【"HappinessAdvantage"EffectInJuly2010Burt'sBees,apersonal-careproductscompany,wasgoingthroughenormouschangeasitbeganaglobalexpansioninto19newcountries.Inthiskindofhigh-pressuresituation,manyleadersbotherth】
"HappinessAdvantage"Effect
InJuly2010Burt'sBees,apersonal-careproductscompany,wasgoingthroughenormouschangeasitbeganaglobalexpansioninto19newcountries.Inthiskindofhigh-pressuresituation,manyleadersbothertheirassistantswithfrequentmeetingsorfloodtheirin-boxeswithurgentdemands.Indoingso,managerslifteveryone'sanxietylevel,whichactivatesthepartofthebrainthatprocessesthreatsandstealsresourcesfromtheprefrontalcortex(大脑皮层),whichisresponsibleforeffectiveproblemsolving.
Burt'sBees'sthen-CEO,JohnWolfgang,tookadifferentapproach.Eachday,he'dsendoutane-mailpraisingateammemberforworkrelatedtoglobalmarketing.He'dinterrupthisownpresentationstoremindhismanagerstotalkwiththeirteamsaboutthecompany'svalues.Heaskedmetofurtherathree-hoursessionwithemployeesonhappinessinthecourseoftheexpansioneffort.
Asonememberoftheseniorteamtoldmeayearlater,Wolfgang'semphasisondevelopingpositiveleadershipkepthismanagersactivelyinvolvedandloyalastheysuccessfullytransformedthecompanyintoaglobalone.
Thatoutcomeshouldn'tsurpriseus.Researchshowsthatwhenpeopleworkwithapositivemind-set(思维模式),performanceonnearlyeverylevel-productivity,creativity,involvement-improves.Yethappinessisperhapsthemostmisunderstooddriverofperformance.Forone,mostpeoplebelievethatsuccesscomesbeforehappiness."OnceIgetapromotion,I'llbehappy,"theythink.Or,"OnceIhitmysalestarget,I'llfeelgreat."Butbecausesuccessisamovingtarget-assoonasyouhityourtarget,youraiseitagain-thehappinessthatresultsfromsuccessdoesnotlastlong.
Infact,itworkstheotherwayaround:Peoplewhohaveapositivemind-setperformbetterinthefaceofchallenge.Icallthisthe"happinessadvantage"-everybusinessoutcomeshowsimprovementwhenthebrainispositive.I'veobservedthiseffectinmyroleasaresearcherandlecturerin48countriesontheconnectionbetweenemployeehappinessandsuccess.AndI'mnotalone:Inananalysisof225academicstudies,researchersfoundstrongevidenceofcause-and-effectrelationshipbetweenlifesatisfactionandsucces