Miguel Pina e Cunha and Arménio Rego launch a new book in October. As a pre-release, we will share with readers some extracts from this new work, "Paradoxes of Leadership", where the authors approach and study how to manage contradictions, dilemmas, and tensions in organizational life.
Article by Arménio Rego and Miguel Pina e Cunha | Reading time 5 minutes
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Should we be pessimistic about optimism?
Optimism and positive energy are essential for the work of leaders. These attributes create heliotrope effects on team members/ and other stakeholders. The heliotrope effects are so named due to the attraction that living systems reveal for positive energy (the sunlight that gives them life) and the repulsion for negative energy (what impoverishes their lives). Therefore, a good leader mobilizes his team through positive energy and optimism. Thus, it promotes vitality, dedication, and spirit of mission in favor of dignified and sustainable goals.
However, the excessive energy expenditure can have destructive effects. Overwork can lead to exhaustion of oneself and the team. Here’s what Única, the Expresso newspaper magazine, (12 November 2011) wrote about António Horta Osório as Lloyds CEO:
«Bank sources quoted by the Financial Times say that he continued to work 12 hours a day, play tennis twice a week and stick to the strenuous schedule of appointments” but the speech started to slow down, the weight decreased and his eyes lost their brightness of enthusiasm that characterized him. Meanwhile, Horta Osório itself, reveals in an interview with an English newspaper, in July, that he enters the Bank at 6.00 AM, sets up work meetings even on Sunday, and the family already complains about barely seeing him».
Consequence? Admission to a Clinic for months, without access to email or phone. In the same issue of Única magazine, other examples of leaders who succumbed to overwork (e.g. Pedro Norton de Matos- Oni; Masataka Shimizu-Tepco; Jeff Kindler-Pfizer) were discussed. It is possible that optimism has led them to undervalue the risks of collapse.
Over-optimism can also lead the team to underestimate risks and problems and to persist in really unviable paths and decisions. It can lead the leader to overestimate his strengths and his team’s and to underestimate the combative potential of competitors and opponents, impelling them to engage in dangerous wars. Over-optimism promotes artificial happiness and discourages critical reflection- originating a Prozac leadership style.
A possible effect of Prozac leadership is the tendency of the leader to pursue less prudent acquisitions. The acquisition of the Dutch Bank ABN Amro by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), in 2007, is instructive. The operation, which amounted to 62 billion dollars was the largest bank acquisition in history and occurred precisely when the global recession emerged. Risks were underestimated, the wright diligences were not taken, warning signs were ignored.
A paradoxical combination
The solution to meet the challenge may be the paradoxical combination of optimism with reasonable levels of pessimism. The best leader is both optimistic and pessimistic, depending on the circumstances. Pessimism helps the optimist to be realistic and optimism prevents pessimism from turning into inaction or inability to vigorously face challenges. The combination of optimism and pessimism creates flexibility and realism.
Aung San Suu Kyi, previously mentioned, who was detained and mistreated for years, described herself as “cautiously optimistic”. Her paradox is also represented in an advice that she received from a Buddhist monk: “to achieve happiness you must be prepared to suffer”.
Please note what José Tolentino Mendonça wrote similarly in Expresso E newspaper:
«To access joy (...), life has to gain porosity. Even if it’s price includes pain. Often, suffering must first excavate in us the depth that later joy will fill.»
Essentially: joy requires availability for pain. Paradoxically” those who fear to suffer, already suffer what they fear”. Optimism requires being prepared for adversity, that is, it needs some pessimism. The wisdom associated with the paradox had already been enunciated by Tolentino in an interview in December 2013:
«I remember an oriental story: A disciple went to his meditation master, full of sadness, almost giving up and confesses: “my meditation practice is a failure! Either I get completely distracted, or my legs hurt, or I fall asleep. “It will pass”, said the master softly. A week later the same student returned to the master’s presence but now euphoric: “my meditation practice became wonderful! I feel so vigilant and so peaceful. It is simply extraordinary. The master answered him with the same tranquillity: “this too shall pass»
Lesson: when we are pessimistic, we should think that there will be reasons to be optimistic; when we are optimistic, we should reflect on the possible arrival of less good news. The management of this tension is crucial for leadership. Optimism without pessimism leads to underestimation of risks and dangerous or unrealistic decisions but pessimism without optimism can lead to inaction and inability to face risks. To be successful in the long run, you need to be prepared for defeat but without being hampered by that possibility. And the victory taken for granted can be a good ticket to defeat.
Pessimistic optimism, optimistic pessimism:
Key- ideas
A good leader mobilizes himself and his team through positive energy and optimism. However, excess energy and optimism can have destructive effects on the leader and his followers. Do not destroy yourself or others. Do not be overly optimistic to the point of underestimate risks.
Three implications for action.
Three implications for action
- Be optimistic but pessimistic as well. Believe in the possibility of winning but be aware of the risks, problems, and adversities.
- Promote optimism and pessimism in your team and organization.
- Foster good expectations but keep people focused on risks, adversities, and possible obstacles.
- If you want to be happy, get ready to suffer. If you want to continue to be optimistic be also pessimistic.
