The Power Of Positive Leadership: How and Why Positive Leaders Transform Teams and Organizations and Change the World

Gordon bases his definition of grit on Angela Duckworth’s, whose 2016 bestseller Grit identified grit as the number one predictor of success. Like Duckworth, Gordon defines grit in terms of perseverance in pursuit of a goal, but he integrates it into a broader discussion of the factors (e.g., purpose) that allow an individual to maintain positivity in challenging times.

Intrinsic goals are goals related to values or otherwise unquantifiable outcomes. As opposed to measurable goals, intrinsic goals inspire a team and give it purpose. Gordon uses the example of Organic Valley milk, which does not ignore sales numbers but prioritizes its work providing business to farmers and creating healthy dairy products. Such intrinsic goals help teams find the energy to achieve measurable goals, in keeping with Gordon’s overall emphasis on vision and purpose.

“Love tough” is Gordon’s adaptation of “tough love.” While he believes that members of a team must be accountable for their actions and behavior, lest they threaten the vision and positive culture of an organization, he believes that the leader must put love and compassion ahead of enforcing rules and does so—literally—with this formulation.

Gordon uses the north star as a symbol of a positive leader’s vision. Much as the north star has served as a navigational aid, a vision moves everyone in the group in the right direction: The leader can point to the vision frequently and remind team members that it is “where [they] are going now” (32). Gordon further clarifies that a north star need not be a perfect set of plans but simply a path forward. As an easy-to-grasp distillation of a goal, a north star or vision also supports Gordon’s claims about The Need for Effective Communication.