Optimism Is a Skill, Not a Personality Trait.
November 2025 | Episode 008
How leaders can cultivate optimism to strengthen resilience, trust, and performance.
You may have noticed that I often sign off with “Yours in optimism.” This is more than just a nice closing line, but something I genuinely believe in. To me, optimism isn’t a fixed personality trait, it’s a skill you can build and strengthen, just like any other part of emotional intelligence.
When leaders learn to lead with optimism, they naturally boost resilience, trust, and performance on their teams. It’s not about pretending everything’s okay, it’s about believing that growth is still possible, even when things are tough.
At McLaughlin Mentoring, my team and I help leaders and their teams strengthen emotional intelligence so they can meet today’s uncertainty with confidence. Explore our workshops here.
The Case for Optimism in Leadership
Today, leaders face uncertainty and turbulence at every level: shrinking budgets, shifting expectations, and a pace of change with AI adoption that can feel relentless.
Decades of research, including McKinsey’s work on leadership traits, highlight optimism as a foundational skill. It comes down to reframing setbacks as opportunities, approaching uncertainty with curiosity, and modeling hope in the face of challenges.
Gallup’s 2025 Global Leadership Report, What Followers Want, surveyed people in 52 countries. The #1 leadership trait employees crave? Optimism. Not charisma. Not intelligence. Optimism. Followers crave hope, positivity, and belief in their leaders.
And yet, in a world that often feels heavy, it’s easy for pessimism to quietly take hold.
The Psychology of Pessimism
Persistent pessimism often follows predictable patterns, described by the 3 Ps of Pessimism:
Personalization: Blaming yourself for everything that goes wrong
Pervasiveness: Seeing setbacks as affecting every area of life
Permanence: Believing problems will last forever
A helpful counter-framework is TIE:
Temporary - This is only a temporary challenge and it will pass.
Isolating - This is a single situation, not something that defines or affects my whole life.
Effort - With consistent effort, I have the ability to turn things around.
Leaders can train themselves to notice when setbacks feel permanent, pervasive, or personal, and actively reframe them using the TIE mindset.
This links closely to The Elephant Syndrome, a form of learned helplessness, where past failures create a mental block that stops us from trying again. Optimistic leaders break this cycle, modeling resilience and problem-solving for their teams.
3 Ways to Lead with Optimism
Reframe Setbacks Into Opportunities
Optimism isn’t about denying problems, it’s about seeing the possibility within them.
For your team: In debriefs, ask “What did we learn?” or “How can this make us stronger next time?” instead of focusing only on what went wrong.
For yourself: When facing a challenge, practice shifting from “Why is this happening to me?” to “What can I do with this?”
Model Realistic Hope
Unrealistic positivity erodes trust. But realistic hope creates credibility.
For your team: Acknowledge difficulties openly, while pointing toward a constructive path forward. (“This is tough, but here’s how we’ll tackle it together.”)
For yourself: Balance acceptance of challenges with daily reminders of progress. Even small wins can fuel motivation.
Build Optimism Muscles Daily
Optimism grows with practice, just like physical strength.
For your team: Encourage rituals highlighting wins, gratitude, or resilience in meetings.
For yourself: Practice positive self-talk and gratitude journaling. Focus on what you can control—your own thoughts and words. (With Thanksgiving approaching for my friends in the States, this is a perfect time to reflect on what we’re grateful for!)
Bite-Sized Wisdom for Big Impact from Our Coaches
Put Optimism to Work
At McLaughlin Mentoring, our interactive workshops teach leaders to:
Reframe challenges into opportunities
Recognize and regulate emotions in real time
Cultivate optimism as a daily practice that fuels engagement and growth
As Martin Seligman, the father of positive psychology, reminds us: “The genius of evolution lies in the dynamic tension between optimism and pessimism continually correcting each other.”
When leaders learn to harness that balance, optimism becomes a force that shapes our teams and outcomes.
Yours in optimism,
Jillian & Team
McLaughlin Mentoring Inc.