Those without hope cannot be led.
Hope is the engine that drives success. Despair drives defeat. The overwhelming power of hope is demonstrated in it’s ability to inspire unimaginable endurance. Think of hope gone bad when a wife endures abuse hoping he’ll change.
Wise leaders instill enabling hope that energizes sustained progress toward noble goals.
Inspiring hope:
I asked an emerging leader to describe something that radically changed his life. Without hesitation he said, “My mentor.”
Earlier, he’d expressed passion to change people’s lives. I wanted to explore how his personal story might align with his passion. We sipped coffee and chatted about mentoring.
I wasn’t surprised when the conversation shifted toward disappointments. All leaders live with things they don’t like; things they want to change.
He wished men could better develop manly connections. He wants more manly friendships in his life and in the lives of others. He hadn’t seen it yet, but the two components of hope were at our fingertips.
Falling short:
When I asked what he’d like to do, his answer fell well below his potential. It was safe and from my view, boring. To inspire hope I sprinkled his disappointment over his success. I suggested his story of life-change through being mentored answered his frustration with manly connections. “How could you create environments where men could better connect,” I asked.
Reaching higher:
Hope emerges when disappointments or frustrations connect with successes. He began seeing his story as a high potential platform. I kept saying the things he’d already said. He loved being mentored. He felt disappointed men couldn’t better connect. Hope started bubbling.
Don’t convince others of your hope for them. Let them find their hope for themselves by combining past success with present frustration.
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Has someone inspired your hope? What did they do?
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More on inspiring hope at: “Fixing the Reason Vision Casting Flops”
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