Joy is not a reward. Joy is a leadership advantage. Leaders who actively cultivate joy improve decision-making, increase resilience, and sustain performance under pressure. The READY stage of resilience begins with discovering what fuels you, because without joy, leadership performance erodes over time.
Why Does Joy Matter in Leadership?
As many people reflect on renewal during this time of year, it’s a reminder that leadership requires the same intentional reconnection to what sustains us.
Most leaders treat joy as optional. Something earned after results. Something reserved for time off.
That thinking limits performance.
Research from the American Psychological Association shows that positive emotional states improve cognitive flexibility, problem-solving, and decision-making under pressure.
In a time when leaders are being asked to do more with less, understanding what sustains you is no longer optional. It’s essential.
What Happens When Leaders Lose Joy?
Without a reliable source of joy, leaders experience:
- Slower decision-making
- Reduced creativity
- Increased emotional reactivity
- Disconnection from their teams
According to Gallup, disengaged leaders contribute to lower team performance and higher turnover. Joy is not a motivation issue. Joy is a capacity issue.
What Does “READY” Mean in Resilience?
The READY stage of my Resilience Model is about one thing: Discovering yourself before leading others.
Before strategy, execution, and results, you need clarity on:
- What energizes you
- What drains you
- What sustains you under pressure
This is the work of READY: pausing long enough to understand yourself before pushing forward.
Where Does Joy Actually Come From?
Joy is not random. Joy comes from alignment between your strengths, your values, and your daily actions. Research from Yale’s Center for Emotional Intelligence shows that joy is more stable than happiness because joy is tied to meaning, not circumstance.
For me, it was dance. Under pressure, movement transformed stress into energy. For leaders, it often shows up in:
- Solving complex problems
- Developing people
- Creating something meaningful
The source of joy is personal, and the impact is universal.
What Gets in the Way of Joy?
Most leaders do not lose joy overnight. They trade it for:
- Urgency
- Expectations
- Constant output
Over time, they disconnect from what fuels them. That’s when burnout begins.
A Simple Path to Reconnect with Joy
The path to joy starts here:
- What did you enjoy before work consumed your time?
- When do you lose track of time?
- What gives you energy instead of draining it?
You do not need a full reset. You need awareness.
How Does This Connect to the Sphere of Resilience™?
In The Joyful Leader®, I talk about how resilience is not a one-time event but a cycle:
Discover → Design → Deliver
Joy is what keeps that cycle moving. Without it, the system stalls.
What You Can Do This Week
Choose one activity that brings you energy.
Do that activity first. Not after your work is done, but before it.
Then observe how you lead differently.
This is not just self-care. This is a performance strategy.
Take the What’s Your Sphere of Resilience™ Assessment
Nicole Van Valen is the author of The Joyful Leader® and a nationally recognized speaker on resilience, leadership, and performance under pressure. To subscribe to the Joy Notes newsletter or book Nicole for your next event, visit nicolevanvalen.com
