I once thought Winston Churchill was the most inspiring politician of the 20th Century.

No longer.

Nothing against Churchill. He was a leader for the ages. It’s just that I learned Churchill had his own “go to” guy for inspiration – a man so optimistic that Churchill was energized just by being around him.

The man, of course, was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And he has my vote for most inspiring politician of the 20th Century.

President Franklin Roosevelt and Sir Winston Churchill at Casablanca (Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons)

Sure, I’ve always known Roosevelt was a great leader. But I had no idea how dynamic he was until I read Doris Kearns Goodwin’s No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II. For example, here’s how Goodwin describes Churchill’s impressions of FDR:

At another point Churchill put it in even more strongly:

That’s inspirational leadership.

Franklin Roosevelt was a powerful speaker, a brilliant politician, and a deeply strategic thinker. But above all, he was an incredible optimist with a genius for transmitting his “can do” attitude to those he led, even during crises such as the Great Depression and World War II.

Writes Goodwin:

Projecting a Powerful Optimism

We can all grow in our capacity to project optimism. Whether you’re CEO, a middle manager, a salesperson, a parent or friend, you can help others feel more cheerful, more determined and much stronger.

I wish I knew all Roosevelt’s secrets. But if we go back to his first inaugural address, we can tease out some of his techniques.

1. Spread Cheer by Giving Others Hope

“So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself …”

Daniel Goleman puts it well: emotions are contagious. We’re wired to respond to the emotions of others – and they’re wired to respond to ours. No one projected cheerfulness better than Roosevelt. In his first words as president, Roosevelt calmed nerves, inspired confidence and gave people hope. He got people to believe because he believed in them.

2. Foster Determination by Facing and Reframing Reality

I’ve heard the “only thing we have to fear” line more times than I can remember. But until I read the full text of the speech I had no idea of what followed: “Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment.”

Like all great leaders, Roosevelt was never in denial. He faced reality head on.

And then he reframed it: “These dark days, my friends, will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men.”

Denial doesn’t foster determination. People get – and stay – focused when they have a sense of mission.

3. Enable Others to Grow Stronger by Helping Them Help Themselves

Finally, Roosevelt believed that people grow stronger when they are able to do things for themselves. “Our greatest primary task is to put people to work.”

This is a great lesson for leaders. We don’t make our team members stronger by doing their work for them. They grow stronger when we coach them to solve their own problems.

Optimize Your Optimism

As you can see, optimism isn’t denial. It’s not pretending things are better than they are. Instead, optimistic leaders like Franklin Roosevelt face problems head on. They just do so in a way that makes others feel more cheerful, more determined and stronger.

You can do the same.

Question: How do you make others feels more optimistic?