Do you have a Blind Optimist at work? The kind of person who sees good in everything, no matter what the situation? That ever so cheery person who never seems to be living in reality? A little ray of sunshine in the workplace is good right? The sprinkler alarms could be raining water down on desks and they would smile and say… “at least the plants are getting watered”. Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration but you get the point.
Having optimism is good, but it is also possible to have too much optimism to the point that it is “blinding”. An optimistic attitude is good, especially if you are in a position that requires a little extra positive energy, such as sales or customer service, however if the optimism gets in the way of making accurate strategy analysis or executing or performing a tasks with attention to the possible fail factors the increased level of optimism could become a hindrance to success.
The blind optimist smiling in the raining sprinklers is an over exaggeration. In reality it can be somewhat difficult to determine who in your organisation has so much optimism that it has become “blinding”.
The Harrison Assessment can help you identify those people in your midst that have this strong optimistic tendency. We use a simple 30 minute online smart questionnaire that can help you identify these blindly optimistic employees before you hire them or help you to place them in a position that will suit them and coach them to develop and work well in a team.
Don’t throw the blind optimist out. They can see opportunities when others only see doom and gloom. All you need to do is identify who is strong in analysing pitfalls and trouble shooting and put them in a team with the blind optimist.
It costs a lot to hire and train, why not invest in your employees and identify how to help them and what positions and team members they work best with? Harrison Assessments Talent Solutions has the reports and expert coaches that can help your organisation develop and retain their talent.