Today at the Rise Leadership Advance Conference, I met Laura Shooter Managing Director of SJ Shooter Real Estate. On her Linkedin profile, Laura describes herself as "an endlessly curious, hardwired optimist and solution hunter with more questions than a two-year-old."
Hardwired optimism sounds like a very powerful leadership trait.
Hardwired optimism refers to the natural tendency to maintain a positive outlook. This form of optimism is deeply ingrained in a person's psyche, often due to genetic predispositions or early life experiences that shape one's worldview to be more hopeful and confident about the future.
Hardwired optimism can be thought of as a default setting in some people, where they naturally perceive situations with a bias towards positive outcomes and opportunity.
This type of optimism underlies resilience, enabling individuals to recover from setbacks more effectively. Hardwired optimists tend to engage in positive behaviours and thought patterns that promote well-being and effective coping strategies, facilitating better mental and physical health over the long term. People with hardwired optimism are also likely to influence their environment positively, fostering a supportive and optimistic culture around them. This can be particularly beneficial in leadership, where such innate optimism can inspire and motivate others, creating a more productive and harmonious work or social setting.