--- title: "Optimism, Leadership and Team: John Kolm in Conversation" description: "John Kolm epitomises Australian leadership - egalitarian, humorous and plain speaking. He is a \"realistic and infectiously optimistic leader\"" image: https://www.centreforoptimism.com/hubfs/Center%20of%20Optimism%20Assets/Lighthouse%20on%20the%20beach%20at%20dawn.jpg --- ###### [Check out Our latest insights on Optimism](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/blog) [![Centre for Optimism_Logo](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/hubfs/Centre%20for%20Optimism_Logo.svg)](https://www.centreforoptimism.com?hsLang=en) - [Home](https://www.centreforoptimism.com) - [Subscribe](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/subscribe) - [Why Optimism?](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/whyoptimism) - [What is Optimism?](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/whatisoptimism) - [The Optimism Principle](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/blog/theoptimismprinciple) - [Need Optimism?](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/services-and-workshops) - [The Optimism Workshop](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/workshop) - [Victor Perton - That Optimism Man](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/victorperton) - [Magnetic Optimism for Organisations](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/magnetic-optimism-workshops) ![Close Icon (3)](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/hubfs/Close%20Icon%20(3).svg) ![Search (2)](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/hubfs/Search%20(2).svg) ###### [Leadership](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/blog/tag/leadership) , ###### [Hour of Optimism](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/blog/tag/hour-of-optimism) , ###### [Video](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/blog/tag/video) , ###### [Optimism Cafe](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/blog/tag/optimism-cafe) , ###### [Australian Leadership](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/blog/tag/australian-leadership) # Optimism, Leadership and Team: John Kolm in Conversation May 2020 Australian-American, Team Results Global Leader, Cartoonist, and Author John Kolm epitomises what Australian leadership is valued for globally - egalitarian, humorous and plain speaking. So too he is a "realistic and infectiously optimistic leader" which is the type of leadership the Centre for Optimism Fosters.     The Optimism Cafe is highlighted by interesting conversation and participation by all who attend. John Kolm is an innovator of 21st-century team productivity programs, a best-selling author, and a former intelligence officer. From Australia and now resident near Washington DC, John Kolm worked in the Australian Department of Defence before founding Team Results and moving to the United States. Team Results runs team and leadership development and organisational planning programs on four continents. John has written on success and leadership at work and his book Crocodile Charlie and the Holy Grail is published in seven languages and fourteen countries. He is a graduate of the University of Melbourne and the U.S. National Cryptologic School. The Panel?  Robert Masters is Chair of The Centre for Optimism. Sue Barrett is a Strategist, Researcher & Business Consultant specialising in Ethical, Sustainable Sales Strategies, Systems & Ethos for Better Business Jeff Kerr-Bell is a new member of the Centre for Optimism's Advisory Board. Victor Perton is COO of The Centre for Optimism. **John Kolm:  **I have been working in teamwork, leadership and morale with some of the world's biggest organizations - and also the smallest - for 25 years with passable success, and here is what I have learned. **One of the biggest areas in most people's lives in which they feel diminished optimism, ranging everywhere from mild frustration to crushed spirits, is in their experiences at work.**  And yet the best psychological and psychiatric advice for mental health is to be employed - simply to have a job of some kind. A great many people at work feel powerless over events, feel a lowered sense of self-worth, and often have an indefinable sense of dread that something bad is about to happen. These are symptoms of mild depression.  They are also the source of cynical comments about life at work, and the wellspring of the humor in movies like Office Space, cartoons like Dilbert and TV shows like The Office. **Not nearly enough focus is placed on the importance of happiness and optimism at work. ** What focus we see is superficial, and often written by consultants trying to sell products. Serious leaders, though, know that – to quote Colin Powell - "optimism is a force multiplier." **How to create optimism in the reality of most workplaces, where the great majority of people are working for someone else and don't get to set the direction, is the great challenge of the post-industrial age.** It’s being said that unless you’re the lead sled dog, the view never changes - yet somewhere in there we have to find the human spirit and a little bit of love and a little bit of enthusiasm and enjoyment or the spirit dies. *Victor Perton: What about retirement, John?* **John Kolm:** "Retirement is an invention of the industrial revolution. Farmers didn't retire before the industrial revolution, they just got old and became consultants to family, young people and other farmers. They never really quit, and that accounted for a lot of their happiness and optimism. Industrial age jobs age out differently.  What's coming is the gig economy, and we'll see a drift back toward pre-industrial styles of work. As you age out of one job, you might easily pick up on something else. Or you might really retire. We’ll see a far greater diversity of choice than we do in our own generation."   [Written by Victor Perton](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/blog/author/victor-perton) ##### Keep up to date with the latest from Centre for Optimism ##### We appreciate any contribution you can make to help us spread optimism with the world [![Give Today](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/21889975/daed54ec-1173-4b99-9390-e69152e87436.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/21889975/daed54ec-1173-4b99-9390-e69152e87436) #### Here are some similar articles ###### [Leadership](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/blog/tag/leadership) , ###### [Persistent Optimism](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/blog/tag/persistent-optimism) , ###### [Resilience](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/blog/tag/resilience) #### [Chris Penk on the Nature of Optimism](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/blog/penk?hsLang=en) [Read Article](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/blog/penk?hsLang=en) ###### [Leadership](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/blog/tag/leadership) , ###### [Happiness](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/blog/tag/happiness) , ###### [Success](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/blog/tag/success) #### [Binod Atreya: Optimism is a Mindset that Leads to Success in our Lives](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/blog/binod?hsLang=en) [Read Article](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/blog/binod?hsLang=en) ###### [migrants](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/blog/tag/migrants) , ###### [Australia](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/blog/tag/australia) , ###### [Leadership](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/blog/tag/leadership) #### [Leadership with Heart: Agostino Giramondo’s Case for Optimism](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/blog/agostino?hsLang=en) [Read Article](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/blog/agostino?hsLang=en) ## Connect With Us ##### We love to connect with everyone who is ready to open up and share their optimisim. - [![Facebook 2](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/hubfs/Center%20of%20Optimism%20Assets/Facebook%202.svg)](https://www.facebook.com/optimistsvoices/) - [![instagram (6)](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/hubfs/instagram%20(6).svg)](https://www.instagram.com/centreforoptimism/?hl=en) - [![linked in 2](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/hubfs/linked%20in%202.svg)](https://www.linkedin.com/company/centreforoptimism/) - [![youtube (3)](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/hubfs/youtube%20(3).svg)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFd4GnToz3WLasQSfsz_z8w) - [![twitter](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/hubfs/twitter.svg)](https://twitter.com/Centre4Optimism) #### Keep up to date with the latest from The Centre for Optimism ##### Contact Us Call Us: [+61 417 217 241](tel:+61%20417%20217%20241) (Australia) PO Box 5081, Garden City, Victoria 3207, Australia ##### [The Centre for Optimism](https://www.centreforoptimism.com?hsLang=en) - [Why Optimism?](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/whyoptimism) - [What is Optimism?](https://www.centreforoptimism.com/whatisoptimism) - Why be Optimistic? 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