“Hopefulness is essential to leadership. We are either hopeful or part of the problem.”
I have a picture of a trusted advisor in my mind, smiling as I read these words spoken by Bryan Stevenson during a leadership conference several years ago. This advisor lives with a “glass half-full” perspective, rarely down, often energized by possibilities, even when circumstances are challenging, frustrating, or disappointing. He manages to find a silver lining in situations while I tend to dwell on the negative – the emptier cup.
I can hear Johnny Mercer singing now:
“You’ve got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative, don’t mess with Mr. In-Between.
You’ve got to spread joy up to the maximum, bring gloom down to the minimum, have faith, or pandemonium, liable to walk up on the scene.”
When we consider our approach to life, how many of us reside with Mr. In-Between? As leaders, when we worry, complain, feel anxious or uneasy, what type of environment are we creating for our teams? Am I part of the problem when I fixate on the negative?
Oftentimes when I walk through a challenging experience with the help of my trusted advisor, his hopefulness leads me to see a different side to my present state. Two sides. Like a coin, or a glass filled with water. The integration of hope with reality. The idea that a circumstance can be “both-and” rather than either-or.
I wonder what motivates the hope-filled leader. Personally, I am beginning to explore love as my core motivation. That reads a little like a Summer of Love slogan, yet what could be a better, more pure inspiration to lead than love?
When we are motivated by love, we are filled with hope. When we are filled with hope, we begin to seek solutions to problems rather than dwell on the negatives. We move forward rather than passively wait for change to happen. And when we solve problems instead of adding to them, we have opportunities to celebrate with others, “accentuate the positive,” and ultimately renew our hope for what lies ahead.
4motivo 