Moodset Mood Board

A mood board (or inspiration board) is a physical or digital collage of ideas that are commonly used in fields like interior design, fashion, and graphic design.

At TEDx Aberdeen in 2021, I chose to talk about Moodset and I created a storyboard to help me visualise and illustrate the idea I wanted to share. Prior to researching for my talk I had not come across the name “mood board”, but I love the concept and would add the field of “talk design” to the common list!

When people ask me what I talked about at TEDx. I say “moodset” and generally get a quizzical look. Let me explain…

Moodset is about what we feel and sense, it is the atmosphere, the energy, the heart and soul of a group in a certain place. It is also referred to as performance climate.

Leaders need to set the collective mood much like we need to set the collective mind so it occurred to me that the word moodset should be formalised to help leaders address it as a key leading indicator for purposeful progress to excellence. Moodset is at least as important as mindset for inspiring excellence.

Setting a positive mood can start with some very simple actions; eye contact, a smile, a greeting. Repeated across a team, these simple actions can boost morale and motivate a sense of belonging. Moodset is a key success factor when adversity arrives.

Perhaps if we all make a mood board that inspires us to see others, smile at others, and greet others, we can make our world a little better. Mood for thought?