The Three Parts of Hope
Melonie Boone, MBA, MJ, PhD
?? Chief Operating Officer ?? Global Executive ?? Award Winning Author ?? Business Psychologist ?? Host, Intel Noir Podcast on Spotify ?? Positive Psychology Scholar
We all hope for something. Whether we’re hoping to land that new client, get a call from that special someone to have a date, or win the lottery, hope is part of our daily lives.
However, did you know that being hopeful is also one of the qualities of a HEROic leader? The “H” in this acronym stands for “Hope,” followed by acronyms representing Efficacy, Resilience, and Optimism. Together, all four encapsulate the approach of psychological capital (PsyCap), which can have tremendous benefits in the business world.? HEROic leadership is empirically proven through research to benefit both leaders and their teams, and Hope is one of the core competencies needed.
In business, “hope” refers to our psychological approach to problems, especially when obstacles stand in the way of solutions. Psychologist C.R. Snyder studied hope as a construct and is a pioneer in “hope theory.” He was one of the first researchers to break hope into three essential components. (Luthans & Jensen, 2002)?
The Three Parts of Hope
Snyder divided hope into three distinct parts. As people managers, we most likely possess these pieces of hope to some degree. The good news is there are always ways to improve!?
Goal-setting
If we are hopeful, we will set goals with the expectation that we will achieve them. The very act of goal-setting shows that we have an aim or an objective we intend to pursue. The managers with lots of hope (high-H managers) are not deluded about the possibility of failure. Instead, they may acknowledge that things are not going well, but they are hopeful there will be a way to recover gracefully.?
Willpower?
Hopeful people want to succeed and therefore, they typically possess the willpower to try. In his research, Snyder noticed that high-H managers express “positive self-talk” such as “I can do this” or “I will not be stopped.” I’ve seen this in high-H people managers, and I’ve also noticed how persuasive high-H managers can be. They have a plan and can sell it to their team because of their hope for its success. When team members experience the people manager’s deep belief in an idea, they are inspired. The people manager motivates the team by painting a picture of what they can achieve with a new plan and perspective. When people managers enlighten their team with a novel idea, they also demonstrate their will to lead the team through the solution. Their willpower is inspiring and contagious!
Waypower?
You can have a goal and a will to get there, but if you don’t have a “way,” you’re not going anywhere.
High-H managers find their hope in discovering a plausible way to achieve their goals. If the way is not there, they will forge a path. This ability to be “planful” and have the “waypower” to find a solution is a key differentiator between the “hopeful” person and the “optimistic” one, according to Snyder.
For example, let’s examine the response of an optimistic manager versus a hopeful one during an economic downturn. The optimistic manager might delay labor lay-offs and decide to wait and see what the economy will do. The optimistic manager believes things are going to get better. On the other hand, a hopeful manager may pursue a new goal in response to the problem. For example, they may start identifying and pursuing creative ways of using the excess labor until the economy turns with the hope that they can retain their staff through innovation.? The hopeful manager shows the willpower to pursue an action and the ability to devise a new plan. In other words, they demonstrate the waypower to achieve their goal.?
Developing Hope
It’s good to know that positive psychology researchers all agree that our level of “hope” can be developed. We can all become more hopeful people managers and even build hope in our teams!
Even low-H managers can boost their hope levels with some of the techniques offered by Luthans and Jensen based on their research and experience:
Specific goal setting. ?This means setting goals that are challenging and include specific numbers, percentages, and target dates to help clarify goals across the team.?
Breaking down goals. Snyder called it the “stepping method.” It’s? a way to guide your team through more actionable, attainable goals by breaking a larger goal down into manageable steps. The entire effort becomes more easily achievable, and thus, can produce hope in the team.??
Developing contingency pathways. ?Hopeful people see more than one way to achieve a goal. Defining these alternatives in advance, with an accompanying action plan, will help the team stay hopeful.?
Acknowledging the positive in the process. People managers can also develop hope in their team by celebrating the small goals that the team achieves along the way to the big ones. The celebrations keep the team from focusing on the final goal and motivate them to achieve the next milestone.
Preparing to persist. To stay hopeful, set realistic expectations and persist when things get tough.. There may be problems along the way, but they can be overcome with persistence.
Practicing “what ifs.” After developing your contingency plans, know in advance which ones you should implement in the face of different obstacles. Talk through scenarios and “what ifs” to know which path is the right one for every situation. .
Knowing when to “Re-goal.” High-H managers should take care not to encourage “false hope” in their teams. When alternative paths and persistence have failed or will imminently fail, it is time to reconsider and retool the goals. Sometimes the best way to retain hope in a team is to find a more hopeful plan.?
Let’s Lead More Hopefully!??
Hope is one of the competencies of the HEROic leader I explored in my Ph.D. dissertation and now in my upcoming book, HEROic Leadership: The Secret to Developing Stronger High-Performing Teams Using Psychological Capital, soon available on Amazon. The book is the culmination of my research and more than twenty years of? personal experience with people managers, positive psychology, and leadership development.??
To learn more about HEROic leadership, visit www.heroicleadershipbook.com.?
About the Author:
Dr. Melonie Boone is an author, speaker, global business psychologist, executive coach, and entrepreneur.? She holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology; a Master of Jurisprudence in Business Law and Corporate Governance from Loyola University of Chicago Law School, an MBA from Florida Metropolitan University; and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Loyola University of Chicago School of Business.?
Sources:
Luthans, F., & Jensen, S. (2002). Hope: A New Positive Strength for Human Resource Development. Human Resource Development Review, 304-322
Snyder, C. R., Sympson, S. C., Ybasco, F. C., Borders, T. F., Babyak, M. A., & Higgins, R. L. (1996). Development and validation of the State Hope Scale.?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(2), 321–335.?https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.70.2.321