Discover The Positives Of Negative Leadership

Everyone who’s been led well has, more than likely, also been led poorly. Can I get an amen on that?

For every good leader, there seems to be 2 or more leaders who use lead wrong.

These negatives leaders don’t care for their teams. They neglect the responsibilities of great leadership. They kill the spirits of their teams.

But don’t fret. Just because there’s negative leadership doesn’t mean there’s not a positive in there somewhere.

Companies, for years, have known there’s value in the negative space. Take a look at the logos of major brands. You may be surprised at what you can find in the negative spaces of these company logos.

Take Fed Ex for example. Their logo is their name spelled out, right? If that’s what you think, you’d be wrong. Let’s look at their logo

FedEx negative space logoDo you notice anything that stands out with the logo? No? Take a look at the Ex of the FedEx logo. Now, look in-between.

I think you’re seeing something you may have missed before. There’s an arrow pointing to the right. It’s there if you look.

This was done by FedEx on purpose. Once you see the right arrow in the logo, you will almost always see it from now on.

Other brands have done this as well.

There’s Dig who’s hid a nice Easter egg in their logo.

Can you see the shovel in Dig's logo's negative space?At first blush, you may only see a line going through dig. But dig deeper. Dig has placed something else in the negative space of the image.

Can you see the shovel?

It fits perfectly with Dig’s name and makes a great image to see.

Then there’s Formula 1’s racing logo.

Negative space Formula 1 racing logoFormula 1 uses the negative space between the F and red speed lines to form the number 1. It’s a neat trick, for sure.

Now that I’ve opened your eyes to companies that have used negative space positively, I want to encourage you to find the positive in the negative leadership you may face.

There will always be someone who’s not leading well in your life. This negative leadership may be discouraging but don’t let poor leadership get you down.

You can discover positives in negative leadership, much like the hidden images in the logos of major brands.

Let’s look at a few positives you can discover through negative leadership.

You discover who you don’t want to be: Negative leaders shine a light on attributes you don’t want to carry over to your leadership. Whenever you encounter a negative leader, look into why you think they’re negative.

By looking a bit deeper, you will be able to create a list of traits you don’t want to lead with. Use this bit of negative leadership to make your leadership better.

You discover encouraging team members: Team members are the first to get cranky over negative leadership. Those being led by negative leaders can quickly become depressed and discouraged with the leaders over them.

Once in awhile, you’ll find a gem who’s able to stay positive, even in the negative leadership. Keep an eye on these players.

They’re the ones who are going to rock it in the near future.

When people are able to keep a positive attitude, even in the face of negativity, they’re the ones that you want to keep around. They’ll be the cheerleaders in the good times and bad. They’ll also look for the positive in the bad.

You discover new ways of leading: Negative leaders will also help you discover new ways of leading.

You may notice negative leaders leading through threats, negativity, or power. These styles of leadership may not appeal to you.

If they don’t, see if you can flip the negative leadership qualities into positives.

You may not like a leader who leads through threats. What can you do about it in your leadership?

Begin being a leader who praises rather than threatens.

You may not like a leader who leads through negativity. What can you do about it in your leadership?

Begin being a leader who stays upbeat and positive.

You may not like a leader who leads through power. What can you do about it in your leadership?

Begin being a humble leader who’s out to server others.

Can you begin to see the positives in negative leadership? Negative leadership can help expose the leadership traits we don’t want to have in our leadership.

Question: Have you found positives in negative leadership? What’s one thing you’ve discovered? Please share this positivity in the comment section below.

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