Keep hope alive

We talked here last fall about hope and hobbits (item three on the archive page here), contrasting the Christian view of hope – grounded in belief that good ultimately triumphs – with the Nordic notion that one keeps fighting because it is the right thing to do, regardless of likely outcome.

Now Kathleen McCoy has highlighted another discussion of hope (this from Harvard Business Review's list of "breakthrough ideas" for 2007) keyed to the role of hope in leadership.

Here's a taste:

People must see that change is possible and how they can engage personally in that change. The remaining elements have to do with how hope is cultivated in organizations: Hopeful work groups are most often composed of individuals whose worth to the organization has been affirmed, who perceive an openness on the part of management, and who enjoy an authentic sense of connection with their colleagues and with the organization’s mission. Even so briefly described, these elements suggest why hope can be an energetic force for positive change to a degree that, say, optimism alone could never be.