Leadership Horizons

The Joy Factor

• Lois Burton • Episode 29

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Ever wondered why some leaders thrive through crisis while others burn out? The secret might surprise you. Leadership resilience doesn't come from gritting your teeth and pushing through hardship—it flourishes when you embrace joy, play, and curiosity as strategic leadership tools. I've spent 25 years coaching executives through their toughest challenges, and I've consistently found that the most resilient leaders have cracked a code that many others miss entirely: they've learned to harness the transformative power of what I call "strategic joy."

The science behind this approach is fascinating. When we experience genuine moments of joy and playfulness, our brains release dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins—the exact same chemicals essential for resilience, creative problem-solving, and maintaining perspective under pressure. As positive psychology research confirms, joy literally expands our capacity to see solutions that stress and fear make invisible. This creates what I call the "play paradox" in leadership: the more seriously we take our responsibilities, the more we need play to fulfill them effectively.

I share the story of Sarah, a CEO facing a major restructuring crisis who transformed her leadership by incorporating five-minute energy breaks into team meetings. Her company's engagement scores rose by 40% during their most challenging quarter ever. This wasn't coincidence—it was neuroscience in action. Through five practical strategies including micro-moments of joy, playful problem-solving, and curiosity-based approaches to challenges, any leader can build this type of sustainable resilience. 

The most conservative, results-driven organizations I work with have embraced these principles once they see the return on investment. Because here's the truth: joy isn't frivolous, it's fuel. Play isn't procrastination, it's preparation for peak performance.

Try this approach yourself: identify one small way to introduce more joy or play into your leadership practice this week, and watch what happens to both your resilience and the energy of those around you. 

The future belongs to leaders who can hold both gravitas and joy, who can be both determined and delighted. Share this episode with another leader who might benefit from embracing their joy factor, and let's create a ripple effect of resilient leadership.

Leadership Horizons - Helping You Lead Beyond Boundaries

Speaker 1:

Hello and welcome back to Leadership Horizons. I'm Lois Burton, and today we're exploring something that might surprise you how accessing fun, play and joy can actually make you a more resilient leader. We said we were going to look at the stress pressure dynamic this week and this is the pre-work to the stress pressure dynamic and so this is a really important topic that for us to explore right now. Now I can almost hear some of you thinking, lois, I've got quarterly targets to hit a team crisis, to manage funding cuts and stakeholders breathing down my neck Fun, really. But here's what I've discovered in my 25 years of coaching senior executives the leaders who build sustainable resilience, the ones who bounce back stronger from setbacks and keep their teams energised through turbulent times. They've cracked a code that many others miss entirely. Let me tell you about Sarah, a CEO I coached through one of the most challenging periods of her career. Her company was facing a major restructure, she was working 60-hour weeks and her stress levels were through the roof. When I suggested she needed to rediscover play in her leadership approach, she actually laughed Not with joy but with exhaustion and she said Lois, I haven't played since I was seven. Six months later, she told me that incorporating what we called strategic joy into her leadership practice had been the game changer that got her through the crisis and made her a better leader in the process. So what's really happening here?

Speaker 1:

Let's dive into the neuroscience for a moment. When we experience genuine joy and playfulness, our brains release a cocktail of powerful chemicals dopamine, serotonin and endorphins. But here's the leadership goldmine. These same chemicals are essential for resilience, creative problem solving and maintaining perspective under pressure. Think about it. When did you last have your best breakthrough idea? I'm willing to bet it wasn't during a gruelling three hour budget meeting. It was probably during a walk, a casual conversation or a moment when your mind was relaxed and open. Conversation or a moment when your mind was relaxed and open. The research from positive psychology pioneers like Barbara Fredrickson show us that positive emotions don't just feel good. They actually broaden our thinking and build our psychological resources. Joy literally expands our capacity to see solutions that stress and fear make invisible. So here's where it gets fascinating. There's what I call the play paradox in leadership the more seriously we take our responsibilities, the more we need play to fulfill them effectively.

