Leadership and Innovation Characteristics - Transforming Your STEM Career Through Leadership and Innovation - page 84

Let me clarify that by determination I do not mean blind stubbornness or
narrow-mindedness. These are negative qualities that will always work against
you. Not knowing when to stop when we are engaging in unhealthy activities
is an example of stubbornness; however, refusing to withdraw from a fight that
you know you're meant to win is called determination. There are times when
a tactical withdrawal is necessary; however, this should be done in a way that
allows you to still reach your goal.
An adjunct of determination is optimism. How can you be determined to
succeed if you are not hopeful, positive, and optimistic that you will? I suppose
you can be but it makes the journey considerably more enjoyable when the path
is laced with the consistent presence of optimism. Optimism does not mean
you're unrealistic about the risks, rather it means you understand them and are
focused, determined, and expecting a positive outcome. It is important that the
focus actually be on the positive outcome of the leadership activity rather than
the challenges in the process or the risks. An example of the importance of
focusing on positive outcomes rather than the risk is described by Bennis and
Nanus [5] in the topic Leaders: The Strategies for Taking Charge as the story
of internationally known great tightrope aerialist Karl Wallenda is shared. The
impact of focusing on worrying about the risks (pessimism and fear) rather than
on the expected positive outcomes (optimism) is so significant that it has been
termed the “Wallenda Factor” in this topic.
“Shortly after Karl Wallenda fell to his death in 1978 (traversing a 75-foot
high wire in downtown San Juan, Puerto Rico), his wife, also an aerialist, dis-
cussed that fateful San Juan walk, 'perhaps his most dangerous.' She recalled:
'All Karl thought about for three straight months prior to it was falling. It was
the first time he'd ever thought about that, and it seemed to me that he put all his
energies into not falling rather than walking the tightrope.' Mrs Wallenda added
that her husband even went so far as to personally supervise the installation of
the tightrope, making certain that the guide wires were secure, 'something he
had never even thought of doing before.' ” [5]
The interpretation is that the continual focus on the potential negative out-
comes distracted from the positive energies that were needed for focusing on the
activities to achieve success. Simply put, the direction of our greatest thoughts
is where we are moving or “what we think about we bring about.” Thus, as a
leader it is imperative that we condition ourselves to focus on optimism and
faith in spite of all the obstacles as this will encourage and inspire us - and our
team - toward the attainment of the vision. If you have shared your vision with
your team and passed on your passion and positive energy to them it is a small
but critical step to inculcating in them your determination and optimism.
POWER TIPS FOR WOMEN LEADERS
As you develop the leader in you, there are a few tips from the “field” that will
be useful. These tips were collected in a Newsweek article that captured 20 top