Practical Optimism: Tools for Tackling Tough Times

Welcome to the Accounting Influencers Podcast, dropping every Monday to 40,000 accounting professionals, finance specialists, software vendors, tech providers and influencers across 150 countries in the accountancy, CPA and bookkeeping space. To participate in our international virtual speed networking events for the accounting community, go to https://accountinginfluencers.com/events and book your place at the next gathering. Great to build your personal brand and make valuable industry connections.For today's show "Ken Schmitt, Founder of TurningPoint Executive Search and 'The Practical Optimist' author, discusses practical optimism tools for accountants in tough times."In this inspiring episode, host Rob Brown interviews author and executive recruiter Ken Schmitt about cultivating practical optimism. They discuss how leaders can create engaged, empowered teams by trusting employees and giving them autonomy. Schmitt emphasizes taking "baby steps" to make changes sustainable, whether it's becoming more optimistic personally or reaching big goals professionally. He suggests limiting doomscrolling on social media and following more uplifting accounts instead. Schmitt also stresses the importance of transparency and open communication when mistakes inevitably happen, noting that optimism enables resilience and perseverance. With tips for improving mental health, nurturing relationships, and achieving work-life balance, this episode provides an optimistic roadmap to start the new year off right.  Overall, Schmitt makes the case that optimism is an attainable mindset, not pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking. Key Takeaways:- Optimism is a mindset and a frame of reference. It's about believing you can make a positive difference, even amidst uncertainty.- Leaders who empower and trust their teams create more engagement and satisfaction. Micromanaging squashes innovation.- Transparency about company culture and clear communication of expectations helps attract and retain the right talent.- Limit doomscrolling on social media. Follow accounts that bring you joy and inspiration instead.- Mental health challenges are surmountable. Seeking help is a sign of strength and agency, not weakness. "If you're too optimistic, you may take big risks that don't pay off. If you're too practical, you won't take many risks at all."◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢The Accounting Influencers Podcast drops every Monday to accounting professionals, finance specialists, software vendors, tech providers and influencers across 150 countries in the accountancy, CPA and bookkeeping space. To participate in our international virtual speed networking events for the accounting community, go to https://accountinginfluencers.com/events and book your place at the next gathering. Great to build your personal brand and make valuable industry connections. ◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢You can watch this episode and more on our YouTube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/@accountinginfluencersJoin the Accounting Influencers community and get invitations to our international speed networking events to build your personal brand and network in the accounting, finance and tech world: https://www.linkedin.com/company/accountinginfluencersFor videos of all podcast interviews and bonus video content: