In this Expert Insight Interview, Pamela Jett discusses the concept of relentless positivity, what it means for leaders and people in general, and how it can be transformative. Pamela Jett is an internationally recognized communication and leadership expert, speaker, author, and executive advisor. She works with professionals to better understand that choosing to be relentlessly positive even in difficult situations isn’t naïve; it is leadership.
This Expert Insight Interview discusses:
- How Pamela Jett got on the path of advocating for relentless positivity
- Why relentless positivity is not the same as being happy all the time
- The secrets to being relentlessly positive
Origin of the Idea
As humans, we’re not typically relentlessly positive, but it seems as if that is more due to our environment than our intrinsic nature. Research shows that we are all born with a happiness/optimism/positivity setpoint, and some are born with higher marks for this setpoint than others.
Pamela, for one, has always had a very positive, happy, optimistic attitude. It has simply been part of who she is and how she functions. After a few decades of working with leaders, it struck her that there was probably some room to share how to cultivate that attitude of positivity to make them more effective leaders.
Positive vs. Happy
Many people will tell you that being relentlessly positive is excellent but not realistic. And in fact, one of the things Pamela thinks is very important for individuals, particularly leaders, to understand is that relentless positivity is not the same as being happy.
She doesn’t believe that it is practical, or even possible, to be happy all the time. That is an entirely different goal. Being relentlessly positive is very different from being in a good mood. So, it is realistic to choose relentless positivity because it is the lens you place on every experience.
Contradictory Emotional States
The choices we make every day in communicating, both internally and externally, shape our world. Fundamental to the concept of relentless positivity is the understanding that you can hold two seemingly contradictory emotional states simultaneously.
You can be sad and relieved, disappointed that you had to let people go, and optimistic that your remaining employees can do a fantastic job. This is one of the most important secrets to being relentlessly positive.
Our Host
John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.
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