Reorienting Teams From Negativity to Creative Possibility

The human tendency to dwell on the negative can stifle creative thinking and innovation. But biology does not have to determine the success of mindful companies.

Creativity inherently requires us to look forward, yet our brains are hardwired to look backward. Our primal ancestors’ survival depended on their ability to scan the environment for threats, and those genes that make us sensitive to danger have passed through generations.

For the modern person, however, this protective mechanism has become maladaptive. The primal stress response hasn’t adapted to our modern setting. The danger that was once a bear over the hill is now a poor performance review.

Chicago University’s John Cacioppo, Ph.D., conducted a study in which he showed people images designed to evoke positive, negative, and neutral feelings. He recorded a surge of electrical activity in the cerebral cortex when the images aroused negativity.

This is a classic demonstration of negativity bias — the tendency to recall negative experiences and stimuli more vividly than positive ones and to ruminate on past events. Neuropsychologist Rick Hanson, Ph.D., put it this way: “It’s like Velcro for negative experiences and Teflon for positive ones.”

If our brains are absorbed by the negative, we are predisposed toward seeing limitations instead of possibilities.

To maximize our creative potential, we have to start by minimizing the bear.

Stoke the Creative Fire

Individuals aren’t the only ones affected by negativity bias. Often, whole organizations are so risk-averse that they become “safety junkies,” clinging to what worked in the past. For visionary leaders, the corrective action to negativity bias — whether in ourselves or our companies — is cultivating an innovative culture that encourages risk without fear of failure.

Leaders set the tone for their organizations, as they’re responsible for creating an atmosphere of possibility. But leaders afraid to take risks are still focused on the bear — anxiety over possible adverse outcomes — inadvertently suffocating the inventive spark of their teams.

We should approach negativity bias with emotional agility rather than denial or repression. In the language of conscious leadership, that begins with first recognizing when we are “above the line” (curious and open) or “below the line” (closed and defensive).

How you react when faced with a challenge can make all the difference. Do you approach it with curiosity, powering through the problem with the innovative potential of your team? Or do you make defensive decisions out of fear?

When we choose a positive outlook, we can empower ourselves and our employees to adopt a similar mindset and spark that inventive fire. We give the gift of perspective: inspiration bias.

Transformational change can only happen through emotional agility, starting with positivity and communicating priorities. For me, this means setting a clear vision and standards for our 12,000 global employees by removing the guesswork, setting concise goals, and holding people accountable. No matter your leadership role, the aim is to reduce stress and increase focus across the team, creating space for the artistic flame to grow.

This approach to creativity is a state of mind that people can develop. It requires an outward-looking environment that’s risk-tolerant and minimizes negativity bias. You can collapse the rigid boundaries that impede the creative process by acting as a source of inspiration for employees and offering them the flexibility to move fluidly between the working modes of heads-up for inspiration and heads-down for execution, as I discussed in a previous article.

Fostering a culture that allows for risk and failure tolerance is essential for driving transformational change.

The Necessity of Emotional Agility

Leaders set the tone of an organization, but employees set the pace. When inflexible, rigid barriers inhibit optimum performance, organizations can lose the flexibility necessary to pivot in the face of challenges.

Help your teams fight the bear by remaining emotionally agile and present in ever-changing circumstances. Here are five commitments you can make as an industry leader to encourage “inspiration bias” in your teams:

• Candor. Commit to communicating what’s true for you so that others feel free to express what’s true for them. An environment that encourages openness paves the way for productive conversations and problem-solving.

• Play. Make room for improvisation. Allow yourself to be entertained and create space for others to enjoy themselves. Fun can often lead to increased creativity and output while alleviating stress.

• Curiosity. Make a daily habit of viewing each interaction as a learning opportunity. By approaching challenges as chances for growth, you can wire your brain for solutions rather than worrying over outcomes.

• Confidence. Subvert the traditional expectation of workplace interactions by allowing for transparent brainstorming and collaboration. When you confidently express your ideas, you free others to follow suit.

• Solutions. Gaps are open invitations for innovative solutions. Your unique talent and your team’s talent are tremendous assets to solving organizational problems. Focus on how combining your talents can bridge a gap to reach new solutions.

As a leader, your position enables you to understand the inner workings of your team and how their relationships, personalities, and needs influence your organization. When you move with emotional agility, confidently modeling transparency, fun, curiosity, and resolve, you can give others the tools to do the same.

Creativity Is a Team Effort

Although we are predisposed toward rigid, negative practices, we can learn to be flexible and inspirational — and, as organizational leaders, it’s imperative that we do. Negativity bias depletes industries of the inertia needed to realize a prosperous future.

Fear of failure and risk-taking can quickly snuff out creative progress, and that’s antithetical to the growth of a strong, groundbreaking, forward-thinking company. Being overly focused on problems is not conducive to concentrating on possibilities. Leaders can drive their teams toward success by practicing what they preach and offering perspective.