Hope

You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.

Woodrow Wilson

I love this quote. I mean, I really love it.

One of my ‘coachees’ recently asked me, “Glen, you always talk about filling up our imaginary leadership toolbox. What is the one tool that you believe makes the most difference?”

Believe it or not, that one was an easy question. It is the ability to provide vision.

Many leaders are very strong at operational matters. They can conduct meetings, review financial statements, make hiring decisions and problem-solve. But a GREAT leader goes one step above and thinks strategically. They are able to provide a vision of where the company or operating unit is going and what it looks like once you get there.

The bible says (Proverbs 29): “Where there is no vision, the people perish”. This goes for groups of people in the community and at work! Look at companies and that fail and many times you will see that they lost vision, they lost direction and their associates lost hope. Bad times hit good companies and good people. The key is not to lose hope during those times.

Without hope, people become paralyzed. There is no action when there is no hope. Think about every facet of life and you can see where people underperform or stop trying altogether when they have little or no hope.

Contrary, I have seen remarkable things accomplished when you point people or a team in a direction. My favorite example is John F. Kennedy making a speech on May 25, 1961 and proclaiming that we would put a man on the moon and bring him home safely by the end of the decade. People laughed at that idea! “Impossible” they said. But the Russians were beating us in the Space Program and there was a general fear of communism spreading. Thus, Kennedy painted this incredible picture. He gave the country a vision, he told them ‘why’, and he gave them hope.

I remember as a young boy on July 20, 1969 (just eight years later), tweaking the rabbit ears of my television as our whole family and many neighbors watched a ‘snowy’ blurred view of an American astronaut named Neil Armstrong, stepping onto the moon and later planting an American flag. I remember looking around the room and seeing grown people with tears in their eyes. Tears of joy, accomplishment and pride.

When I visit my daughter in San Diego, I enjoy watching brilliant sunsets. The colors are remarkable. The shades of orange as the sun sets each night brings me joy in another blessed day and hope for the next day ahead.

Want to make a difference in your workplace, family or community? Reach in your toolbox and grab the tool marked ‘hope’. This tool will help others accomplish things they never thought they could. And you will be a better person and leader for it.

Thanks for reading this.

With a goal to “help the next guy in line”, Glen Cavallo, a 30+ year healthcare executive has chosen to share the many lessons he has learned with others. Glen does this by serving as a coach/advisor to leaders at all levels of organizations, as a board member and as he presents inspirational speeches at regional, national, annual and awards meetings.