Resilient Leadership: the Power of Positivity

I often think back to the summer of 2011.

Picture it: I show up to a friend’s apartment on the Upper East Side for a pregame before a night out. I’m wearing skinny jeans, white high-tops, and a cardigan.

Nothing under the cardigan. Just… a cardigan.

Fashion choices aside, that’s only part of why I remember the evening so clearly.

At some point about halfway through our drinks, the three of us got into a very serious conversation about the number.

The salary that would finally make us happy.

For reasons that felt very convincing at the time, we decided it was $90,000. Once we were earning $90K a year, that would be it. We’d be fulfilled. Settled. Real adults.

That’s when life would really begin.

You can probably guess how that turned out. Rudely, happiness didn’t magically appear at $90K – or any number, for that matter.

And yet, that’s how many of us have been taught to move through life and to approach our relationship to work. We chase the next project. The next title. The next raise. Telling ourselves we’ll feel better once we're on the other side.

But the projects keep coming, we keep raising the bar, and no number ever seems to be quite… enough.

So what if we took a different approach? What if we stopped putting happiness on the other side of success – and instead, we let happiness be what fuels it?

Happiness Drives Success

This idea – that happiness comes after achievement – is something many of us were raised to believe. Study hard, get good grades, land the job, climb the ladder, hit the number. Then you’ll be happy.

But the research tells a different story.

According to positive psychology researchers like Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage, we’ve had it backwards all along. His work and research shows that happiness isn’t the result of success. It’s the cause.

When we experience more positive emotions – like joy, connection, gratitude, or meaning – we’re:

• 31% more productive

• 3x more creative

• And more resilient, engaged, and better at problem-solving

Why? Because a positive mindset broadens our perspective and builds cognitive capacity.

A positive mindset literally shifts our brains out of survival mode and into innovation. It primes us to lead – not from fear or burnout – but from energy, clarity, and connection.

In other words, happiness doesn’t make us soft. Cultivating happiness makes us strategic.

Cultivating happiness makes us successful.

Gratitude as Strategy

When Doug Conant stepped into the role of CEO at Campbell Soup, the company was struggling. Morale was low, performance was declining, and employee engagement had hit a serious slump.

Many leaders in his position might have taken a familiar route: restructure teams, tighten control, slash budgets, push harder for better results.

But Conant chose something different: he led with gratitude.

Rather than doubling down on top-down strategy or performance measures that would all-but guarantee exhaustion and burnout, he focused on cultivating a culture of appreciation and trust.

One of the most visible ways he did this? He hand-wrote more than 30,000 thank-you notes to employees.

Yes. Thirty. Thousand. Handwritten. Notes.

Each one was personal. Specific. A moment of recognition, not as a performance management tool – but as a practice of leadership.

And the impact on the business? It wasn’t just emotional. It was measurable.

Under Conant’s leadership, employee engagement soared, performance improved, and Campbell Soup’s stock rose 30% during his tenure.

And no, he didn’t ignore challenges. He didn’t pretend everything was fine.

He simply chose to meet people with appreciation instead of added pressure – creating a culture where people wanted to show up and do their best work.

That’s the heart of positive psychology in leadership.

It's truly not about ignoring problems. It is not about toxic positivity or sweeping mistakes under the rug.

It's about choosing to see people and recognize their strengths, their voices, and their impact.

It's about building something better.

Practical Positivity in Action

If you’re wondering how to bring more positivity into your leadership and don't have time to write your own 30,000 thank-you notes, the good news is: you have options.

Real change doesn’t require big, sweeping gestures. It starts with intentional moments that remind people – including yourself – that what we focus on, grows.

Here are three alternative strategies to consider:

1. Wins & Grins: at the start of a meeting or call, dedicate a few minutes to naming one win (big or small) and one thing that made you smile in the last few days/week. It doesn't even have to be work-related, as long as you connect with something meaningful. Why it matters: this simple exercise retrains the brain to begin both recognizing and processing progress, joy, and success (rather than just threats, doubts, and fears). This practice – when done consistently – not only boosts morale, but also fuels resilience, well-being, and motivational momentum…not to mention reducing pessimism.

2. Recognition Ripple: schedule 15-minutes each week to gathering and compiling efforts, impact, and/or growth of your team, colleagues, or peers. Share what you have gathered in a dedicated space, like a team Slack channel, meeting, email, or even hand-written note. Why it matters: as Doug Conant exemplified, recognition is not just a feel-good gesture – it helps to rewire our brains (and consequentially, our teams and culture) to notice, appreciate, and build on success. A culture of meaningful acknowledgment strengthens engagement, performance, and trust.

3. Champions of Change: begin to recognize (either formally or informally) members of your team or colleagues who are embracing change and driving innovation. This can be as simple as an employee who implemented feedback successfully, someone who offered a different path previously overlooked, or someone who took initiative to learn a new system and maximize its impact. Why it matters: most of us were raised to fear change and to believe traits like resilience were inherited. But the truth is that resilience is developed through our response to change. So signal what truly matters on your team: adaptability, effort, growth – and begin to reinforce a culture where change is embraced as an opportunity for resilient leadership at every level.

Remember: these aren’t performance tactics. They’re practices to ground you and those around you in resilient leadership.

Because at its core, resilient leadership isn’t about pushing or demanding – it’s about recognizing, appreciating, and allowing.

One moment of meaningful recognition can shift someone's entire day.

A culture of recognition? It might just change everything.

Final Thoughts

Let's be real with ourselves – the current environment many of us are navigating is far from easy. Uncertainty is high, resources are stretched, and the pressures to keep pushing through haven't let up.

So much is out of our control ...which is exactly why it's so important (and exciting) that we get to choose our mindset.

We get to choose whether we get swallowed up by the fears, panic, demands (and all the limitations they create for us). Or...we choose to take a different path – one that invites innovation, collaboration, and engagement (and all the success they create for us).

A path on which resilience isn’t built in the big moments of achievement, but in the everyday obstacles we overcome. The progress we make. The change we embrace. The happiness we learn to cultivate exactly where we are at this very moment.

So please take just a moment.

Breathe.

Ask yourself: What’s working well right now? How am I (and those around me) growing? What/who deserves to be seen today?

Because the data is clear – but more importantly, the impact is real.

When people feel seen, they show up.

When we celebrate the good, we learn to create more of it.

And when leaders lead from a place of presence – not pressure – we build cultures where people thrive.

Start small. Be kind. Keep going.

You’ve got this.

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Resilient leaders don't ignore challenges: they cultivate hope, trust, and innovation to overcome them. If you're ready to become a more resilient and impactful leader, I'd love to support you along the journey. Schedule your first coaching session today!