Leaders practice optimism by the intentional way they explain situations, outcomes, and projections.
Optimism shows up, or doesn’t, in daily thinking, language, and messages.
Optimistic leaders don’t pretend that problems don’t exist. But they purposely choose to explain, recount, and focus on that reality in a positive and reassuring way.
Optimistic leaders make a conscious choice to view setbacks as temporary, see and find the opportunity in challenges, navigate through problems, believe uncertainty is normal, and envision a positive future beyond the current moment.
They practice this mindset in the way they talk to people and focus on solutions rather than obstacles.
Those who lead with optimism don’t deny reality or their frustrations with it. But they purposely change the story about that reality. The stories and explanations they tell themselves and others define their optimism.
And those stories can be practiced.
For instance, telling yourself and others that challenges are temporary and solvable begins with description.
Follow a leader who is practicing optimism, and you will hear expressions like:
- “We can have a tremendous influence on what happens.”
- “This didn’t work, but we learned something useful for next time.”
- “We know exactly where to adjust now.”
- “We can make a great decision quickly.”
- “The outcome depends on the choices we make.”
- “We navigated through uncertainty successfully before.”
Optimistic leaders regularly describe, in concrete terms, what success will look like.
Practicing optimism means choosing explanations that preserve hope, agency, and learning while fully acknowledging the facts. They give people the confidence they need to stay the course by replacing negative framing with positive expectation.
Replacing “This problem is going to plague us” with “We can figure out how to make this work” reflects the optimism that people need to perform with confidence.
How often do you practice optimism through your choices of language, explanation, and description?
Over time, this mental habit changes what leaders believe about the future. They don’t pretend everything will be rosy. But by continually expressing optimism, good leaders train the brain to expect possibility.
Optimistic leaders are possiblitarians.
