# Resilient optimism: seeing problems clearly, acting constructively

> Michelle Gielan explains how leaders build a realistic optimism that keeps teams moving forward through setbacks.
- Title: Resilient optimism: seeing problems clearly, acting…
- Summary: Michelle Gielan explains how leaders build a realistic optimism that keeps teams moving forward through setbacks. Resilient optimism means acknowledging…
- Keywords: michelle gielan, resilient optimism, leadership mindset, team performance, positive psychology, organizational behavior, business, management, Resilient, optimism, seeing, problems
- Source: Harvard Business Review — https://hbr.org/2026/10/build-the-mindset-that-keeps-your-team-moving-forward
- Published: 2026-10-30T12:25:57+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: michelle gielan, resilient optimism, leadership mindset, team performance, positive psychology, organizational behavior, business, management
## Optimism isn't ignoring reality
Michelle Gielan, author of Resilient Optimism: The Science of Sustaining a Positive Mindset in Tough Times, argues leaders can acknowledge difficult reality while believing their actions can improve it.
## Agency is the difference
Optimists and pessimists see the same problem, Gielan explains.The difference is whether they believe what they do next can make a difference.
## Three ways to strengthen the mindset
Gielan recommends treating stress as a signal about what you care about and what action to take. When overwhelmed, triage work into greatest impact, still needed, or deleted, delegated, or delayed.
## How leaders shape team responses
Open meetings with positive, meaningful information before problems. Call attention to overlooked progress. Ask questions that draw out employees who see constructive possibilities but might otherwise stay quiet.
## The question that keeps teams moving
Resilient optimism begins with seeing the problem clearly. The leadership challenge is what happens next. Gielan says the question to keep asking is: What is the next constructive, meaningful step?

> What is the next constructive, meaningful step?
## Key takeaway

Resilient optimism means acknowledging difficult reality while believing your actions can improve it, and leaders shape how teams respond to challenges.