The Optimistic Workplace

While you can't personally transform the corporate culture, you can influence the workplace climate and create meaningful and lasting change. Supported by the latest research, this eye-opening book argues that our best work is the product of a positive environment. When it comes to work these days, we're expected to do more with less--but is this nose-to-the-grindstone philosophy the best way to run a business? Alarmingly low employee engagement numbers indicate otherwise. So, if pushing everyone harder isn't the path to productivity, what is? Advocating a steward model of management, The Optimistic Workplace reveals how to: - Explore personal and organizational purpose--and align them for astonishing results- Overcome resistance and skepticism- Build camaraderie and deepen loyalty- Increase intrinsic motivation- Help your team find meaning in their work- Identify goals collaboratively and track progress Examples from companies large and small demonstrate how this people-centric focus ignites employee potential, increases innovation, and catapults the organization to new levels of performance. The Optimistic Workplace presents an array of surprisingly simple strategies as well as practical 30-, 60-, and 90-day plans designed to focus your actions and make employee optimism not just a worthy goal--but a real and measurable result.

Shawn Murphy has over twenty-five years' experience as an organizational and culture change practitioner, and workshop facilitator. He's the author of The Optimistic Workplace, about which Library Journal noted, "setting aside the quasimilitary concept of command and control, Murphy sets traditional motivational and management theory on its ear." Shawn was handpicked to join IBM's elite New Way to Work futurist group and was recently named a "Top 100 Leadership Speaker" by Inc. Shawn has consulted with organizations such as IBM, Zingerman's, and George Mason University, and has spoken at events such as the Principled Business Leadership Institute, Wellness Workdays, Elevate Summit, Totem Summit, and the Ultimate Culture Conference.

CONTENTS FOREWORD BY DORIE CLARK ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1: The Future of the Workplace 7 CHAPTER 2: Destructive Management 28 CHAPTER 3: The Power of Contagious Emotions 44 CHAPTER 4: The Downside of Optimism: Missteps and Excess 57 CHAPTER 5: Values-Based Leadership 75 CHAPTER 6: It All Starts with Purpose 88 CHAPTER 7: The Meaning Makers 102 CHAPTER 8: We Must Change the Way We Work 118 CHAPTER 9: Human-Centered Leadership 135 CHAPTER 10: Next Comes Trust: Creating Community 151 CHAPTER 11: The Cultivation of Optimism 165 AFTERWORD 179 APPENDIX 1: The Optimism Planner 181 APPENDIX 2: One-on-One Format 197 ENDNOTES 201 INDEX 217