The pursuit of happiness, backed by social science

"At the Leadership and Happiness Laboratory at the Harvard Kennedy School, we believe that all great leaders should be happiness teachers." –Arthur Brooks

This year, William Henry Bloomberg Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership Arthur Brooks launched the Leadership and Happiness Laboratory at CPL.

Brooks received the 2022 Irving Kristol Award from the American Enterprise Institute and the Pioneer Award in Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania in recognition of his integrative research on the science of happiness.

Brooks also gave a virtual address at the White House United We Stand Summit, and his book From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life debuted as a #1 New York Times bestseller in February 2022.

How gratitude boosts wellness, in the classroom and beyond

Grant Freeland, a CPL faculty affiliate and expert on transforming organizations, recently held a “Gratitude Day” in his course: Serving the Public Good: Planning for Career and Life. Paired with review of a case study on how organizations can consciously impact wellbeing, students shared their experiences with wellbeing interventions, which ranged from meditation and spirituality to forgiveness and gratitude.

On Gratitude Day, six students volunteered to read a letter of thanks to someone special in their lives. The recipients of the letters were invited to join the class. Topics included a student showing gratitude to their mother, a student thanking a relative for helping her when her parents passed, and a student thanking a former supervisor for their incredible leadership in challenging times.

“The reaction both from those receiving the messages, and those giving them were almost overwhelming,” said Professor Freeland. “The impact on the rest of the class was equally emotional. Many students said the session motivated them to give gratitude to others. This was all a classic win-win.”