The Overlooked Link Between Personal Joy and Adaptive Leadership
By Suzie Thoraval
Why joy, presence and energy matter more than most leaders realise
“Positivity opens us. The first core truth about positive emotions is that they open our hearts and our minds, making us more receptive and more creative.”
A few weeks ago, I walked into a photoshoot for a magazine feature feeling slightly self-conscious and unsure what to expect. I walked out genuinely lighter.
Photographer Gray Tham created a space where I could relax and enjoy myself. Makeup artist Kat was there throughout, making sure every detail was just right. Together, they brought such care to the day that made the whole thing feel like being truly seen. Their intention was to bring out the real me in the photos, and that focus, that warmth, was genuinely nourishing. The picture we took at the end of the day (below) shows the fun we had.
Afterwards, it made me think about how rarely we give ourselves permission to do things purely because they are special, joyful, or simply out of the ordinary.
The expanding effect of joy
Joy can sound like a nice to have. Something we fit in once the work is done, the inbox is clear, the deadlines are met and everyone else has what they need.
Yet joy has a deeper purpose.
The broaden-and-build theory suggests that positive emotions expand the way we think and act. Joy, interest and hope help us see more possibilities, build stronger relationships and access a wider range of responses.
For leaders, that matters.
When we are depleted, our thinking narrows. We become more reactive, more task-driven and more likely to rely on familiar patterns. When we are replenished, we are more able to notice options, connect with others and respond with steadiness.
Essentially, when you feel good, you lead better.
Stability needs a source
Adaptive stability is the capacity to stay grounded, flexible and clear-eyed as conditions shift around us. That steadiness needs renewal.
Your energy is central to your leadership. It shapes your judgement, your presence and the way people experience you. You cannot be the steady, adaptive, warm presence your people need when you are chronically depleted.
So joy matters. It restores the inner resources that leadership draws on every day. It helps us return to ourselves, recover perspective and reconnect with what gives us energy.
Teams need this too. A culture that allows moments of enjoyment, connection and shared humanity is more likely to build trust and resilience. People bring more of themselves when the environment has some warmth in it. Leaders do too.
A small and deliberate act
So perhaps the question is whether you are treating joy as part of how you sustain yourself.
You don’t have to wait for the extraordinary to happen before you start choosing joy. Choose one thing that restores your energy before you reach the point of depletion. Put it in the diary. Protect it with the same seriousness you would give to an important meeting.
It might be an afternoon at a gallery, a long lunch with a friend who makes you laugh, a walk somewhere beautiful, or a weekend away that helps you feel like yourself again.
When you fill your cup deliberately and joyfully, you return to leadership with more presence, perspective and energy.
And that changes how you lead.
What is one joyful, playful or out-of-the-ordinary experience you have been putting off and what might change for the people around you if you finally said yes to it?
