What is Hope in the workplace? Are you a high-hope leader? How do you practice Hope?
The workplace continues to change, and employees can become paralyzed by fear of uncertainty. However, leaders are trying hard to impact people’s lives positively. The challenge is keeping employees, and yourself motivated. Hope is based on what is possible. We all need something to believe in, and we want to believe that our work in our jobs makes a difference.
Having Hope is a leadership skill that drives employee engagement, resilience, and productivity increases. To hope is to believe that something positive could materialize despite fearing the worst. When things are uncertain, and there is trouble in our lives professionally and personally, we all need a good dose of Hope. Having Hope is believing that things are possible and that they can be accomplished together. Leaders that use Hope to navigate challenges are more likely to achieve the desired outcome.
Improving Hope in the workplace:
- Believe that the future will be better than the present.
To practice Hope, you do not think of it as wishful thinking but as an assurance that good things are ahead no matter the situation. Look for the possibilities.
- Adjust your goals
Almost every successful person begins with two beliefs. The future can be better than the present and I have the power to make it so.
Some goals are hard goals, such as meeting a deadline, but more often, they can be adjusted. There is no right path to success. When roadblocks come your way, pause, regroup and go a different direction.
- Have a positive mindset.
Hope builds self-confidence. Hope requires being able to see the good despite the bad. We must be able to locate alternatives, seek new ways of doing things, and find the learning in everything. Then we must act.
- Ladder back up to Hope
Hope provides empowerment and clarity. When we look through the lens of Hope, we can see things from a wider angle and often see solutions that we did not see before.
When you get discouraged, continue to move forward. Losing Hope is a natural human experience; the difference between high hope leaders is their ability to reset goals and move forward.
- Inspire hope in others
High hope leaders act as a catalyst, helping to lift others. They ignite a vision and energy in others.
Hope requires stretching ourselves, and even the slightest change can light a better or different way of being successful.
By Cheryl Viola, Executive Director/CEO, MBA