3 Ways Leaders Can Communicate Hope in the Midst of Chaos

There is no question that this year has been chaotic. With a global pandemic alone, we’ve all felt the uncertainty that comes with such events. It was unprecedented and no one expected it. 

As we all learn to navigate new normals, cope with bad news, and deal with off-and-on lockdowns, it’s important to remember that your employees are dealing with additional concerns about their salaries, their jobs, and their livelihoods. Now more than ever it’s your responsibility as the one in charge to help encourage hope in a time of chaos. There are many ways you can do this, but here are a couple of ideas to get you started:

See The Future Through The Lens Of Today

One of the first things you can do is pay attention to how you speak about the future. Try to paint a clear vision for the future based on the realities of today. You should never try to give certainty, however. There is no telling how things will progress and what decisions will have to be made. 

Rather than giving certainties, you can at least try to give clarity of a vision for how things will change and how you plan to adapt to the new realities as you know them today. This is good advice, whether you’re speaking to a department, team, organization, or even your family. Remember that while the vision may change again, you can provide clarity about today - it’s all we have right now. 

Have A Broader Perspective

The Bible tells us that there will always be wars and rumors of wars. People will say and do bad things. Tragedies will happen and bad days are sure to come. That being said, it’s crucial that we keep our attitude as one of love and acceptance, rather than one of anger and frustrations. We will all get through this. There’s already a vaccine created that’s shown to be 95% effective in clinical trials. 

This isn’t the first time in history that we’ve had a time where hope seems lost. Take for instance the Revolutionary War. It went on for seven years with no hope of insight for the Patriots until things finally started to turn. Another example is the Civil War, which seemed like a hopeless loss of life that seemed endless to people living through it. And yet now we see there was hope on the horizon and light at the end of the tunnel. The same is true today, even with a seemingly endless pandemic. It will all be okay. 

Focus On What Can Be Controlled

You can only control what you can control. Accepting that takes baby steps. One thing you can focus on is truth and your reaction. The only thing we can actually control in these chaotic times is our reactions and how we handle our own actions. I am led to remember the Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

There is no denying that the virus has left all of us feeling more powerless than ever. We can’t control our days, the weather, how other people treat us, what others decide to say or do. What we can control are our own actions and attitudes. Remember to be patient. Stay kind. Remain truthful. Be trustworthy. Have forgiveness. Try to be unselfish. These actions are the ones that will give you hope because they are the words of love. By embodying these actions yourself, you will communicate the hope of your teams and employees so desperately needs. It starts with you.