Pink eye. Ever had it?

According to webmd.com, “Pinkeye (also called conjunctivitis) is redness and swelling of the conjunctiva, the mucous membrane that lines the eyelid and eye surface. If irritation or infection occurs, the lining becomes red and swollen.”

Pinkeye is very common and very contagious. Sharing an object, such as a washcloth or towel, with a person who has Pinkeye can spread the infection. Or, in my case, sharing a bag of cherries can lead to the spread of pink eye amongst your fellow campers.

Decades ago, while at summer camp in the beautiful Gulf Islands of British Columbia, I somehow contracted Pinkeye. Twelve of us were on an out trip from the camp on a 30’ sail boat. I was relaxing on the deck drinking in the warmth of the summer sun eating from a 10 lb. bag of cherries. There’s not much better than lazing on the deck of a boat, cruising through the Gulf Islands on a warm sunny summer day eating cherries to your heart’s content.

One of the other campers happened upon me and immediately put two and two together in a fashion that I had not…

“Dave, what are you doing?!” he loudly exclaimed for the rest of crew to hear.

“What do you mean?”, I responded quizzically.

“You have Pinkeye dude and you’re eating out of the communal bag of cherries! Now we can’t touch those or we’re going to get infected – thanks a lot!”, he informed me much to my chagrin.

“Oh, sorry guys – bummer!”, I uttered apologetically. However, inside I was thinking, “Yah, that’s what I’m talkin’ about.  I get all the cherries now.”

My contagious condition affected the rest of the crew. It would have had a significantly more negative impact if the rest of the guys had actually ingested the cherries I had so obliviously infected. I was contagious whether I realized it or not.

Leaders are contagious too whether they realize it or not. In fact, everyone is contagious in one way or another. Leaders simply infect more people: they are highly contagious.

What do I mean by that?

Well, as a leader, who are you and the mental and emotional state you bring to your organization infects all the people you lead. Leaders must realize that more is caught than taught. Who you are has far greater impact than what you say. If you say you have chicken pox, but you actually have mumps, what are people going to catch? Mumps obviously.

Who you are is what infects people, not who you say you are.

More is caught than taught.

So, knowing that more is caught than taught, what do you bring to your organization? Who you are is contagious. Who you are catches on. Do you consistently bring an upbeat, positive, can do, optimistic attitude? Or, do you bring a tired, negative, critical, pessimistic attitude?

You are contagious. More is caught than taught.

Are you consistently modelling the kind of attitude and work ethic you want your team to demonstrate? Or do you allow yourself to engage in self-pity, negativity, pessimism and criticism in your leadership? You can’t afford to do that. I really mean that – you can’t “afford” to do that! It’s a money losing attitude that will suck the life out of your people and the profit out of your organization.

Whatever you want your people to demonstrate on the job, you need to demonstrate on the job. If your attitude is negative and nasty, your people are going to catch it. It your attitude is positive and progressive, your people will catch that too. And, you need to realize that, sadly, negative attitudes seem to be more contagious than positive attitudes – they are easier to catch.

I know this may seem elementary, but it is amazing how many business owners seem to think they can show up to the office with a negative attitude because they own the business. You can’t afford to do that.

You are contagious – make sure what you’re infecting your team with is positive.