Healthy Leaders Inspire Hope

Healthy leaders inspire hope.

There is a lot that we can fear these days. I do not need to make a list. Most people I know already have one that is long enough, and I do not need to add to it. 

Fear is a primal emotion for us. It triggers our survival mechanisms. We switch immediately into the reflexes that are meant to preserve our lives from a threat - fight, flight, or freeze. We do not think critically when we are gripped by fear, because our only goal is survival.

Fear is a universal human experience and a powerful motivator. It is a very accessible tool when a leader wants to impact people’s behavior. 

Many of us have worked leaders whose motivation tactics focus on keeping the stress levels high and the threat of public shaming or termination ever present. Such leaders can accomplish a lot, for a season. They can make sure that numeric goals are met, but the cost is incredibly high. Fear creates internal competition, distrust, gossip, and backstabbing. Environments fueled by chronic stress are inherently unhealthy. The stress poisons interpersonal relationships and individual health. Yes, people may deliver on sales targets or other goals, but sooner or later they will burn out or suffer other harmful effects.

Fear CAN get results. But fear cannot get you as far as hope can.

Healthy leaders inspire hope. They help us to look forward to a brighter future. They encourage us to believe that something better is possible, and they help us to understand how we each can contribute to the goals we share. Hope creates strong internal bonds, more functional teams, and sustainable productivity. 

Hope is not toxic positivity or denial. Those have no real staying power, because they are not honest. They trigger people’s BS meter and create distrust. Real hope converts distrust into openness and openness into trust. 

Healthy leaders know that people do their best work when they are hopeful. People who are running toward something positive can keep going a lot longer than people who are running from something negative. Work environments with healthy leaders will have healthier interpersonal relationships and individual health.

In order for leaders to inspire hope in others, they have to have some internal sense of it themselves. Leaders who use fear as a motivator often do so because that is the only motivator they know. Leaders cannot offer what they do not have. With development work over time, a leader can change from one who motivates through fear to one who motivates through hope. Over time a leader can also change in the opposite direction. But when you are determining whether or not to work for someone, you have to make your decision based on their current state. When a leader shows you who they are, you must then decide whether or not you want them to lead you.

Today and every day we have the choice between leading through fear or inspiring hope. 

What kind of leader have you been? What kind of leader do you want to be? What kind of leader do you want to follow?