I’m out of town this week so please enjoy this guest post from Footers’ Event Producer, Adria Kunkel!

When I was 12 years old, I attended a summer camp called Loras All Sports Camp. Kids from all over the Midwest would travel to spend a week in a college dorm, engaging in various sports and making new friends. While this camp primarily focused on sports, it also placed a strong emphasis on teaching life lessons. Each day of the week, we delved deep into different values, and at the end of the week, we received a paddle branded with the value that best represented our behavior throughout the week. To this day, I will never forget the tiny flame that was branded on my paddle, symbolizing one of the key values I learned at camp – attitude.

The way they explained it to us as kids was simple: Imagine a vast, dry, grassy field. If you sparked a tiny flame in this field, it would instantly catch a blaze and quickly turn into a massive wildfire. Now imagine that this flame is your attitude, and the grassy field is everyone else’s attitude around you. Whichever type of spark you ignite will spread around you like wildfire. 

In the context of leadership, our attitude as leaders and how we show up is imperative to the success of our teams. I’m sure we can all think of a time when a person’s constant complaints started to take a toll on our mood. On the other side, we can remember when someone’s laughter or compassion instantly brightened our day.

As leaders, our tone affects everyone on the team, even those that we don’t directly interact with. How we speak to one another, how we frame problems, and how we work together are all going to be drastically affected by the attitude of the group. It falls upon us as managers to set that tone. Because we work so closely with others, the positivity or negativity we radiate can rapidly extend its reach far beyond our organizations and into the broader industry. All of this to say that we hold such great power within our own little flame. 

While I want to emphasize the importance of a positive attitude, I also want to note what it is not. A positive attitude should not be confused with toxic positivity – ignoring issues and forcing people to abandon their feelings or frustrations. It’s important to acknowledge and be honest about challenges. Having a good attitude does not mean ignoring all problems, it is about how we proceed despite those problems.

My hope for you is that the next time you show up for your team, you consider your frame of mind. Know that your attitude leaves an impact on others and remember that you have the power to start a wildfire with just one tiny flame.