Dandelyon's Worlds

Some of "appearing negative" is the language you use; you might want to tell the team leader and the manager (together or separately, whichever you think would work better in your corporate environment) that you believe these changes, while they may help in the long run, will impact the year-end work due to x, y, and z. Then tell them you wanted to discuss it with them so that together you can find ways to eliminate or reduce that impact. If you can find even a tiny suggestion or two that might help (or at least that shifts things around in a way that won't hurt) you can offer them for consideration as potential partial solutions.

Then you are identifying a problem proactively, and offering to be part of the solution. That's much more useful than apologizing for the problem retroactively, as if it's your fault.

If any suggestion you have would have some negative consequences, pick the best one or two, and offer it/them, along with the information that that it has pros and cons, and list them. Then, at least, you are showing that you are thinking about solutions even if you have not come up with a good one yet.

If they want to talk further right then, of course, do it. Otherwise thank them for their time and reiterate (in whatever words work for them) that you're on their team. Then get right back to work, so if they want to discuss something further, you're industriously at work when they come to find you.

If you can start the talk by citing a change you think is helping, or by saying that you think this change that could be a problem short term will help long term, start with that. It never hurts to start with something positive, so long as it's accurate.

Oh--another thing that helps one seem positive is to appear positive. How does your posture, facial expression, and tone of voice compare to your colleagues? Your clothes? There may be something subtle that you can do--smiling more or less, meeting their gaze or not (this factor is very culturally dependent, and often varies by gender as well as culture), squaring your shoulders, not fidgeting, using a slightly closer or farther "personal space" when talking to supervisors and peers--that changes how they react to you without changing what you're saying. Your clothes also send a message about your professionalism in many corporations, as well as your willingness to be a team player.

I'm not particularly good at this, and we're in different countries, so you need to do a good bit of this research on your own or find a mentor there who can help you figure out if there is something in the way of your nonverbal communication that you can change to help you be seen as a professional and a team player. From here, all I can do is tell you the sorts of things to look for.

And wish you luck, of course! But I always do that.