Speaker 1:

I've worked with leaders across every sector imaginable, from financial services to healthcare, to manufacturing and higher education, and the pattern is consistent. The most resilient leaders have found ways to weave elements of play, humor and joy into their leadership practice. To weave elements of play, humour and joy into their leadership practice. So this isn't about becoming the office clown or losing your gravitas. It's about understanding that playfulness and professionalism aren't opposites, they're partners. So how do you actually do this? Let me share five practical strategies that I've seen transform leadership resilience. Are five practical strategies that I've seen transform leadership resilience.

Speaker 1:

Firstly, micro moments of joy. Build tiny pockets of lightness into your day. Maybe it's a 30-second dance to your favorite song between meetings, or keeping a wins jar where you and your team celebrate small victories. These micro moments reset your nervous system and maintain your emotional reserves. Secondly, playful problem solving. When facing a complex challenge, ask yourself how would a child approach this or what would happen if we made this fun. I've seen breakthrough solutions emerge when leaders give themselves permission to think playfully about serious problems.

Speaker 1:

Thirdly, joy-based team rituals Create regular touch points where your team can experience shared positive emotions. This might be starting meetings with a success round good news or having walking meetings in nature, depending on where you're based, obviously or celebrating not just big wins but also great attempts. And here's one that you could also celebrate creative failures that bring learning. Fourthly, the power of curiosity. Replace judgment with curiosity. When something goes wrong, instead of immediately diving into blame mode, approach it with genuine curiosity. Of immediately diving into blame mode, approach it with genuine curiosity. That's interesting. I wonder what we can learn from this. Curiosity is play for the mind and it's rocket fuel for resilience. It also creates that psychological safety which we talked about before, where people feel that they won't get blamed, where they won't get judged if they make a mistake or something grows wrong, that actually they'll switch into curiosity and learning.

Speaker 1:

The fifth element is laughter as leadership medicine. Don't underestimate the power of appropriate humor. When you can find something to laugh about in a difficult situation, and especially when you can laugh at yourself, you're modeling resilience for your entire team. Here's what's really beautiful about this approach. It's contagious. When you, as a leader, demonstrate that it's possible to be both deeply committed to results and able to find joy in the journey, you give your team permission to do the same.

Speaker 1:

I've watched entire team cultures transform when senior leaders embrace what I call serious play the ability to tackle significant challenges with both determination and lightness. Remember Sarah, the CEO I mentioned earlier. She started by introducing five-minute energy breaks into her leadership team meetings. Sometimes it was a quick stretch, sometimes sharing a funny story, sometimes brainstorming wild ideas. Her team's engagement scores went up by 40% during their most challenging quarter ever. Now I know some of you might be thinking this sounds great in theory, but my culture would never accept this. Let me gently challenge that assumption. The most conservative with a small c, results-driven organizations I work with have embraced these principles and once they see the return on investment because here's the truth stressed burned out leaders make poorer decisions, have higher turnover and struggle to inspire their teams through difficult times.

Speaker 1:

Joy isn't frivolous, it's fuel. Play isn't procrastination, it's preparation for peak performance. As we wrap up today's episode, I want to leave you with this thought Resilient isn't just about toughing it out and pushing through. True resilience, the kind that sustains you through multiple challenges and helps you emerge stronger, requires you to be a whole human being, not just a professional robot. Your ability to access joy, to play with possibilities, to maintain perspective through humour these aren't nice to haves, they're leadership essentials. So here's my challenge for you this week Identify one small way you can introduce more joy or play into your leadership practice.

Speaker 1:

Maybe it's starting your next team meeting with a moment of appreciation, or taking a walk instead of sitting in a conference room, or simply allowing yourself to smile more often. Notice what happens, not just to your own resilience, but to the energy and the engagement of those around you. The future belongs to leaders who can hold both gravitas and joy, who can be both determined and delighted. That's the kind of leader the world needs right now. Thank you for joining me on Leadership Horizons today. If this episode resonated with you, please share it with another leader who might benefit from embracing their joy factor. Until next time, keep leading beyond boundaries and remember to enjoy the journey.