How to stop negativity from poisoning your team

Here is an article written by Amy Levin-Epstein for CBS MoneyWatch, the CBS Interactive Business Network. To check out an abundance of valuable resources and obtain a free subscription to one or more of the website’s newsletters, please click here.

Photo Credit: Damian Yerrick/Wikimedia Commons
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(MoneyWatch) Trying to manage people who have a poor attitude can feel like a losing battle. Negativity, left unchecked, will eventually stunt team performance. The first step to reinstate the positive? Learning to distinguish real negativity from someone who simply doesn’t agree with you. 

“You want people on your team, in any profession, who challenge your thinking and ask the right questions,” says Suzanne Bates, author of Speak Like A CEO: Secrets for Commanding Attention and Getting Results.

“Asking questions that are constructive is not negative — it’s an asset.”

But if someone really needs an attitude adjustment, here’s how to help them:

[Here is the first of her specific recommendations.]

Open your office door. Sometimes, consistent negative comments mean an employee feels unheard by their boss, and the fix couldn’t be simpler. “Keep your door open so people feel comfortable coming in and talking with you informally about what’s happening with the team,” Bates says. Those conversations may also help you find out about a particular person creating an issue. If people are worried about “tattling,” let them know that your conversation will be kept confidential — and keep that promise.

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To read the complete article, please click here.

Amy Levin-Epstein is a freelance writer who has been published in dozens of magazines (including Glamour, Self and Redbook), websites (including AOLHealth.com, Babble.com and Details.com) and newspapers (including The New York Post and the Boston Globe). To read more of her writing, visit AmyLevinEpstein.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MWOnTheJob.

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