Leaders can help influence employees’ positive beliefs
June 23, 2021
Beliefs held by workers can be either limiting or liberating — and an organization can benefit when leaders understand the difference, according to a new essay by Ross School of Business Lecturer Amy Young.
In an article published by The Pacific Institute, Young explains how leaders can help employees adopt more liberating beliefs.
“Limiting beliefs have a subtle yet powerful impact on all aspects of work life,” Young writes. These beliefs may cause workers to be overly cautious, or to get defensive about their work. These limiting beliefs inadvertently hold back employees from realizing their full potential.
“Common among liberating beliefs, on the other hand, is their ability to expand our mental, emotional, and relational capabilities. When we enter an alert yet relaxed mental state, our cognitive capacity expands, as we are more apt to see alternative possibilities rather than maintaining a narrow defense of our own views,” Young continues.
Amy Young is a lecturer in business communication at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, as well as the consortium faculty director and member of the core faculty at the Center for Positive Organizations.
This article was originally published by Michigan Ross.