Seeing the Good in People

Seeing the Good in People is the next quality that Brady and Woodward include in the Trilateral Leadership Ledger's factor of Relationships.

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines good as: praiseworthy character.

When it comes to people and relationships, effective leaders are optimists.  I don't mean a Pollyanna optimism that is blind to challenges and difficulties.  I mean an optimism that begins with looking for the good and positive in people and then building a relationship on the foundation.

Abraham Lincoln is credited with having stated, "I don't like that man, I must get to know him better.".  The sentiment is sound.  You can find good in everyone if you take the time to look.

Chris Brady relates a story from early in his career as a factory manager for General Motors.  He had one veteran worker that just drove him up the wall.  They were like oil and water and were at odds with each other over what seemed like everything.  One day Brady had had enough and determined to get to know this man better.  He casually walked by his work station and struck up a personal conversation with no work related agenda.  To his amazement, Brady learned that this gentleman was not only a veteran, but bordered on being a war hero.  He also discovered that they had much more in common than either one of them knew.  From that day on, the relationship changed for the better.  The point is that Brady took the time to look for the good, and he found it!

Effective leaders are successful at establishing lasting positive relationships by finding and building on the good in people.

Chris Brady & Orrin Woodward: "Launching a Leadership Revolution."  Business Plus. New York. p.97