this day both are still cancer free.
For anyone familiar with advanced GCT, and there are not too many due to the rarity and type, the odds are challenging. The face of positivity she has worn during and after the process has impacted me. It helped me get behind her effort to use it as an opportunity to help others and that’s exactly what we did and continue to do.
For those who aren’t close enough to know what our life story is would think we never have any challenges so no wonder we are always so positive. The fact is, everyone has a story and a challenge. When you put on the face of positivity, the challenge becomes an opportunity and inspiration is activated. When inspiration is activated, great things happen.
Putting on a face of positivity is a choice and frankly a paradigm shift for those who have not tried it. I encourage each of you to seek out someone whose positive outlook either excites or annoys you and find out their why.
As I picture the young man’s face from the University of Lynchburg and his view on positivity, I can’t help but think about the influence he is going to have on others. He understands his why and that’s “Impactful”!
To your Impact,
Gary Campbell