You are always in attack mode, waiting for the next catastrophe. It is exhausting, mentally debilitating and it kills morale, but focusing on damage control also prevents leaders from doing the proactive work to meet company goals.

Of course, putting out fires is a necessary evil in any enterprise, but there is a major risk that the accompanying negative mindset could permeate an organisation. Once that negative culture takes hold, it is very difficult change, particularly when new problems keep arising.

As a business, it is important not to get caught in this vicious cycle. One strategy can both reduce the incidence of operational flare-ups and prevent a negativity spiral. To drown out the bad influences on your company's valuable culture, put your team on a positivity kick.

Start with context

How you frame questions and answers can affect outcomes. If you think back to a day when "everything" seemed to go wrong, repeating that mantra can almost make more things blow up. A method called appreciative inquiry can help your company escape that trap.

This method involves viewing problems as opportunities. By using a decision-making matrix to lend stability to volatile situations it can allow you to resist the urge to react immediately and flail around for a quick fix. Regardless of whether you're a huge multinational or a small start-up, it means you can call upon a few trusted individuals to strategize, using the "4-D" process associated with appreciative inquiry. Here's how it works:

1. Discover. Start by putting your issue in context. Among the contributing factors to discord, something will be working out as planned. To get a clear picture of what's wrong, first ask your team, "What's going right?"

2. Dream. Now, forget about what's on fire. Project the best possible outcome for the scenario, in a perfect world. Brainstorm with your team; the sky's the limit.

3. Design. You know what is working well and what your optimal result would be. Next, lay out how to achieve a happy medium-action that will satisfy your end goal while addressing the problem at hand.

4. Deliver. It's time to act. Instead of improvising, you have a clear method for moving forward. You'll work to achieve an existing company goal while cancelling out an unwanted consequence. In appreciative inquiry terms, this is called reaching your "destiny."

End on a positive

Following up with another round of 4-D questioning can allow you begin a new cycle that is much more constructive. Think about what you did right and learn from it. Learn what went wrong in the first place, then think about better procedures you could use so you will look ahead with confidence, rather than dreading the next catastrophe.

As the leader of your business, it is your job to keep that positive mindset going. Think about how you speak in company meetings and employee chats, and try:

  • Saying yes more often than no. Even if you aren't able to accept a request from an employee for a pay rise, agree to as much as you can. Promise to reconsider a raise after an employee meets a goal, or if they're struggling with workload, offer to accept a portion of work a little later than the most crucial part.
  • Improving future projects by asking for input before you begin. Post-project feedback is common but tends to dwell on obstacles. By naming potential roadblocks in advance, you'll head off full-blown fires and feel good about anticipating the best way to get things done.

Perhaps most importantly, take note of how you talk about challenges. Discussing how best to succeed instead of dwelling on failures is much more constructive for performance and morale. Once focused on the future, your team will work together to help you move past whatever might happen today.

Chris Dyer is the author of The Power of Company Culture: How any business can build a culture that improves productivity, performance and profits.