Inspire hope | Future Leaders Blog

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Hope is a great fuel of human drive and determination. As a leader, to inspire hope in others, and of course yourself, is one of your most important tasks.

The future may seem unclear or uncertain at times – that’s only to be expected with the constant change that is part of reality at work. What you can do as a leader is to continuously look for the opportunities and possibilities of the future, to rally people around those and to give them hope that obstacles can be overcome and maybe even a trigger for something better.

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence

Helen Keller

Here are some practical tips on how to inspire hope

  • Frame all challenges/problems as a blessing in disguise. Encourage conversations that explore how addressing the problem can lead to something better.
  • Instead of thinking of what could go wrong, ask yourself “what could go right”? And ask your team the same.
  • Build a plan to overcome the problem or each obstacle (together with your team if possible). Get specific about what to do and when.
  • Get some quick wins in, by focusing on one thing at a time.
  • Recognise and value the wins, showing people that progress is being made – this creates more hope and determination.
  • Make creative challenging part of your team’s DNA. Take time at regular intervals to talk about changes that are coming up and how you jointly, with all the wisdom, experience and ideas of the team can solve anything that needs solving.

And finally, if people tend to worry about things that may or may not happen in the future, remind them that 95 per cent of things we worry about never happens anyway! Worrying is waste of time – come together and look to the future with curiosity and creativity.

About the authors

Mandy Flint & Elisabet Vinberg Hearn, award-winning authors of ”The Team Formula”.

Their latest book, multi-award-winning ”Leading Teams – 10 Challenges: 10 Solutions”, published by Financial Times International is a practical tool for building winning teams. You can download a free chapter of the book at www.leadingteamsbook.com

Praise for ”Leading Teams: ”Enjoyable to read. Simple to understand. Practical to implement. A must read for team members or leadersDebbie Fogel-Monnissen, Executive Vice President, International Markets Finance Officer, Mastercard, NY, USA.

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