Turning Negativity into Momentum: Navigating Challenges to Strengthen Team Performance

Overview:

HR leaders today face the daunting task of leading people through one of the most complex workplace landscapes in decades.

Alongside the daily demands of supporting managers and employees, they are contending with unprecedented stressors: heightened workplace pressure, divisive social dynamics, digital fatigue, and a creeping sense of isolation that is reshaping how people show up at work. These factors often converge to create atmospheres of discouragement, criticism, and disengagement-challenges that can sap motivation and interfere with collaboration. This webinar, Turning Negativity into Momentum: Navigating Challenges to Strengthen Team Performance, shows HR leaders how to transform those experiences into levers for resilience, stronger connections, and better results.

What makes this program especially powerful is its facilitator. Drawing on 30 years of experience as a psychologist and executive coach, the presenter has spent her career helping individuals and organizations learn to foster optimism, embrace strengths-based approaches, and find constructive ways forward in the face of difficulty. She brings not only a deep understanding of human behavior, but also a highly practical perspective that translates insights into usable strategies HR leaders can apply within their teams immediately.

At the heart of the session is the recognition that we all, as adults, engage in negative self-talk-and that this tendency is entirely normal. Under stress, it’s common for people to react to setbacks with extreme inner dialogue: “I can’t do anything right” or “I’ll never get this done.” Left unchecked, these distorted thoughts undermine confidence and spread negativity throughout teams. The solution isn’t to silence this inner critic, but rather to learn how to notice it, challenge it, and reframe it into thoughts that align with reality. HR leaders who develop this skill for themselves are better equipped to guide employees in doing the same, creating healthier communication patterns across the workplace.

Participants will also gain tools to reframe the roles of pessimism and optimism. Far from dismissing pessimism, this program demonstrates how it can play a useful role in identifying risks or gaps, while also showing how to prevent it from overshadowing progress. Optimism, when practiced in a grounded and sustainable way, can fuel performance and help teams rally around goals. This balanced approach moves beyond unrealistic “stay positive” mantras and instead equips HR leaders with a more authentic, strengths-based way to lead.

The session will provide five practical strategies for reducing unnecessary negativity in teams while sustaining momentum, even when faced with criticism or resistance. Participants will practice techniques for engaging with overly negative individuals in ways that prevent derailment while encouraging more constructive dialogue. They will also learn how to navigate draining interactions and shift them into opportunities for collaboration and growth.

By the end of the program, HR leaders will leave with the confidence to not only withstand negativity but also use it as a force for greater performance and cohesion. In an environment where pessimism and stress are unavoidable, this webinar offers a roadmap for embracing challenges, harnessing optimism, and leading with influence.

Why should you Attend: HR leaders today face one of the most demanding workplace environments in decades. Beyond the daily pressures of guiding managers and employees, they are navigating heightened performance demands, polarized social dynamics, digital fatigue, and rising isolation that erodes workplace culture. These pressures often trigger discouragement, criticism, or disengagement-negativity that, left unchecked, undermines motivation and collaboration. This webinar will show HR leaders how to transform those challenges into momentum for resilience, stronger relationships, and higher performance.

Guiding this session is a seasoned psychologist and executive coach with 30 years of experience in helping organizations foster optimism, build from strengths, and navigate obstacles with clarity. Known for her strengths-based, pragmatic approach, she provides HR leaders with actionable strategies grounded in both human psychology and real-world leadership challenges.

A central focus of the program is tackling negative self-talk-a normal part of adult life that often escalates under stress. Participants will explore how to recognize, challenge, and reframe these inner narratives, creating healthier patterns for themselves and their teams. They will also learn how to embrace the constructive side of pessimism while cultivating healthy, realistic optimism to fuel motivation.

Through five practical strategies, HR leaders will gain tools to minimize unnecessary negativity, handle overly critical individuals more effectively, and transform draining interactions into constructive dialogue. By the end of the program, participants will leave with renewed confidence to not only lead through negativity but to use it as a catalyst for stronger, more cohesive team performance.

Areas Covered in the Session:

• How to recognize and reframe negative self-talk-both in themselves and in others-to reduce stress and build resilience
• Practical strategies for transforming criticism, resistance, and pessimism into opportunities for growth and improved team cohesion
• Balanced approaches to leveraging the benefits of pessimism while fueling performance with realistic, strengths-based optimism
• Five actionable techniques for minimizing unnecessary negativity in teams and sustaining motivation under pressure
• Skills for engaging productively with overly negative individuals and redirecting draining interactions into constructive, collaborative dialogue

Who Will Benefit:

• All Levels of Leadership