“Hopeful individuals, families, organizations, and communities THRIVE!”

The focus of this month’s social media series are 3 Leadership gifts – solitude, resilience, and hope. Previously, we unwrapped the gifts of solitude and resilience. Now, we are ready to find out how this final gift . . . the gift of hope, when added to the previous two, amplifies the possibilities for even more powerful leadership.

A 2^nd session I attended at the International Coach Federation was not a new topic. In fact, it’s one we often make light of when people are setting goals. Often, we hear the language, “I hope I will be able to use all the skills I have learned in this seminar” to which we have replied, “Hope is not a strategy.” Well, as it happens, it IS a strategy and a very powerful one, at that!

With this realization, came the third gift of leadership – the gift of hope. Hope is one of the top predictors of well-being for adults and children. It is part of our core as human beings. And, hope is the leading predictor of satisfaction and happiness in life.

Hope is universal across race, gender, culture, etc. and is not related to income, social status, intelligence, or morality. Hope can be measured. Shane Lopez, in Making Hope Happen, speaks of the beliefs of High Hope People.

High Hope People Believe

1. The future will be better than the present.
2. I have the power to make it so.
3. There are many paths to my goals.
4. None of them is free of obstacles.

What was really exciting in the session was the presenters’ connection to the neuroscience of hope and trust. Guess what! It matches what we have learned about SCARF and the importance of safety for the brain to be a “hopeful brain”.

Hope Theory contends that there is a distinction between Will Power and Way Power and that it takes both for the emergence of hope. One without the other is merely a wish. Perhaps, that is why we said hope is not a strategy. Both “will power” and “way power” are required for it to become an expectation for goal attainment.

Let’s Make it Personal

Think of a time when you lost hope. How did you know? What did you do to regain it? Who, if anyone, supported you in regaining your hope?

Leadership and Hope
Lopez says, “A leader’s personal hope is a public resource.” Because hope is a personal philosophy, the leader is in a unique position of influence holding the potential to build hope in others. Many of the convocation speeches given by Superintendents as our school year began offered a vision of hope focusing on the future, speaking about will power and way power, building capacity in others to carry the vision of hope forward.

So, these three gifts of leadership – solitude, resilience, and hope showed up unexpectedly in succession creating the opportunity for greater meaning for me. It was only in quietness that I could discover the connection and recognize that these are the attributes of a coach leader – one who reflects, bounces back, and believes in a better world for us all!

How are you using these three gifts – solitude, resilience, and hope?

Reference: Howells, K & Johnston, K (2017) Leveraging The Science Of Hope And Trust In Coaching. International Coach Federation Conference. Washington, DC.