What is the most important thing that a leader can give his or her team members? Is it more information? Is it more recognition? Perhaps more authority to make decisions? I believe all of those things are important. But the one thing that is the most important thing that a leader can do for the organization is to give them hope for a brighter future. This topic on the surface may seem like a touchy-feely, intangible thing. I mean, what is hope? But let me break this down for you. If I ask you about how you're feeling about your career, about your life in general, you're likely to point to some things that have happened in the past, the experiences you've had in the past, and all of those things that have happened to you up to this point.
However, I would suggest that if you were really excited about your future, all of that could change. Regardless of what's happened in the past, if you're all of a sudden excited about a future, your mood shifts and your level of enthusiasm goes to a much higher level. Let's say you've had a really bad job with a bad boss and a bad company, and you've had a really tough time, but you know that tomorrow you're starting a new job reporting to a fantastic boss in a work environment that you're really looking forward to. Wouldn't that shift your mood just a little bit? Of course it would. Regardless of what has happened in the past, you are driven by what you expect in the future. Organizations are the same way. They may have had an abusive background. There may have been all kinds of things that have happened in the past and it takes some time to work through that.
But the one factor that causes the morale of an organization to go through the roof is if they expect a brighter future. So your work as a leader, your job, if you will, above all else, is to instill hope in a brighter future. Well, how do you do that? There are many tangible ways that you can do that. Sharing information. That could be good news or it could be bad news. Of course, accentuating the positive and talking about what's going well and projecting that in the future helps. But you know what? If there's bad news to be shared, don't keep it to yourself. Just share it, but don't do it as a victim. Share it and let people know that, hey, this is our plan to overcome this challenge. Or if you don't have a plan, invite them to be part of it. Sitting down with people and making sure that you understand what their aspirations are and reassure them of plans to make sure that they are going to be developed and there's a certain path for them to go to that next level of performance and fulfillment helps. You know, then there are those subtle things. When you're walking around your workplace, people are paying attention. They're picking up their cues from you. whether the future is bright or not really comes through you. They don't have a crystal ball. They're looking at you. If you're going around with your head down, then people are going to interpret it a certain way. But if you're more enthusiastic, now it doesn't mean you have to be totally animated and sound like a person that you are not, but people know whether you are looking forward to the future or you as a leader are dreading the future and they take their cues from you. This has happened to me several times where I've caught myself just walking around, not really paying any attention. Now I may have been in deep thought, but somebody a few days later came by and told me, they said, man, you just looked really bad the other day. We were all thinking, man, what the heck is going on? What's wrong? So on and so forth. So it's really your body language is important. So again, there are a number of ways in which you can instill confidence in people that tomorrow is a better day. And depending on who you're working with, depending on the current culture of your workplace, you need to adjust those approaches. But the overarching goal here is to make sure that people understand that there is hope and things are moving in the right direction. Or if we've had setbacks, we've got some plans to address them.
So if you really think about it this way, all of those things that I mentioned earlier are appropriate things. Some people would like to have more information. Some people really view it to be a very positive thing if you give them the authority and the responsibility to make certain decisions. Some people may really thrive on participating in a problem-solving process kind of a process as opposed to being left in the dark and imagining the worst. So all of those things are appropriate, but as long as you recognize that job one for a leader is to instill confidence in a brighter future. Now, the good news is you don't even have to be the big boss to make that happen. We can do that for each other within an organization. You don't have to have a title to instill confidence and hope in your peers. There are many people within the organization that other people are looking up to. You may not realize that other people are looking up to you because you think of yourself as just a whatever you are. However, there are people in the organization who are picking up their cues from you as to whether tomorrow is a better day or a worse day. Can they count on a brighter future? So I would encourage you, no matter where you are within your organizational chart, to think about this, to say, okay, what can I do to instill hope for a brighter future within my organization? And then take action to make that happen.

I believe the most important thing a leader can give their people is hope for a brighter future. Information, recognition, authority, and responsibility all matter, but none of them has the same power as giving people something positive to look forward to. Our experience of the past matters, but what we expect from the future can dramatically change how we feel in the present. Someone can have a terrible experience at work, but if they know tomorrow brings a great opportunity, a good boss, and an environment they are excited about, their mood can change almost immediately. The same is true of organizations. Even when an organization has a difficult history, morale can change when people begin to believe that the future will be better.

As leaders, we can create that hope in very tangible ways. We share information, including bad news, but we don't present challenges as victims. If something has gone wrong, we explain what we're doing about it. If we don't have the answer yet, we invite people to help us find it. We talk with people about their aspirations and help them see a path toward greater performance, growth, and fulfillment. And we pay attention to the subtle signals we send. People are watching us. They notice our body language, our energy, and whether we seem excited about the future or are dreading it. I have learned this myself, for instance, during times as a leader when I was simply deep in thought, but people interpreted my demeanor as a sign that something was wrong.

The important thing is that instilling hope isn't about pretending everything is wonderful. It's about helping people believe that things are moving in the right direction or, when we've experienced setbacks, that we have a plan to address them. Different people may need different things to build that confidence. Some need more information. Others need authority and responsibility. Others need to participate in solving the problem rather than being left in the dark. Those are all valuable, but they should serve the larger objective of creating confidence in a brighter future.

And you don't have to be the CEO or the person at the top of the organizational chart to do this. We can give each other hope. People throughout an organization are watching one another for clues about what tomorrow will bring. You may think you're “just” whatever your role happens to be, but someone else may be looking to you for their cues about whether the future is getting better or worse. So I would encourage every person, regardless of their position, to ask themselves: “What can I do to instill hope for a brighter future in the people around me?” Then take action.

Key Points

Information, recognition, authority, and responsibility are valuable, but they don't replace hope.
Our expectations about the future dramatically change how we experience the present.
Belief in a brighter future can dramatically improve morale and enthusiasm.
Leaders should share both good news and bad news rather than keeping people in the dark.
Leaders should understand their people's aspirations and hopes and help them see a path toward growth.
People are constantly watching leaders for cues about whether the future is bright or bleak.
A leader's body language and demeanor communicate more than they may realize.
Instilling hope doesn‘t mean pretending everything is fine. It means giving people confidence that things are moving in the right direction.
Different people may need different things to build confidence, including information, authority, responsibility, or involvement in problem-solving.
Hope is not merely a “touchy-feely” concept. It can have a tangible effect on enthusiasm, morale, and organizational performance.

Quotes

“The most important thing that a leader can do for the organization is to give them hope for a brighter future.”
“Regardless of what has happened in the past, you are driven by what you expect in the future.”
“People don't have a crystal ball. They're looking at you.”
“If you're going around with your head down, people are going to interpret it a certain way.”
“Don't share bad news as a victim. Share it and let people know what our plan is to overcome this challenge.”
“Job one for a leader is to instill confidence in a brighter future.”
“You don't have to have a title to instill confidence and hope in your peers.”
“There are people in the organization who are picking up their cues from you as to whether tomorrow is a better day or a worse day.”