Think about the last professional event you attended. As you made your way around the room, you probably had conversations with several people. Some were engaging and upbeat. Others may have spent most of the conversation complaining about the food, the venue, the traffic, their company, their boss, or the economy.

Who did you want to keep talking to?

Most of us instinctively gravitate toward the person who makes us feel good about being there. We may not know anything about their credentials, sales numbers, or professional accomplishments yet, but we know we enjoyed the conversation.

Now turn the question around:

How did people who encountered you feel? Would you want to do business with you?

It’s an uncomfortable question—but an important one. Whether you’re meeting a prospective client, working with a colleague, leading a team, serving a customer, or negotiating with a business partner, people are responding not only to what you say but also to how you make them feel.

Your Attitude Is Part of Your Professional Reputation

We often think of our professional reputation in terms of competence. Are you knowledgeable? Do you meet deadlines? Do you follow through? Do you produce quality work?

Those things matter. But there’s another part of your reputation that can be harder to measure: What is it like to work with you?

Are you encouraging or discouraging? Calm under pressure or quick to spread frustration? Someone who takes responsibility or someone who is always looking for someone to blame?

You may never receive a performance review specifically about your attitude, but people are forming an opinion about it every day. And that opinion can influence whether someone recommends you, returns your call, accepts your proposal, asks for your help, wants you on their team, or chooses to work with you again.

The Business Cost of a Negative Mindset

Everyone has bad days, and in those moments, it isn’t necessary to walk around pretending everything is wonderful. But when negativity becomes a pattern, that mindset can begin to affect your professional life in ways you may not notice:

• Negativity drains your energy. Ruminating over a difficult conversation or replaying a lost opportunity doesn’t change what happened, but it can consume hours of mental energy that could be directed toward productivity.

• Negativity affects your relationships. People naturally want to work with professionals who are constructive, trustworthy, and encouraging.
• Negativity limits your creativity. When you’re focused on why something won’t work, you’re less likely to explore how it could work.

• Negativity can become contagious. Attitudes spread. A consistently negative professional may unintentionally make everyone around them more focused on problems than solutions.

That’s why managing your attitude isn’t simply a matter of personal happiness; it’s a professional responsibility.

Are You Caught in a Negative Thought Pattern?

Most of us aren’t walking around thinking, I’m going to be negative today. Instead, negativity becomes a habit so gradual that we don’t recognize it. You might be caught in a negative pattern if you frequently:

• Talk about the same frustrating situation without taking action to change it.
• Assume a client, colleague, or customer has bad intentions.
• Spend more time explaining why something won’t work than considering alternatives.
• Replay mistakes long after you’ve learned what you needed to learn from them.
• Blame circumstances or other people when things don’t go as planned.
• Expect the next opportunity to go badly because the last one did.
• Find yourself complaining about your work more often than talking about what you enjoy.
• Leave conversations feeling frustrated—and notice that the other person seems drained, too.

None of these things makes you a bad person or a bad professional. They may simply be signs that you’ve developed a habit that needs some attention.

The good news? Habits can change.

Four Ways to Become Someone People Want to Work With

A positive professional isn’t someone who ignores problems. It’s someone who learns to respond to problems constructively. Here are four habits that can help.

1. Reframe the situation.

When something goes wrong, challenge your first interpretation.

Instead of, “This client is impossible,” try, “What is this client trying to communicate, and how can I respond more effectively?”

Instead of, “I can’t believe I lost that opportunity,” try, “What can I learn from this experience that will make my next opportunity stronger?”

A new perspective can create new possibilities.

2. Pay attention to your inner dialogue.

The conversations you have with yourself influence how you show up with everyone else. Notice how often your internal dialogue is critical, fearful, or defeatist. Then consciously replace it with language that is honest but constructive.

You don’t have to tell yourself, “Everything is going to be perfect.” Try, “I can handle this,” or “There is something I can learn here.” That kind of self-talk builds resilience without requiring you to ignore reality.

3. Be intentional about what you consume.

Your mindset is influenced by what you allow into your mental space. That includes conversations, social media, news, entertainment, and the people you spend time with.

This doesn’t mean eliminating every difficult conversation. But there’s a difference between constructive honesty and chronic negativity. Surround yourself with people who challenge you, encourage you, tell you the truth, and help you look for solutions.

4. Bring positive energy into your interactions.

You don’t need to be the most enthusiastic person in every room. Sometimes positivity looks as simple as listening attentively, expressing appreciation, offering encouragement, or asking how you can help.

Before your next meeting, call, or networking conversation, ask yourself, “How do I want this person to feel after interacting with me?” 

So, Would You Want to Do Business With You?

Take a moment to think about the people you most enjoy working with.

Chances are, they’re not necessarily the people who have the easiest jobs or the fewest problems. They’re the people who bring something positive to the relationship, and they make you want to be better, too.

That’s the kind of professional each of us can strive to become.

So the next time you walk into a meeting, pick up the phone, respond to an email or sit down with a client or colleague, ask yourself one simple question:

Would I want to do business with me?

If the answer is yes, keep going. If the answer is no, don’t be discouraged. Self-awareness is the first step toward change. Contact me today, and let’s work together on how to protect one of your most valuable assets—your attitude.

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Celeste Giordano’s mission is to help business professionals develop the skills, knowledge and attitude necessary to “DoublePlus™” their income and become effective and inspirational leaders in their fields. Whether it’s taking your successful business to the next level or starting a new venture, she will teach you the exact skills and strategies you need to enroll more quality prospects, build a rock-solid team, and break through obstacles to achieve real profit and lasting success. Celeste is a professional business growth specialist, a master sales strategist, and dynamic speaker with more than 40 years experience in direct sales and managing high-performing teams. To learn more about Celeste, click here. Want to use this article? Please feel free to use this content as long as you keep it in its original format and include a link to the original post and Celeste Giordano’s brief bio.