“The first and last task of a leader is to keep hope alive.”
You might be familiar with that saying from John W. Gardner which was first published in No Easy Victories (1968) and repeated in his popular book, On Leadership (1993).
As someone who promotes Hope-Centered Leadership, I gotta say, I really like that quote!
But would Gardner agree with how I view Hope-Centered Leadership? I think so; allow me to explain.
Dr. Rick Snyder, the father of Hope Theory, defined hope as a positive motivational state derived of both successful motivation (goal-directed agency) and pathways (plans to meet the goal). He emphasized that hope is how a person perceives their ability to produce goals using agency and pathways.
Dr. Chan Hellman more recently said, “Hope is the belief your future can be brighter than today, and you have the power to make it so.”
And what did Gardner say about hope and leaders?
Gardner said high-hope leaders believe both in themselves and their future. They are problem solvers AND problem seekers. If the problem is not challenging enough, they invent a bigger challenge to increase motivation.
Gardner said hope-centered leaders help others believe in their abilities to be effective and accomplish goals and believe in their own efforts. He said low hope people struggle to find the inward capacity for the energy to move forward or take risks or embrace opportunities.
Finally, Gardner said that a good leader has “faith in human possibilities.” We shouldn’t be asking if a leader’s followers believe in the leader. Instead, we should be asking if the leader believes in the followers.
If you like how Gardner described leadership, but think that this type of leadership is more inherent in leaders than learned, then let me gently persuade you that the reality is you and your team can all become more hope centered through learning the framework of hope.
Not the kind of hope that says, “I hope (wish) things would get better around here.” But the kind of hope that provides confident expectations about the ability to achieve future goals and increase the well-being and performance of both employees and organizations.
Today, you have an opportunity as a leader to learn how to be a hope-centered leader through the effective valuation of goals, navigation of pathways, and cultivation of willpower.
As a hope-centered leader, you can learn to “keep hope alive.” I can help! Take the first step and send me a message asking to become a hope-center leader.
(Adapted from: Gardner, J. (1993). On leadership. Simon and Schuster; Snyder, C. R., et al. (2006). Hope for rehabilitation and vice versa. Rehabilitation psychology, 51(2), 89-112; Gwinn, C., & Hellman, C. (2018). HOPE rising: How the science of HOPE can change your life. Morgan James Publishing.)
Photo by Riccardo Annandale on Unsplash
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