Meet Hugo. We brought home this 12-week-old Bernedoodle on New Year's Day. Having not lived with a dog before, there’s a lot to learn, with plenty of hard work ahead, no doubt. But we decided as a family that we were prepared to embrace the challenges in order to reap the rewards: extra joy, love, exercise, responsibility and shared adventure for us all. Hopefully we can all continue to stay focused on these positives after the first few weeks of disturbed nights and relentless days! We’re trying to stay optimistic…
A new year often brings a focus on resetting, embracing fresh approaches, and committing to new goals. However, these ideas can only truly take root if we recognise their value and genuinely believe in their potential for success.
As a leader at any level, the lens through which you perceive challenges, opportunities, and setbacks significantly impacts your responses and decisions. So let’s take this opportunity to reflect, free from judgement, on the degree of optimism and pessimism you bring to your work (and perhaps to life as a whole) and consider what this balance means for you in practical terms.
Optimistic leaders are characterised by their hopeful outlook, belief in positive outcomes, and ability to inspire confidence even in challenging situations. They see opportunities where others might see obstacles, encouraging innovation and risk-taking with their forward-thinking attitude. Their teams often show strong collaboration, feeling aligned to a strong vision. Optimistic leaders tend to bounce back quickly from adversity, setting an example of resilience.
Pessimistic leaders, on the other hand, approach challenges with caution and a focus on potential risks, downsides and limitations. Planning thoroughly and scrutinising detail helps these leaders to remain composed in the face of adversity, having prepared for the worst-case scenario. They focus on smaller, achievable goals which can align well to their team’s reality and avoid making excessive demands on colleagues.
As a result, however, team members can lack motivation and confidence in their leader’s vision. Constant skepticism can create friction, especially if colleagues feel their own ideas are undervalued or dismissed. Pessimists can be resistant to change and innovation due to fear or anticipation of failure and as a result may miss opportunities for significant positive impact.
Overly optimistic leadership can also lead to negative results: over-confidence can create blindspots, and potential pitfalls may be dismissed without full consideration. Constant positivity may result in too much pressure on team members to achieve, ignoring practical limitations in pursuit of the vision, creating a damaging gap between the leader and team.
To reflect on your own mindset tendencies, take this quick Optimism/Pessimism Test.
Psychologists present mindset as a spectrum, ranging from extreme optimism (blind positivity) to extreme pessimism (nihilism). When leaders are aware of where they naturally sit within the spectrum, they can start to proactively develop a balanced and adaptive leadership style that enhances their effectiveness.
Research shows that thinking like an optimist, compared with a pessimist, has significant benefits to health and wellbeing, including: living longer, fewer sick days, better love life, greater career success, resilience in adversity and protection against burnout. As we know, wellbeing is a huge issue within our staff bodies with 84% of school leaders and 78% of teachers identifying as “stressed” (data from Education Support Teacher Wellbeing Index 2024). We know how draining it can be to work in the UK education sector. Most of us would benefit, both personally and professionally, from a nudge up the optimism scale from time to time.
Martin Seligman’s influential concept of Learned Optimism explains how we can manage our thoughts differently to develop a more positive perspective.
How we talk to ourselves is vital. Sure, the facts of any situation will remain unchanged, but the perspective we bring to them absolutely changes how we feel and how we respond both emotionally and practically. For example, Seligman highlights paying attention to three cognitive distortions (perceptions) - Permanence, Pervasiveness and Personalisation.
In coaching, we raise self-awareness of the subconscious mindset of the coachee in order to explore new possibilities. For instance, when faced with the setback of receiving a flat response to some training/input you delivered, replacing the pervasive and permanent perception, "no-one's going to buy into this", with a positive version, "okay surely not everybody is completely resistant and I can continue to communicate the message over time." Optimistic thinking is more likely to lead to positive solutions-finding. Only once a person is conscious of their perspective, assumptions and internal dialogue, can they make the choice to shift it, if that would be beneficial.
“There are many aspects of our current education system that I am not entirely satisfied with and I have found coaching helpful in redirecting my frustration into more constructive thinking and actions.”
Carl Elder, Interim CEO and Trust Director of Secondary Education
Remaining optimistic isn’t easy. In the words of Simon Sinek (author of the famous leadership book 'Start With Why'), “Optimism takes a lot of hard work”.
>> 60sec video: Optimism in Action - Simon Sinek
“The optimistic says, we are in hard times but I’m confident we can get through this.” – Simon Sinek
As educators, we are investing our time, energy and knowledge in the profound belief that our efforts will make a positive difference to learners, and society. We are essentially planting seeds for a brighter future, demonstrating an unswerving confidence in the possibilities of human development and progress. Teaching, and education at large, therefore must remain optimistic in the potential that individuals, and organisations, to grow, change, and improve, keeping faith in their ability to succeed, even when challenges arise.
“Teaching is the greatest act of optimism” – Colleen Wilcox
We invite you to take a few minutes to consider:
Where do you typically find yourself on the pessimism-optimism spectrum?
How does this influence your emotions, communications and decisions?
In what way, if any, would you like your mindset to be different?
Since writing my first paragraph three days ago, Hugo has brought us laughter, frustration and tears (and used up far more kitchen roll and disinfectant than we were anticipating!), with real doubts creeping in about whether we can actually do this. But I know how much my family care about making it work, so we're finding solutions and looking for the positives. Being optimistic doesn’t mean we always feel great, it means believing that something is worthwhile pursuing because of the benefits it will bring, staying positive even when the journey to reach them is hard.
Sending optimistic wishes your way for 2025!
Catherine Hulme
Owner Director
Leadership Edge is a growing team of experienced school leaders who have seen person-centred coaching create high-performing, happy and healthy cultures within our schools. Our mission is to empower other school leaders to create positive workplaces where staff are solution-focused and actively responsible for their own personal wellbeing and professional development.
Our 3-Tier Coaching Accreditation Programme is low-cost and self-sustaining, providing a systematic and structured model for staff across your school to become powerful coaches for each other, enhancing colleague relationships and their feeling of being valued as an individual within a supportive school community.
Connect with us: Twitter/X @EdgeSchools | Linked In: Leadership Edge – Coaching in Schools
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