Change requires energy, and producing it is one of a leader’s greatest jobs. Learned helplessness, and its concomitant negative thinking, suck energy right out of an organization. A leader must set very strong boundaries against helplessness and negativity; he must also provide the fuel to get people moving. Getting people to attend to what they can control that affects results, while inhibiting activities and thinking that don’t, is one of the most powerful ways to create energy where there has been stagnation.