Blind Optimist

Blind Optimist

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 organization 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 analyzing pitfalls and trouble shooting and put them in a team with the blind optimist.

It costs a lot to hire and train, so rather than losing an employee or letting them perform sub-optimally, invest in your employees to identify the behavioral traits and competencies needing development, and the best positions and team members with whom to match them.  Harrison Assessments Talent Solutions has a comprehensive system to accomplish that and more to ensure your organization hires, develops, engages and retains the best talent.

Dawson Consulting Group is a Harrison Assessments Solutions Partner.

Harrison Assessments Certification With Sheryl Dawson, Solutions Partner