Hope as a Leadership Imperative

Napoleon once said that “A leader is a dealer in hope.” Through the ups and downs that will certainly come with today’s uncertain market environment, good leaders need to inspire optimism and faith in the future.? Hope creation is a leadership imperative today.? But equally, as Shane Lopez writes in his book, Make Hope Happen, “Hope without action is wishful thinking.”?

Actionable hope rests on human centered leadership, which doubles down on key emotional and cognitive components that together generate human empowerment, growth, and thriving.?

?In AceUp’s Human-Centered Leadership? work with the Institute of Coaching, they have found that this approach to leading tangibly:

• Expands consciousness
• Cultivate relationships?
• Supports well-being??
• Integrates diversity??
• Builds agile cultures?

When we make hope actionable, it becomes a real force in the workplace as part of a human-centered approach.?

In the three-minute video above, as more teams and organizations are being asked to do what seems impossible, I talk about strategies as well as highlight a story of how Michael Sorrell, President of Paul Quinn College took his organization from surviving to thriving.

If we are to make transformative change to beat the stacked obstacles, we need to have faith in the future and in each other. Part of that is investing more deeply in the distinctly human capabilities of imagination and courage. The other part is seeing a fuller range of talent and superpowers that may not yet be visible, but seeking to be seen, recognized and unleashed.

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MIT Sloan Management Review: What Matters Most in Evaluating New Opportunities?

Finding our next calling is hard. Different phases of our lives and careers can require different priorities of capital.? When we shift from a sole focus on finance and brand to what we can learn, those whom we will be working with, and the joy it brings us, we open up doors to purpose finding, deep connections, and personal and societal growth.??

Imagine what would happen if you make Joy Capital, Relationship Capital and Intellectual Capital, vital parts of your next play?

In the latest MIT Sloan Management Review column Coaching for the Future Forward Leader, I share about the 5 types of capital we should consider in your next play, next chapter, next opportunity.

When you do so, the words of Eleanor Roosevelt might ring true - “The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”

What is your advice for evaluating new opportunities? What other questions might you have for me to tackle in future columns? Email me at [email protected] or ask in comments below.

Managing Anxiety, Overwhelm, and the Pressure to Be Perfect

Event Hosted by by Thinkers50 and Silicon Guild

Last Tuesday, in a LinkedIn Live Panel hosted by 2 communities that I’m honored to be in, Morra Aarons-Mele , Lenny Mendonca, Julie Lythcott-Haims and I got REAL. We shared our personal journeys, perspectives, and tips for quelling our inner critics and managing through anxiety. Hope (having faith in the future), the power of friendships, gratitude and microsteps are part of the conversation. Morra, started us off on a compelling exercise:

Close your eyes and

1. Think of 2 things that you love about yourself.
2. Think of 2 things that you are grateful for.

Watch the REPLAY HERE.

This is the second installment of the Mind Matters Series. Tune in today at 11ET for the session on Fighting Burnout and May 28th for the one on Mental Health in the Workplace (May 28).

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Look out for the next issue, in partnership with AceUp’s Human-Centered Leadership? on June 4th!