Talk show host Leeza Gibbons had one big piece of advice for the crowd of female channel executives Thursday at the XChange Women of The Channel event: Be "fiercely" optimistic.

The Emmy Award winner, who has also held roles as a reporter on "Entertainment Tonight" as well as a social entrepreneur and founder of Leeza's Care Connection, discussed how to employ gratitude and optimism to get ahead in the workplace.

"There is a way for you to get what you want and get there without sabotaging others … for me, that means to put optimism and kindness out front," Gibbons said. "Optimism is a proven strategy for winning; it is good as gold for competing. It's about moving forward even when you don't feel there's a way."

Optimism led Gibbons through several career challenges she faced as a female. Before she worked for "Entertainment Tonight," for example, Gibbons worked as a reporter, a role for which she said she had no control and faced several hurdles.

Another challenge Gibbons faced was while competing on season seven of "Celebrity Apprentice," when she competed in support of her charity, Leeza's Care Connection.

Gibbons said that on the show, women did not compete through optimism, but instead used what she called "the freeze out" of other contestants as a "weapon of choice."

However, Gibbons stayed optimistic and stuck to these values, eventually winning the competition.

"Girls compete with each other, women empower each other… you want to win, and that's not shameful, but you can empower others at the same time," she said. "I competed by just being the best version of me. I could not play someone else's game."

A final hurdle that Gibbons had to overcome was when she competed on the TV show "Dancing With The Stars." During this show, Gibbons said she felt uncomfortable because she had never danced before.

"My own fear of being judged belonged to me … throughout the competition, you need to put blinders on and (not) be distracted by the others ... no one can tell you that you are failing as a woman," she said.

The lesson learned, Gibbons said, comes back to the importance of optimism, particularly when working through criticism. Moving forward, Gibbons stressed that women need to treat themselves with respect and lead to succeed.

"You can work hard and get to a leadership place, and you can do that by simply being you … nice girls can finish last," she said. "Keep facing toward the sun."

The XChange event, held in New York, was sponsored by IT Best of Breed's parent, The Channel Company.