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    Why do I ask "What makes you Optimistic?"?

    By Victor Perton, Author of "Optimism: The How and Why"

    Why do I ask "What makes you Optimistic?"

    In 2015, I returned to live in Melbourne after global work experiences, which taught me the positive international stereotype of Australians and their leadership capacity.

    However, in Australia, there was a very negative attitude towards leadership. 

    Admittedly, it was a time of rapidly changing National Prime Ministers, but that didn't explain the generally negative attitudes.

    I was bewildered by the lack of confidence and trust in Australian leadership. To find out more, I established the Australian Leadership Project.

    In the following four years, our team interviewed 2500 people asking about the qualities of Australian leadership, and it became clear that the distinguishing cultural features of Australia's leaders are:

    • Egalitarianism - we talk to the cleaner with the same respect as the chairman;
    • Self-effacing humour - we take our job seriously but not ourselves; and,
    • No BS, Plain Speaking.

    If those are the features of Australian leaders, you and I know many people like that. There are millions of Australians leading in their domains and leading well. It's why on the global well-being indices, it's clear that historically no people have lived as well as the Australians of today.

    Yet the negativity remains and is getting worse.

    My Eureka moment came in late 2017, speaking at the Global Integrity Summit. It was the last session, and I put the case for optimism in otherwise bleak proceedings. The effect was electric, and people told me to turn the speech into a book. One of those people was Helen Clark, then UNDP head and former Prime Minister of New Zealand.

    The revelation was, "It's not the leaders; it's a fog of pessimism enveloping our public discourse."

    In Australia, New Zealand and many parts of the so-called developed world, a mindset of pessimism in our corporate, government and media communications. The "news" spreads the worst news about everything, so "well-informed" people think it's logical to be pessimistic. Yet, as optimism underpins innovation, entrepreneurship and creativity, pessimism is an inhibitor to personal, national and global growth.

    As I interviewed people for the book, my questioning became better and better attuned. What I was after was uncovering the personal causes of optimism. If we want better leadership, we need to help people discover their source of optimism.

    Finally, the core question, the opening question, became "What makes you optimistic?"

    I was fortunate enough to bounce that question off the guru of positive psychology, Professor Martin Seligman. Martin told me I had nailed 40 years of positive psychology research on that question. Given that his most recent book was called Hope, he cheekily commended a longer query: "What makes you optimistic? What gives you hope?"

     

    Why don't you try it? Answer the question and share it with us.  What makes you Optimistic?

    Ask the question of a friend, colleague or family member.

    Try our 5-minute guided survey "What makes you Optimistic?"

    Read some answers to the Question "What makes me Optimistic?"

    Author Megumi Miki told me “Even being asked the question “What makes you optimistic?” caused me to look for the bright side, which is very uplifting. When you couple optimism with the courage to confront reality, it is a powerful force for positive change.”

    Comedian Rob Auton wrote, "How do we stay optimistic in times of such uncertainty? I think the best place to start is asking what I am certain of and why I should be optimistic about that."

     

     

     
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