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      KEYZINE: An e-zine for LEADERS:
     ABOUT THE PEOPLE PART OF BUSINESS
                 Volume 38, May 2004
    Publisher: © Key Associates, 2004
              ISSN # 1545-8873
           http://www.mkkey.com

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This Issue: On "Cynicism"

This is a monthly electronic magazine for anyone 
who wants to be a better leader, coach, facilitator, 
or simply, to tune up their people skills.  It is a 
complimentary publication, devoted to the next
evolution of Quality Thinking.

View Earlier Issues

Contents:

• What's Hot in Leadership
• Maintaining Yourself as a Leader
• Frequently Asked Questions from Leaders
• Educational Opportunities
• Useful Websites
• Articles/Publications

"A cynic is not merely one who reads bitter lessons 
from the past, he is one who is prematurely disappointed 
in the future."

- Sydney J. Harris

"A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks 
around for a coffin."

- H. L. Mencken (1880-1956)

"Cynicism is an unpleasant way of saying the truth."

 - Lillian Hellman, (1905-1984), The Little Foxes, 1939.

"What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything 
and the value of nothing."

- Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), Lady Windermere's Fan 1892, Act III   

"Cynicism is not realistic and tough. It's unrealistic and 
kind of cowardly because it means you don't have to try."

- Peggy Noonan (1950- ), in Good Housekeeping

 

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WHAT'S HOT IN LEADERSHIP
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KEEPING HOPE ALIVE.

LETTING PEOPLE KNOW HOW IMPORTANT
THEIR WORK IS, AND THEREFORE, HOW
IMPORTANT THEY ARE.

LISTENING TO WHOM/WHAT YOU PERCEIVE 
AS OPPOSITION, IN ORDER TO LEARN.

COUNTERING CYNICISM AND SARCASM 
WITH AN EAR FOR THE TRUTH AND AN 
EYE FOR THE FUTURE.

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MAINTAINING YOURSELF AS A LEADER
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Pessimism is a bad habit.  You encounter it in others; 
you experience it in yourself.  So often in 
management, we are looking for 
problems we must solve, where the fault lies, 
what is broken and how should we fix it.  Exhausted
pessimists become cynics.

In systems terms, cynicism is a Declining
Cycle--repeatedly looking for what's wrong.  
Instead of a Reinforcing Cycle--searching for 
the  good.  The cycles tend to loop in a given direction
until the habit becomes unconscious.  It's the old 
cup-half-full vs. half-empty.  We get stuck in 
viewing everything with the lens of what's wrong, 
not what's right.

Notice the right.  What are we doing well that
we can do more of, to delight customers and 
employees?  Notice someone doing something 
right and applaud it.  Make deposits rather than
withdrawals in people's emotional bank accounts
(S. Covey).  

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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I am inundated with "cynicism."  It's getting to me, 
and I find myself talking the same way.  What to do?

Synonyms for cynicism: sarcasm, suspicion, 
disparagement, skepticism, distrust, doubt,
scorn.

Cynicism is the offspring of "dashed hopes."  At one 
time, there was a dream and it crumbled.  There is a 
second component to cynicism: self-efficacy or "the 
ability to cause something to happen."  Cynics have 
lost their sense of power to change things, thus perceive 
a helplessness that goes along with the hopelessness.  

The leader's challenge is to keep hope alive or 
at least try to rekindle it.  Leaders keep hope 
alive when they set high standards and 
believe in people's capability to achieve them.  
They give reinforcing feedback and publicly recognize 
accomplishments.  They are there to celebrate 
successes and failures.  They train, support, and 
coach people to exceed their capabilities.  They 
lead with inclusiveness.

And they model the way--providing the example of 
optimism and hope, painting word pictures of a
future success together.  Read Kouzes and Posner's
"Encouraging the Heart" (2003).

When I introduce a new idea, I frequently get a 
sarcastic remark about how it won't work?  How
do I reply?

First of all, inventory how many of these remarks 
you have heard in your culture: