Joy Keys mark
The Joy Keys™
ROI of Joy • Leadership System
Joy is not a perk. Joy is operational.

Make work not suck with a leadership system you can measure.

The Joy Keys™ are five repeatable leadership behaviors that reduce friction, restore energy, and improve performance. Use them as a diagnostic, a coaching tool, and a culture-building operating system.

Get the Joy Keys Toolkit Take the 2-minute self-check
Practical behaviors
Culture + performance
Built for leaders
Joy Keys Snapshot
Preview your current leadership pattern across the five keys.
Preview
Current average
3.0 / 5
Adjust scores
Built for a book
Chapter-ready structure with diagnostics, examples, and metrics.
Designed for leaders
Micro-behaviors that change how work feels day-to-day.
Measurable impact
Leading indicators and lagging outcomes you can track.
The Framework

The five Joy Keys™

A leadership system that reduces friction, restores energy, and strengthens performance.

Joy is operational

Joy is the byproduct of leadership behaviors that reduce uncertainty, protect focus, and build trust. The Joy Keys™ make those behaviors visible, coachable, and measurable.

Quick Diagnostic

2-minute Joy Keys self-check

Adjust the sliders (1–5). Use your lowest key as your next 7-day micro-practice.

Rate each Joy Key
1 = rarely present • 5 = consistently present
Self-check
Your current average
3.0 / 5
Tip: pick your lowest Joy Key and run one micro-practice for 7 days. Small behavior shifts create disproportionate culture wins.
What should you work on first?
Use this as a mini coaching guide.
Coaching
Free Toolkit

Download the Joy Keys™ Toolkit

A printable one-pager, coaching prompts, and a 7-day micro-practice plan. Built for leaders who want action, not fluff.

Get the toolkit (free)
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Toolkit
  • Joy Keys one-pager for managers
  • Coaching prompts for each key
  • 7-day micro-practice plan
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Want to use this in a book?
This site is built to support a long-form manuscript.
Author
Chapter-ready structure
What it is, why it matters, how it breaks, how to repair.
Measurement lens
Leading indicators and lagging outcomes for each key.
Culture-safe
Practical behaviors that avoid toxic positivity.
Quick setup
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About

Built for leaders who hate boring training

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ROI of Joy

Sam Thomas, M.Ed., is a Learning and Development leader and international speaker known for building playful, high-impact leadership experiences. Her work connects culture to measurable outcomes through the ROI of Joy.

The Joy Keys™ began as a practical leadership tool inside experiential workshops and quickly evolved into a culture system for managers. This site is a home base for the framework as it expands into a book and toolkit series.

Use cases
Where Joy Keys™ fits.
  • Manager enablement
  • Culture interventions
  • Leadership coaching
  • Team operating agreements
  • L&D programs and workshops