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Leadership Journal 
February 3, 2003
The Ultimate Human Fuel

Hope is one of the most fascinating forces that a leaders taps into. It is just amazing what can happen when a genuine dose of optimism is provided at just the right moment.

You have probably seen and felt the power of hope on many occasions. Have you ever been with other people who have gotten to a point where they appear dead in the water, and suddenly almost out of nowhere, along comes another option. I'll bet you heard at least one of them actually utter the words, “there might be hope after all,” as they again kick into gear with renewed vigor. That small crack in the door, that additional chance to finally be successful produces both an emotional and physiological change. It provides a shot of courage and strength needed to fight the battle yet another day.

Have you personally ever been in a situation like that, when you were facing a tough challenge and were honestly not sure if you could accomplish it? Did hope play a role in helping you make progress? Or did a lack of hope cause you to finally give up?

For teams, some of the most common and difficult work they do is figuring out a way to resolve the really tough problems, confronting them, and accepting that sometimes there are no easy or obvious solutions. Typically, they thoroughly discuss the issues, develop alternatives, and ultimately come up with action steps to take. What is too often missing in the process is any expression of hope that the team will be able to pull off what they might now seem to believe is a rather impossible undertaking. Sometimes they follow through on their commitments, sometimes they don’t. The lack of follow through is seldom because of laziness or lack of caring. It is usually because people do not believe their actions will do much good. They lack hope.

Leaders provide hope. They challenge others to look at tough circumstances in different ways, give them freedom to take action, and express genuine faith and confidence in their people’s ability to be successful. They inspire people to accomplish great things by giving them a chance to see - and believe - in success.

Be aware there can be a dark side to hope. Knowing how powerful hope can be, a person can choose to manipulate others by purposely expressing false hope after false hope. Too many hopes that never pan out can only lead to frustration, despair and cynicism about the future. Hope cannot be generated thoughtlessly.

Take a moment and reflect about your own circumstances.

Do you have hope for the future? Do you believe things can truly change and be better, or do you think right now there is really no good reason to have much hope? Which view are you communicating to others?

Hope or hopelessness – which do you believe contributes more to great accomplishments? In your role as a leader, it is up to you to create a future that people find desirable and believe is obtainable. And the more hope you give them about finding ways to reach those future destinations, the more energy, creativity, perseverance and passionate effort they will give in return.

 



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