Be positive at the start

What does it mean to choose your attitude as a leader? In this episode, you’ll learn how good humor is a leadership skill rooted in choice, mindfulness, and care—not forced positivity. Through personal stories and practical tools, this conversation explores how your mood shapes your team’s experience and how to respond intentionally instead of reacting on autopilot. You’ll walk away with concrete questions and strategies to help you lead with steadiness, awareness, and humanity. The latest companion toolkit, Leading with Empathy: Practical Techniques for Sustainable Leadership, is available now. Visit https://www.one23ltd.com/toolkits to request your free copy. When you subscribe, you’ll automatically receive future leadership tools and resources from onetwentythree ltd. Key takeaways Leaders have a daily choice about their attitude and mood. Good humor is not about being funny; it is about intentional response. Your mindset can shape your entire day. Even in a crisis, you can choose your attitude. Good humor requires awareness of your influence on others. Simple self-questions can interrupt reactive behavior. Engaging your prefrontal cortex helps override fight-or-flight responses. Toxic positivity damages trust and psychological safety. Modeling emotional choice empowers your team to do the same. Good humor balances realism with care, kindness, and accountability. Timestamps [0:00:01–0:00:53] – A story about creating family house rules [0:01:06–0:01:43] – Introducing “good humor” as a leadership skill [0:01:43–0:02:06] – Welcome to the Well Led Podcast & series context [0:02:06–0:02:49] – An accident and a decision about attitude [0:03:08–0:03:52] – Defining “good humor” vs. simple laughter [0:03:52–0:04:57] – Historical “four humors” explanation [0:05:33–0:06:46] – Humor and choice-making as leadership skills [0:06:46–0:08:06] – Managing the “lizard brain” and regaining choice [0:08:06–0:10:02] – Reflective questions to guide your mood and behavior [0:08:06–0:09:20] – Reflective questions to guide your mood and behavior [0:09:20–0:11:10] – Good humor vs. toxic positivity & impact on teams Keywords leadership attitude, good humor in leadership, how to choose your mood, emotional regulation for leaders, toxic positivity at work, psychological safety, leadership self-awareness, fight or flight response at work, mindful leadership skills, demonstrating care as a leader