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Operational Optimism?
Operational Optimism: Optimism Put to Work
A commentary by Victor Perton
I read the expression “operational optimism” in an excellent article by legal innovator and former general counsel Olga Mack.
Writing about her conversation with Carolyn Herzog, Olga described operational optimism as the kind of optimism that enables leaders to move through uncertainty without allowing their organisations to freeze.
The expression “operational optimism” was new to me, although the idea has a long and rich history.
The earliest use of the precise expression I have found comes from the American historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. Looking back in 1970 on his influential 1949 book, The Vital Center, Schlesinger said it combined “a certain operational optimism” with historical and philosophical pessimism.
His formulation described a liberal politics that recognised human limitations and the darker lessons of history while retaining faith in practical democratic action. It captures an important quality of operational optimism: people can examine circumstances honestly and still believe that constructive action is possible.
In Australia in 1999, at the inaugural Australian National Earth Charter Forum, Christine Milne, the former leader of the Tasmanian Greens who later led the Australian Greens, spoke of the difficulty of remaining “operationally optimistic” while working from a pessimistic analysis.
Christine's formulation echoes “pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will”, the maxim coined by French writer Romain Rolland and made famous by the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci. For Milne, being operationally optimistic meant drawing on hope and connection to sustain action and translate principles into a practical “can do” list for daily life, workplaces, organisations and political advocacy.
Anthropologist Charles Menzies wrote of maintaining “an operational optimism” despite intellectual scepticism about incorporating traditional ecological knowledge into resource management. His optimism grew from experience, particularly from listening to First Nations elders and people whose lives depended directly on the land and sea.
More recently, French entrepreneur and authorJean-Luc Hudry has developed l’optimisme opérationnel as a practical approach to leadership, management and adversity. Hudry’s thinking grew from experience. At the age of 27, he left Procter & Gamble to take responsibility for his struggling family business, which experts believed could not survive. He and his colleagues eventually turned it around.
Hudry describes operational optimism as concrete, grounded and adaptable. It consists of behaviours and solutions, not merely encouraging words. Leaders look at the situation as it is, concentrate on what they can influence, think differently, make considered decisions and act. The first result matters because it provides evidence that improvement is possible and creates energy for the next action.
For Hudry, intention alone cannot sustain optimism. Facts and results give it credibility. Teams become more optimistic when they experience progress, including small successes achieved through persistence, experimentation and adaptation. Operational optimism creates a reinforcing cycle: action produces results, results strengthen belief, and stronger belief encourages further action.
Carolyn Herzog brings operational optimism powerfully into contemporary leadership. She says leaders need to be optimistic, show people that there is a way through and offer a clear vision. They must also identify possible barriers, listen to feedback and pivot when something is not working.
Operational optimism is optimism put to work. It faces reality, sees possibility and helps people take the next wise step. It turns the belief that good things will happen and that things will work out in the end into preparedness, decisions, experiments, learning and action.
My Optimism Superpowers exercise may help you recognise the form your optimism already takes. Perhaps operational optimism is one of your superpowers. If not, it may be one worth practising.
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