Joy in Leadership | Why Joy Is the Hidden Advantage of High-Performing Teams
We often talk about joy as if it’s the prize you get once the real work is done. Hit the numbers. Survive the quarter. Clear the inbox. Then - maybe - you can breathe.
But here’s the truth: joy isn’t the reward. It’s the operating system.
It’s what makes the hard work possible in the first place. The difference between a leadership team that feels heavy, cautious, and slow - and one that has the spark to make brave decisions, keep pace, and actually enjoy the work of growing something together.
Joy isn’t a perk. It’s structural.
When it’s present, people think more clearly, trust more deeply, and move faster. When it disappears, you can feel the drag: meetings that circle, energy that flattens, leaders who second-guess.
That’s why I call joy the canary in the coal mine. It goes first - long before performance metrics start flashing red.
And unlike “workplace happiness,” it can’t be faked.
Four Layers, One Centre
Picture four concentric rings. At the very centre sits joy. Around it are the four layers of leadership growth.
Individual intelligence. Daniel Goleman put emotional intelligence on the map. Amy Jacobson shows how to move from recognising emotions to owning and speaking them. This is where leadership starts: knowing yourself, especially under pressure.
Relational intelligence. It’s not enough to understand yourself. You need to see the impact you have on others — and how dynamics can either build trust or slowly erode it. This is what turns conflict from personal friction into something productive.
Cultural safety. Amy Edmondson’s work, echoed in Google’s Project Aristotle, proves that without psychological safety, innovation stalls. Teams take risks and share ideas only when they feel safe.
Commercial outcomes. Resilience. Innovation. Growth. The visible signs that the system is alive and aligned.
At the centre of all of this is joy. Without it, each of these layers risks becoming performance theatre. With it, they connect into a system that actually works.
Joy and Purpose
Simon Sinek tells us to “start with why.” But purpose isn’t alive just because it’s written on the wall. You know it’s alive when joy is present in the room.
Without joy, purpose collapses into slogans. With it, purpose becomes lived — felt in the energy, the candour, the decisions a team makes together.
Why It Matters Now
Leadership teams are running hot. The pressure to deliver is relentless. In that environment, joy isn’t indulgent — it’s what stops the system from seizing up.
Joy is the signal that tells you whether the system can hold. It’s also the fuel that allows leaders not just to cope, but to create.
That’s why I treat joy not as decoration, but as strategy.
From Theory to Practice
This isn’t abstract. Joy is measurable in the atmosphere of the room: the spark in conversations, the trust in challenge, the energy that makes hard things possible.
It’s also why I centre it in my work with senior teams. Because alignment doesn’t happen by accident.
It happens by design.
And joy is how you know it’s working.
If you’re leading a team right now, ask yourself: where is joy present in the room - and where has it quietly gone missing?
Because when it’s gone, you don’t just lose energy. You lose speed. You lose trust. You lose the ability to make the decisions that actually move the business forward.
That’s why I work with senior teams under pressure: to put joy back at the centre, so alignment isn’t theory but lived reality. If your boardroom feels heavy, cautious, or stuck, it’s already costing you. Let’s fix it before it costs more.
Kate Davis is the founder of Meraki People. She works with scaling businesses and senior teams under pressure - helping boards put communication, trust and joy back at the centre so decisions get faster, trust runs deeper, and growth feels possible again.